How to apply in Arizona

No one under the age of 14 may hunt big game without having completed a Hunter Education Course.

Persons between the ages of 10 and 13 must have satisfactorily completed a Hunter Education Course that is approved by the Director per ARS 17-332(E).

An applicant must have possession of a valid license at the time of entry and the deadline of the application period per R12-4-104.

If an applicant does not have a license that meets that requirement, he or she must purchase the license at the time of application.

Bonus points may be accrued for deer, antelope, elk, turkey, javelina, bighorn sheep, buffalo, and bear. In order to accrue a bonus point for a species, a valid application must be submitted into a drawing for that species and the application must be unsuccessful (not rejected) in the drawing.

An accumulated credit (or point) that authorizes the Department to issue a Big Game Drawing applicant additional computer-generated random numbers during a draw. The bonus point system grants an applicant one random number entry for each bonus point that has been accumulated into the drawing for that species. Each bonus point random number entry is in addition to the application random number entry itself. This system provides applicants with an added chance of receiving a low random number in the draw, hence improving their draw odds, while still providing a chance (no matter how small) for any applicant to get drawn.

In a Preference Point system, there would be separate pools of applications for each point category. Those in the highest point category would be drawn first. If there were any hunt permit-tags left after looking at all applications in the highest point category then a second drawing would be held for those with the next highest point category. Over time, this would guarantee you getting a tag if you put in every year for the same species. With the Preference Point system, it could reach a point, with some species, that the drawing would, in effect, be closed to anyone who had zero or very few points.

A Loyalty bonus point can also be earned per species, if an applicant submits a valid application at least once a year for a hunt permit-tag or bonus point for that species consecutively for a 5­year period. An applicant retains the loyalty bonus point once accrued as long as the applicant continues to submit a valid application for that species at least once a year.

If you are drawn for a species, your bonus points for that species are zeroed out; however, you will retain your Hunter Education bonus point, if you have one, for the next drawing and your Loyalty bonus point for that species if you continue to submit valid application for that species.

There are 3 phases to the Big Game Drawing – the Bonus Point Pass, the First-Second Choice Pass, and the Third-Fourth-Fifth Choice Pass. For each phase of the drawing, a random number is generated for each application plus additional random numbers for each group bonus point (which includes the Hunter Education and Loyalty bonus points) credited to the application. The lowest random number generated for an application is used in the drawing process.

A bonus point hunt number is established within each applicable Commission Order. You may obtain only one bonus point per genus per drawing.

Hunt permit-tags are issued through a computerized random drawing.

Unsuccessful, valid applications will be awarded bonus points.

Bonus Point $13 $15 $13 $15

Bonus Point $13 $15 $13 $15

If you apply for a bonus point only using the established bonus point hunt number, you may NOT submit another application for the same genus.

7000 BONUS POINT ONLY — See page 5 (no other hunts may be chosen in conjunction with this one).

5000 BONUS POINT ONLY — See page 5 (no other hunts may be chosen in conjunction with this one).

4000 BONUS POINT ONLY — See page 5 (no other hunts may be chosen in conjunction with this one).

Nonresidents may receive ten percent or fewer of the total big game hunt permits issued in a random drawing (Commission may raise it in extraordinary circumstances).

Up to 20% of the hunt permit-tags for all hunt numbers combined statewide are reserved for the bonus point pass; the rest are drawn by random number.

Up to 20% of the hunt permit-tags for each hunt number are reserved for the bonus point pass; the rest are drawn by random number (first-second choice and third-fifth choice passes).

Group Bonus Points occur in the Big Game Draw when 2 to 4 applicants apply on 1 hunt application. Group bonus points are calculated by adding the species bonus points, loyalty bonus point, and hunter education bonus point for each applicant on an application and dividing that total by the number of applicants. The Department shall use the average number of bonus points accumulated by the individuals in the group, rounded to the nearest whole number. If the average has decimal digits equal to or greater than .5, the total will be rounded to the next higher number otherwise it is rounded down.

If any applicant in a group is rejected for any reason, all other applicants in that group will also be rejected and no bonus points will be awarded.

If the average has decimal digits equal to or greater than .5, the total will be rounded to the next higher number otherwise it is rounded down.

No waiting period; lifetime bag limit per sub-species (Rocky Mountain, desert): a person who has met it may not apply.

No waiting period; lifetime bag limit: a person who has met it may not apply for bison.

Online only, in the applicant's Arizona portal account; first-come results are not posted (tag mailed).

Hunt permit-tags left after the drawing are issued first come, first served (mail applications from the first-come acceptance date, then purchase at Department offices); one first-come application per genus, except javelina.

Spring Bison Nov. 2, 2026 Nov. 9, 2026

Spring Javelina Nov. 2, 2026 Nov. 9, 2026

Spring Turkey Nov. 2, 2026 Nov. 9, 2026

prices shown include a $13 application fee per applicant for residents and a $15 application fee per applicant for non-residents.

prices shown include a $13 application fee per applicant for residents and a $15 application fee per applicant for non-residents.