River Otter Trapping Season
The river otter trapping season is from Nov. 15 through March 15, or until the quota is met. There is bag limit of two otters per person. There is a season limit of 750 otters. If the 750 quota is reached before March 15, the season will close early. A valid Indiana trapping license is required to set traps for river otters. The river otter season is open statewide.
State regulations require each otter pelt to be registered and then tagged, regardless of whether it will be sold.
Register
Successful trappers must register their river otters within 24 hours using CheckIN Game.
Skin & Separate
Successful trappers must skin the river otter and separate the pelt from the carcass before registering the pelt with a designated Indiana DNR employee or official Indiana DNR furbearer check station.
Present Pelt & Submit Carcass
The pelt must be presented for physical registration and CITES tagging within 15 days after the month of harvest at a furbearer registration station. The carcass must be turned in at this time for data collection.
Trappers should call furbearer registration stations in advance to ensure staff availability. For help finding the options nearest to you, check the list here or call the furbearer tagging hotline at 812-353-8282.
Additional River Otter Trapping Information
- River Otter Trapping Regulations
- River Otter Trapping Season Dates
- Indiana Trapping Page
- River Otter Avoidance Techniques
- Wildlife Reports
This dashboard does not update in real time. For real time data on the otter harvest, view quotas by selecting the current season from the drop down in the upper left corner on the Division of Fish & Wildlife Activity Hub.
