Origin → Destination
Bringing a carcass from South Dakota to North Dakota
Origin · South Dakota
Destination · North Dakota
CWDCrossing provides informational summaries of state CWD carcass-transport regulations. Rules change annually pre-hunting-season; verify with both the origin and destination state wildlife agencies before transport. Failure to comply may result in citations. Not affiliated with the CWD Alliance, the National Deer Association, or any state agency.
What you can bring into North Dakota
- Deboned/boned-out meat
- Meat cut and wrapped (commercial or private)
- Quarters or portions of meat with no spinal column or head attached
- Hides with no heads attached
- Skull plates with antlers attached and no hide or brain tissue present
- Intact skulls with no visible brain or spinal tissue (eyes, lower jaw, tongue, glands, tonsils, lymph nodes removed)
- Antlers separated from the skull plate
- Upper canine teeth
- Finished taxidermy heads
What's restricted in North Dakota
- Whole carcass of out-of-state cervids
- Brain
- Spinal column / spinal cord
- Head with brain, spinal, or lymph tissue
Handling + processing requirements
Only the listed lower-risk parts may be transported into or within North Dakota. Heads submitted for testing must have lymph nodes in a sealed bag.
What to do before you transport
- Confirm the current rule directly with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department before you transport anything.
- Keep proof of where you hunted — many states require a label with your name, license number, and the state of harvest.
- South Dakota has confirmed CWD detections; check whether North Dakota applies a stricter rule to carcasses from CWD-affected states.
- If your route crosses additional states, check each one — a state you only drive through can still regulate possession in transit.
South Dakota and North Dakota on the CWD map
- CWD confirmed in state
- Under heightened surveillance
- No known CWD detections
Zone status is informational, not a hazard rating. Detections expand over time — confirm current status with each state's wildlife agency.
Other destinations from South Dakota
Check a different pair
The state you took the deer or elk in.
The state sets the rule for what you can bring in.
CWDCrossing provides informational summaries of state CWD carcass-transport regulations. Rules change annually pre-hunting-season; verify with both the origin and destination state wildlife agencies before transport. Failure to comply may result in citations. Not affiliated with the CWD Alliance, the National Deer Association, or any state agency.