Any person who desires to buy, acquire, sell, transport, ship, or store at any time any fur or pelt of any wild quadruped taken within or outside the State of Maryland shall first obtain a Fur Dealer’s License from the Department of Natural Resources.

Exemptions from License Requirement

1. A person who buys or otherwise acquires any fur or pelt of any wild quadruped for the personal use of the person and not for barter, exchange, or sale.
2. A person who can substantiate the fact that any fur or pelt the person possesses is bought from a licensed fur dealer or lawfully obtained from a dealer in another state and is dressed, altered, trimmed, repaired, or manufactured into a finished product, but not resold as a fur or pelt.
3. A tanner or taxidermist who possesses any fur or pelt legally owned by another person and which the tanner or taxidermist temporarily is holding solely for the purpose of processing.
4. A person who sells or possesses to sell the meat, pelt, carcass, or mounted specimen of any beaver, coyote, fisher, fox, mink, muskrat, nutria, opossum, otter, racoon, skunk, or long-tailed weasel legally taken by that person.
5. Any person who butchers a deer for another person and who retains the hide or fur of the deer because the other person did not want to take the hide or fur.
6. ​Any person who sells or possesses to sell the hide, hair, tail or feet, excluding a mounted specimen of deer, squirrel, or rabbit legally acquired.

Resident Fur Dealer Permit/License

There is a six-month residency requirement to obtain a resident Fur Dealer’s License, which means the person must have resided permanently in the State for a period of not less than 6 months immediately preceding the time of application. The fee for the Resident Fur Dealer License/Permit is $50.00.

Non-Resident Fur Dealer Permit/License

The fee for the Nonresident Fur Dealer License is $100.00.

Every application for a license must contain the information requested on the application form, provided by the Wildlife and Heritage

Term of License
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​​​Every Fur Dealer’s License issued shall expire on June 30 following the date of issuance.

Reporting Requirements

Each fur dealer shall keep a ledger on a form provided by the Department which includes the following information:

• Name, Address, and current DNRid (for hunter/trapper) or license number (fur dealer’s, taxidermist and fur tanner’s, or game husbandry) for each individual from whom any fur was purchased or received within or outside the State
• Date of purchase or receipt
• Quantity of each species of furs purchased or received.
• Country, State, and County or Political Subdivision where the furs were taken.
• Official game or fur possession tag number or bill of sale.
• Final disposition of the furs (selling, transporting, shipping, storing, or otherwise using or possessing the furs).
• Date of disposal

The licensee shall also include the same information with regard to any wildlife taken from the wild by the licensee. The ledger shall cover every transaction from date of issuance of the fur dealer’s license until date of expiration and shall be kept up-to-date.

Between June 1 and June 10, every fur dealer shall submit the ledger used by them during the period covered by the previous license year. The ledger shall be submitted to the Permits Coordinator, along with a statement under oath that the information in the ledge is correct on forms provided to the licensee by the Permits Coordinator. The application for the annual renewal of the Fur Dealer’s license shall accompany the submission of the ledger.

Inspections

Responsibilities

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​A fur dealer shall carry the license on the dealer’s person and shall exhibit the license upon demand. The licensee shall allow any Natural Resources Police officer or any law enforcement officer to enter and inspect the premises where the operations are being carried on and to.

In addition to any other penalties provided by State law and regulation, any person convicted of failing to maintain and keep up-to-date a ledger as required by these laws or of making false entries shall have the license revoked for a period of at least one year and not exceeding five years.

Out-of-State Fur Shipment

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​A person knowingly may not ship, transport or carry by any means any fur or pelt of any wild quadruped to a point outside the State unless each shipment has a special shipping tag attached to the outside. A printable version of the shipping tags can be found linked below or may be obtained from the Department. Each tag is composed of 2 parts. Each part shall give the name and address of the consignee and the kind and number of any fur or pelt contained in the package. One part shall be attached to any fur or pelt personally carried open to view or attached on the outside of the container in which any fur or pelt is shipped or transported. The other part of the tag shall immediately be forwarded to the Dept. Of Natural Resources, c/o the Furbearer Program Manager, Wildlife and Heritage Service, 12512 Pleasant Valley Road, Flintstone MD 21530.​

Fur Shipping Tag

[Exemption - A licensed fur dealer in the State may not be required to attach a special tag to any shipment of furs or pelts of any wild quadruped to another state if the fur dealer’s license number for the current year appears on the outside of any package being shipped or transported.]

A person may not willfully or wantonly remove, mutilate, or destroy any tag attached to the outside of a container in which any fur or pelt is shipped.

A common carrier or the carrier’s agent knowingly may not receive any fur or pelt of any wild quadruped for shipment to any point outside the State unless the fur or pelt is tagged or marked as required.

Application for Resident Fur Dealer Permit

Application for Nonresident Fur Dealer Permit

Related Permits

​Taxidermist and Fur Tanner Permit

Request by E-mail:
wildlifepermits.dnr@maryland.gov

Request by Phone:
​301-501-0202
(410) 260-8540
Toll-free in Maryland:
1-877-620-8DNR [8367], Extension 8540
TTY: Maryland Relay via 1-800-735-2258 or 711

Request by Mail:
Wildlife Permit Coordinator
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Wildlife and Heritage Service
580 Taylor Ave., E-1
Annapolis MD 21401