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Indiana River Otter Trapping

  • Season closed

    The 2025-26 river otter trapping season closed on March 11. Licensed trappers have 48 hours after the season closes to report any river otters caught to the CheckIN Game system. See below for registration information. If you incidentally trapped a river otter after the 48-hour window, please call the Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement hotline at 812-837-9536 to make arrangements to turn over the river otter carcass. There is no penalty for the accidental trapping of an otter out of season.

River Otter Trapping Season

The river otter trapping season is from Nov. 15 through March 15, or until the quota is met. The seasonal bag limit is two otters per person. There is a maximum of 750 otters for the season. 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. As of 2024, the river otter season is open statewide.

Federal law requires each otter pelt to be tagged before it is sold. A two-step registration system has been set up to collect harvest information, tag river otters, and gather biological data (see below).

Mandatory River Otter Registration

Step 1: Successful trappers must register their otter within 24 hours using CheckIN Game.

Step 2: Successful trappers must skin the otter and separate the pelt from the carcass before registering the pelt with a designated Indiana DNR employee or official Indiana DNR river otter check station. You must present the skinned river otter carcass, including the head and pelt, for physical registration and CITES tagging within 15 days after the month of harvest.

For physical registration of river otter, successful trappers should take their otter to an authorized check station. Trappers should call the property in advance to ensure staff availability.  You may also call the furbearer tagging hotline at 812-353-8282 for the nearest options near you.

Additional River Otter Trapping Information

This dashboard does not update in real time.  For real time data on the otter harvest, view quotas on the Division of Fish & Wildlife Activity Hub.