Ohio Department of Natural Resources is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy applies to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web site and governs data collection and usage. By using the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.

Department of Natural Resources Privacy Policy

Collection of your Personal Information

Ohio Department of Natural Resources collects personally identifiable information, such as your e-mail address, name, home or work address or telephone number. Ohio Department of Natural Resources also collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your ZIP code, age, gender, preferences, interests and favorites.

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by Ohio Department of Natural Resources. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring Web site addresses. This information is used by Ohio Department of Natural Resources for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web site.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through Ohio Department of Natural Resources public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: Ohio Department of Natural Resources does not read any of your private online communications.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources encourages you to review the privacy statements of Web sites you choose to link to from Ohio Department of Natural Resources so that you can understand how those Web sites collect, use and share your information. Ohio Department of Natural Resources is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on Web sites outside of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio Department of Natural Resources family of Web sites.

Use of your Personal Information

Ohio Department of Natural Resources collects and uses your personal information to operate the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web site and deliver the services you have requested. Ohio Department of Natural Resources also uses your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from Ohio Department of Natural Resources and its affiliates. Ohio Department of Natural Resources may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. Ohio Department of Natural Resources may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, Ohio Department of Natural Resources may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources keeps track of the Web sites and pages our customers visit within Ohio Department of Natural Resources, in order to determine what the Ohio Department of Natural Resources services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web sites will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Ohio Department of Natural Resources or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Ohio Department of Natural Resources; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of Ohio Department of Natural Resources, or the public.

Use of Cookies

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web site uses "cookies" to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be

used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the Web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize Ohio Department of Natural Resources pages, or register with Ohio Department of Natural Resources site or services, a cookie helps Ohio Department of Natural Resources to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same Ohio Department of Natural Resources Web site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the Ohio Department of Natural Resources features that you customized.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources services or Web sites you visit.

Security of your Personal Information

Ohio Department of Natural Resources secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Ohio Department of Natural Resources secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other Web sites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

Ohio Wildlife Licensing System & HuntFish OH App

Revised February 22, 2021

The Ohio Wildlife Licensing System (OWLS), a recreational licensing website, and the HuntFish OH app, a mobile app which connects visitors to OWLS, are services provided by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife (herein after “DOW” or “agency”) developed under contract with Sovereign Sportsman Solutions (herein after “vendor”). DOW recognizes the importance of privacy to our website and app visitors. This privacy notice applies only to the OWLS website and HuntFish OH app, and does not represent the privacy statement for other Ohio Department of Natural Resources or Division of Wildlife websites.

Visitors to this website and app should be aware of the following information:

Public Records

Subject to specific statutory exceptions as listed in Ohio Rev. Code 149.43, most documents and records maintained by the State of Ohio, including but not limited to electronic data, are public records under Ohio law. Therefore, information submitted through this website may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request. Confidential personal information (social security number (SSN), driver’s license number, state identification number, and credit card numbers) are not subject to public records and are redacted from any such requests.

Type of information being collected:

OWLS and HuntFish OH collect various pieces of identifying and personal information to issue hunting and fishing licenses and permits (recreational licenses). To apply for a recreational license, DOW requires applicants to provide their full name, address, email address, date of birth, full SSN, gender, height, weight, hair, and eye color. When supplied, the driver license is recorded to help identify a customer record.

Internet-user information that may be collected by the agency includes

• Internet protocol address of the individual computer (or proxy server) making the request,
• Type of internet browser or computer operating system you are using,
• Date and time you accessed this site,
• Webpages visited on this site,
• Internet address of the site from which you may have linked to this site, and
• Coordinates where a transaction occurred.

Methods for collecting personal information:

Information is collected through disclosure by the customer on the online forms. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*) and must be completed to continue to apply for the products requested.

The sales site uses log files and web cookies to capture generic, Internet-user information each time a request is made to view a page within this website.

The sales site collects and stores confidential personal information in accordance with applicable federal law, Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 1347, and Ohio Admin. Code 1501-8.

To complete applications for the purchasing of recreational licenses, state and federal law (Title 42 of the United States Code, Ohio Rev. Code Sections 3123.62 and 1533.82) requires DOW to collect your full social security number (SSN) for the purpose of child support enforcement. SSNs are never fully displayed on the input screens and are transmitted to our systems over encrypted Secure Socket Layer/Transport Layer Security protocols. SSNs are never printed on license or permit affidavits. An applicant’s failure to supply their SSN, if issued one by the United States, may result in an invalid license or permit.

To identify accounts, customers may voluntarily supply their driver license. The complete driver license number will never be printed on any license or permit. It is recommended that each customer protect their recreational hunting and fishing licenses and permits from unauthorized use or disclosure.

Credit card numbers will be collected as a form of payment. This number is not stored on any of our systems or associated with your customer records and is passed through secure connections to the license system vendor’s credit card processing company.

DOW gifts cards can also be purchased within OWLS to be used as a form of payment. Redemption of the gift cards can only occur on the internet site and cannot be redeemed at a local sales agent or state office. DOW gift cards are restricted by ORC 1533.131 and are only valid on specific licenses and permits.

Automatic License and Permit Renewal:

All internet and mobile customers who purchase eligible recreational licenses or products will be presented with the option to enroll in automatic renewal of those purchases. For those who opt-in to the service, their credit card will be charged on the indicated renewal date at the product price at the time of automatic renewal. The credit card number will be tokenized using standard methods by the vendor; the credit card number is not stored. Email notifications will be sent from the OWLS vender: 1. upon opting in to the program, 2. prior to charging the credit card, and 3. when the credit card is charged, 4. when auto-renewal is cancelled, and 5. if the credit card charge fails to process. It is the customer’s responsibility to cancel the automatic renewal process if they no longer desire to participate in the program or no longer meet the eligibility requirements of the product purchased. Changes to the automatic renewal process can be made by logging into the “Your Account” portal on the license purchase internet page.

Use of your Personal Information

The agency collects and uses personal information to deliver services to its current and former customers. We may also use personal information to inform customers of other products or services available from the agency and its affiliates. The agency does not sell, rent, or lease your customer information to third parties, however, it may be provided in response to a public records request as allowed by public records law. In addition, the agency shares data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send communications, or provide customer support. All such third parties are prohibited from using personal information, except to provide these services to the agency.

Access and Dispute of Information

Under sections 1347.08 and 1347.09 of the Ohio Revised Code, individuals have access rights to their information maintained in personal information systems. "Access rights" means individuals have the right, with limits, to inspect, correct, and dispute such information.

Contact Information

DOW welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that the agency has not adhered to this Statement, please contact the agency at wildinfo@dnr.state.oh.us. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.

DETOUR Website and Mobile Apps

The DETOUR website and mobile apps provide access to Ohio's official recreational trails. No personal information is required to be submitted to use the trail maps available through the DETOUR applications.

View the privacy policy for the DETOUR App.

Changes to this Statement

Ohio Department of Natural Resources will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect company and customer feedback. Ohio Department of Natural Resources encourages you to periodically review this Statement to be informed of how the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is protecting your information.

Contact Information

Ohio Department of Natural Resources welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has not adhered to this Statement, please contact the Ohio Department of Natural Resources using our website comment form. We will use every reasonable effort to promptly determine and remedy the problem.