State
CWD rules in California
CWD zone status
Agency
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Last verified
June 16, 2026
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.
Bringing a carcass into California
California is the regulating authority for what you can bring in. CWD has not been detected in California's wild deer/elk (preventive import ban). Section 712 governs allowed parts; Section 714 governs clean skull plates. Primary regulatory text cited via Cornell Law mirror of CCR Title 14 Sec. 712; the codified state regulation is authoritative. CDFW summary corroborates the same allowed/banned parts.
Allowed for import
- Boned-out / deboned meat (portions of meat with no spinal column, brain, or head attached)
- Hides and capes with no spinal column, brain tissue, or head attached
- Clean skull plates (no brain tissue) with antlers attached
- Antlers with no meat or tissue attached
- Finished taxidermy mounts with no meat or tissue attached
- Upper canine teeth (buglers/whistlers/ivories)
Restricted from import
- Whole carcasses
- Brain and brain tissue
- Spinal cord / spinal column (vertebrae)
- Heads / intact skulls with brain tissue
- Lymph nodes
Handling + processing
Restriction applies to all hunter-harvested deer and elk imported from any state or country (general ban, not limited to CWD-positive areas). Parts must be separated from prohibited high-risk tissue before transport into CA.
Taking a carcass out of California
When you hunt in California and bring the carcass to another state, that destination state sets the rule. California is not currently listed as a CWD-affected state in our reading, but check the destination state's affected-state list, since designations change.
California 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.
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.