AGFC unveils express check option for Arkansas turkey hunters

LITTLE ROCK — Successful hunters will have much less frustration confirming their harvest and getting back to the celebration this turkey season, thanks to a new game checking option the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is offering through its website.

Kyle Curry, assistant chief of information technology for the AGFC, said Express Check is a simple way to get your bird checked without the trouble of trying to remember passwords to log into your license account.

“If you have the smartphone app, you can use it like always, and you can still check harvested turkeys through the website by logging in, but we know about 30 percent of our hunters still try to use the telephone checking system to bypass all the passwords and login requirements,” Curry said. “On opening morning or other high-traffic hunting times, you may end up on hold for a few minutes before an operator is available. A couple of minutes seems like an eternity when you’re on the side of a mountain with a single bar or two of service, so we’re trying to give people an easier way.”

Verifying your harvest through Express Check is as simple as going to www.agfc.com, clicking on Game Check in the top right corner of the webpage, and entering your turkey tag number, your last name and your date of birth. If your turkey tag is valid, you’ll get a confirmation number and your checking process will be complete.

“We’re planning to use the Customer Identification Number in the future, but for now, we’re using the eight-digit tag number issued to each turkey tag,” Curry said. “This number is available only on the turkey tags issued through the license system, so people who purchase through a vendor need to make sure they get the turkey tags from the vendor in addition to their hunting license.”

Curry says checking your turkey through the smartphone app will be identical to last year’s process. Phone checking will have one fairly major difference with the implementation of automated checking using computerized voice prompts and keypad entry with your phone.

“You can still get to a human operator if you need assistance with your checking process, but your first option will be to use the computerized system over the phone,” Curry said. “That will help reduce waiting on phone lines and remove some of the confusion with misspoken words or bad connections, making conversations difficult.”

Arkansas’s turkey season opens April 21 statewide. In Turkey Zone 1, it closes April 29; it continues through May 11 in Turkey Zone 2. The Special Youth Turkey Hunt for hunters younger than 16 is April 12-13. A full list of turkey regulations is available in the 2024-25 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook.

All turkeys harvested in Arkansas must be checked via agfc.com, the AGFC mobile app or by phone within 12 hours of harvest. If they are checked immediately upon harvest, the turkey does not need a physical tag attached to it. If the hunter is unable to check the bird immediately, then they must affix a possession tag indicating the hunter’s name, CID number and the date and time of harvest that must remain with the bird until it is checked.

Click here to use Express Check after you’ve bagged your bird.

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CUTLINES:

WOMAN WITH TURKEY
AGFC Boating Law Administrator Cpl. Sydney Grant with an excellent Arkansas gobbler taken in 2020. AGFC photo courtesy Sydney Grant.

TURKEY TAG
Hunters need only their last name, date of birth and the unique eight-digit number on their turkey tag to check their turkey harvest through the AGFC’s new Express Check option online.