MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota's licensing and permitting system for outdoor recreation — everything from bobcat-trapping to Nordic skiing on state trails — will undergo an electronic transformation next year to offer the convenience of mobile phone displays and on-the-go registrations.

Old-school paper certificates for fishing and other pursuits still will be an option, according to the Department of Natural Resources, but the new digital system bought from a private vendor will handle some 2.3 million license transactions per year. The new system also will issue about 550,000 boat, snowmobile and other recreational vehicle titles. Together, the permissions generate annual revenue for the state in excess of $100 million.

"This will get us into the 21st century," said DNR Fish and Wildlife Director Dave Olfelt. "We think people are really going to be appreciative."

State park reservations and admissions won't be part of the electronic licensing system, but hunters, anglers, trappers, state trail users and boaters will want to pay attention to changes before the system is launched in March 2025. The change in culture and technology was accepted by the Legislature this month as part of a larger natural resources policy bill. Gov. Tim Walz signed it Friday.

Olfelt said DNR stakeholders, including elected officials, have been pushing the agency to develop the same type of mobile system available to outdoors enthusiasts in other states. "We were hearing it loudly," Olfelt said. "Our current system is long in the tooth."

In one notable change, deer hunters no longer will attach harvest tags to the whitetails they shoot. Instead, they'll register their kills electronically. If the harvest occurs beyond the range of internet signals, they'll still be able to enter their harvest data into an electronic form that will upload automatically when a signal returns.

For boat, snowmobile and recreational vehicle registrations, people still will need to apply stickers to their equipment, but trail passes will be stored on users' phones. Printing a paper copy of various permits and licenses also will be acceptable.

Jenna Covey, the DNR's chief business technology officer, said the agency still is tweaking the system but will be demonstrating it to deputy registrars and other partners over the coming months. It also won't be long before the general public starts hearing about the change in promotions and marketing efforts.

"As the summer goes along, we'll be talking more and more about the changes coming," she said.

Work on the new electronic licensing system began in 2021. In a survey of people who buy outdoors permits and licenses in Minnesota, the DNR learned that more than 80% of respondents strongly wanted a mobile application to store and display their privileges. DNR's conservation enforcement division has been involved in developing the new system.

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