Idaho's new Deer/Elk License System

[MR5x5]

https://idfg.idaho.gov/article/nonresident-hunters-can-apply-2026-deerelk-tags-december-here-are-details?utm_campaign=huntingnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery


idfg-rphillips
Monday, July 28, 2025 - 9:36 AM MDT

The department is switching from over the counter sales to a drawing

Fish and Game recently announced details on new nonresident drawing for deer and elk tags for 2026. The drawing replaces the traditional first-come, first-served sale that occurred online and at license and tag vendors.

Another change is nonresident hunters will have to buy a 2026 nonresident hunting license to participate in the drawing for general season deer and elk tags. There will be no refunds for unsuccessful applicants. Hunters who apply for these tags remain eligible to apply for controlled hunt tags.

Nonresident hunters should be aware of the following dates:

    Drawing application period will be Dec. 5-15, 2025
    Results available in early January 2026
    Deadline for successful applicants to buy tags is Jan. 20
    Second application period for any tags not drawn, or not purchased, will be Feb. 5-15
    Results announced early March
    Deadline to buy tags is March 20

Hunters interested in applying for nonresident deer and elk tags in December should check back regularly for more information on the nonresident deer/elk tag webpage.  Full details on the nonresident draw process will be provided by September.

[bear]

Out on Idaho now.  They’re ridiculous!

[vandeman17]

doing pretty much the same as the other western states. Can't say I blame them

[huntnnw]

No more stressing trying to get a tag.. guaranteed to draw my tag now

[teanawayslayer]

To bad really. Hunters are our worst enemy.  No one is ever happy.

[huntnnw]

To bad really. Hunters are our worst enemy.  No one is ever happy.

Enemy ? How is this bad? Last system was complete garbage ! Unfair to a huge majority of people

[teanawayslayer]

To bad really. Hunters are our worst enemy.  No one is ever happy.

Enemy ? How is this bad? Last system was complete garbage ! Unfair to a huge majority of people

it wasn’t perfect. Not saying that. How was it unfair? Everyone had the same chance. I could hunt Idaho every year and now I can’t. That doesn’t seem fair to me.

[bear]

Depends how hard of a tag you wanna apply for.   If you apply for the top couple elk tags you may be just giving Idaho a $185 donation.   Gonna be interesting to see the stats after the first year and how it changes after that.   It’s a roulette game

[jrebel]

Can’t wait!!  I got tired of playing the game of who had the fastest internet.  This will be way more fair in my opinion.  I guess only time will.

[bear]

The issue I have is with the requirement to buy a hunting license to apply

[millerwheeler]

The issue I have is with the requirement to buy a hunting license to apply

The fact is it will increase odds to show who is serious. Hunting is becoming and is almost already a rich man’s sport. Unfortunate but true. The odds will be much better I believe

[kentrek]

The issue I have is with the requirement to buy a hunting license to apply

Not many states let you apply with out buying a license

[jrebel]

Being we are a neighboring state…..buy your license and a bear tag.  If you don’t get drawn for deer or elk….go bear hunting.  Win win in my opinion.

[huntnnw]

The issue I have is with the requirement to buy a hunting license to apply

very few states left that dont require you to buy a license before applying, had to in ID to apply in controlled hunts. Id be for them fronting the tag fee like they do on OIL tags

[huntnnw]

To bad really. Hunters are our worst enemy.  No one is ever happy.

Enemy ? How is this bad? Last system was complete garbage ! Unfair to a huge majority of people

it wasn’t perfect. Not saying that. How was it unfair? Everyone had the same chance. I could hunt Idaho every year and now I can’t. That doesn’t seem fair to me.

lets see it was done in the the middle of most peoples work week and mid morning to mid day. Not everyone has the luxury of sitting on there phone or computer trying to get a tag.People lining up and buy tons of tags for people which is complete garbage. I heard of outfitters buying dozens at a time. The whole random online placement system is garbage. I dont know how many people got booted after waiting. The whole thing was a joke and glad its a draw. It makes it fair across the board. From what I have gathered nothing has changed after the draw with returned tags and return tag sales

[Bo_nimrod]

Being we are a neighboring state…..buy your license and a bear tag.  If you don’t get drawn for deer or elk….go bear hunting.  Win win in my opinion.

                                                                                                                                 Don't forget a wolf tag...

[trophyhunt]

I like it, now I can plan a hunt with friends and know really soon if it's happening or not.  The early draw dates ROCK!! 

[Magnum_Willys]

Im going to miss the old sure thing but this early draw is nice.  If not drawn still can apply for controlled hunt or Montana or Oregon.

[2MANY]

Welcome to the new Oregon.

[elkslayer069]

The issue I have is with the requirement to buy a hunting license to apply

$180 is not that expensive for application as a non resident, a lot of states require a license to apply. some states give you your money back except $5.  even as a Washington resident your still in it $100-$150 to apply as a resident, more like $200 if you put in for everything, and that don't guarantee anything even if you believe the magical point system, so this $180 fee gets you two draws, no app fee, get to put in for multiple units i believe and multiple species. i see this as a huge win compared to the crap system it was prior. and it may weed out a few people

Why convince folks? Sounds terrible. I hope you can’t afford it. It makes my odds better. I know I sound like a jerk but I’ll take any advantage I can get. I cant understand why people post reminders of the draw deadlines either. You might as well be stopping at the neighboring elk camp opening morning to make sure they didn’t over sleep. You wouldn’t want them to miss out…

[trophyhunt]

The issue I have is with the requirement to buy a hunting license to apply

$180 is not that expensive for application as a non resident, a lot of states require a license to apply. some states give you your money back except $5.  even as a Washington resident your still in it $100-$150 to apply as a resident, more like $200 if you put in for everything, and that don't guarantee anything even if you believe the magical point system, so this $180 fee gets you two draws, no app fee, get to put in for multiple units i believe and multiple species. i see this as a huge win compared to the crap system it was prior. and it may weed out a few people

Why convince folks? Sounds terrible. I hope you can’t afford it. It makes my odds better. I know I sound like a jerk but I’ll take any advantage I can get. I cant understand why people post reminders of the draw deadlines either. You might as well be stopping at the neighboring elk camp opening morning to make sure they didn’t over sleep. You wouldn’t want them to miss out…

I can’t stand it when people post reminders about deadlines…makes no sense to me either.  But, I can’t stand procrastinators.

[dvolmer]

To bad really. Hunters are our worst enemy.  No one is ever happy.

Enemy ? How is this bad? Last system was complete garbage ! Unfair to a huge majority of people

it wasn’t perfect. Not saying that. How was it unfair? Everyone had the same chance. I could hunt Idaho every year and now I can’t. That doesn’t seem fair to me.

lets see it was done in the the middle of most peoples work week and mid morning to mid day. Not everyone has the luxury of sitting on there phone or computer trying to get a tag.People lining up and buy tons of tags for people which is complete garbage. I heard of outfitters buying dozens at a time. The whole random online placement system is garbage. I dont know how many people got booted after waiting. The whole thing was a joke and glad its a draw. It makes it fair across the board. From what I have gathered nothing has changed after the draw with returned tags and return tag sales

Well Said and I totally agree! 

[dilleytech]

Man where have I been.. I just heard about this. Great news. I had given up on Idaho but I think I just might put in for something this year.

[RB]

Question, is it possible to get drawn for Deer and Elk in the same unit? Five choices A, B, C, D, E so, put in that order for both is it possible a guy could get drawn for Deer in B and Elk in E? Then have to hunt different units for each species? Was looking over it and it was not clear to me.

[andrew_in_idaho]

It would absolutely be possible to be drawn for different areas. Best bet is to pick a unit you would expect to be lower demand for both and put it as 1st choice


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[RB]

It would absolutely be possible to be drawn for different areas. Best bet is to pick a unit you would expect to be lower demand for both and put it as 1st choice


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Ok, appreciate the feedback, only hunted Idaho once back in the late 90's when getting tags was easy. We had Deer tags and saw more Elk than Deer.

Thank You

[dilleytech]

I’m a little confused, is the current Dec 5 a Dec 15 application period just for the general tags? Or general and controlled hunt tags. for elk specifically.

[andrew_in_idaho]

I’m a little confused, is the current Dec 5 a Dec 15 application period just for the general tags? Or general and controlled hunt tags. for elk specifically.

General tags, controlled hunt period will be April for OIL and May for deer, elk, antelope


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[Shawn Ryan]

Strategy question for ID non-res elk draw:

This is from the ID Fish & Game: "All first choices will be evaluated first, and tags will be issued if there is still quota available for that hunt choice. After all first choices are evaluated, the draw returns to the lowest random number application and evaluates second choices – skipping those that have already won from the first choice or where no quota is available for their second hunt choice, and issuing tags to those that have quota available for that hunt choice. That process is then repeated for the third, fourth, and fifth choices."

That is a different process from: when my number gets to the front of the line, all my choices are reviewed and I get my lowest numbered choice for a zone that still has tags available. This type of draw encourages me to rank my choices from best hunt to fifth worst, with some incentive to include a zone that is more likely to have tags available later in the draw.

The Idaho process makes a difference in how a guy chooses which hunts to apply for. It discourages me from choosing my favorite/best units as choices 1,2,3, etc. because those zones are likely to all be drawn as someone else's first choice. Thus, I think I should rank a mid-range hunt fairly high in my choices, so that when my number is called, I have a better chance of drawing a tag.

Put my first choice as a hard-to-draw hunt with my second choice as a mid-range hunt or put the mid-range as my first choice or choose all great zones for all my choices?

Thoughts, opinions, or comments? Not asking for which zone you'd choose, just asking if anyone is willing to share their basic strategy.

[Shawn Ryan]

If you're applying in ID, the non-res brochure is helpful:  https://idfg.idaho.gov/licenses/tag/quotas/nonresident.

Unlike some others, I like helping hunters draw tags, even if it degrades my own chances. Different strokes.

[kentrek]

Strategy question for ID non-res elk draw:

The Idaho process makes a difference in how a guy chooses which hunts to apply for. It discourages me from choosing my favorite/best units as choices 1,2,3, etc. because those zones are likely to all be drawn as someone else's first choice. Thus, I think I should rank a mid-range hunt fairly high in my choices, so that when my number is called, I have a better chance of drawing a tag.

Put my first choice as a hard-to-draw hunt with my second choice as a mid-range hunt or put the mid-range as my first choice or choose all great zones for all my choices?

Thoughts, opinions, or comments? Not asking for which zone you'd choose, just asking if anyone is willing to share their basic strategy.

Its up to the hunter with no real wrong way beings its a random...youl never get a high demand tag if its not your 1st choice in this 1st round...dont forget theres 2 rounds.. lot of people are gona try to force a tag and then realise they should put in for wyomimg instead lol im only going to apply for 1 unit in both draws because my #2 choice is a different state

[Craig]

Decided to try the new draw system. Trying to decide if I want to pick a deer unit for better deer hunting . Or pick a deer unit that has more wolfs for the minuscule chance of running into one during deer hunting. I would definitely like to blast a wolf. If I even draw anything.

[JDArms1240]

Decided to try the new draw system. Trying to decide if I want to pick a deer unit for better deer hunting . Or pick a deer unit that has more wolfs for the minuscule chance of running into one during deer hunting. I would definitely like to blast a wolf. If I even draw anything.

This year I bought a wolf tag, just in case.  Didn’t expect to see one, figure the odds gotta be pretty low.  Well I saw 5!  Never got a shot opportunity cause every one I saw was on the move like it had somewhere to be.  From now on I will buy a wolf tag any time I hunt Idaho!