LITTLE ROCK — Renewing your hunting and fishing licenses this year will be easier than ever before, thanks to an upgraded online licensing portal launching this week. Smartphone users also will find a new AGFC mobile app to download and keep handy this hunting season.
The main license purchasing web page will be similar to previous online license systems, but will offer more user-friendly customizations, including license listings based upon the user’s residency, age and current license purchases.
“You’ll get the same feel as many online stores where you will create and log into a personalized account and only the selections that you are eligible for will be visible,” Spencer Griffith, AGFC Deputy Director, said. “You will need to log in using your choice of contact information you’ve submitted in the past, and the system will connect you with your account. Once you’re set up, the system should be much faster to use, so you can get out hunting and fishing instead of fiddling with a website or your phone.”
The new system also will be more inclusive to all hunters and anglers in Arkansas. By the end of the year, the interface will be available in both English and Spanish.
In addition to the new license system, the AGFC’s smartphone application will see a relaunch later this week to make it more compatible with today’s smartphones and make checking deer and turkeys possible without the need for cell phone service. To take advantage of these features, users will need to delete the old app from their phones and find the new application listed under “AGFC” in Apple’s app store and the Google Play store. Once the new app is downloaded, users will need to log in to their same account as the website to ensure all their license purchases are correct.
When hunting seasons begin, the number of tags each license allows will be activated. The hunter can log back into the app before the hunt to verify their tags. After that, they may use those tag locations in the app to check their deer, bear or turkey, even without a cell signal. Once the phone is back in range of data signals, the information will be sent to the information, but the proof of the filled electronic tag on the hunter’s phone will serve as proof that the hunter has electronically tagged their deer.
“People can still tag their deer with a paper tag they make themselves until they reach cell phone service and call it in, but the app adds a level of convenience for our hunters to get their deer checked and get it home to enjoy as quickly as possible,” Griffith said.