Every Nevada mule deer tag comes from a draw, so the application is the most important part of planning a hunt here. The system rewards patience: your bonus points are squared, so each year you wait counts for more than the last. Here is how it works.

Key dates

These are NDOW’s dates for 2026. The 2027 dates will be in next year’s regulations, but the calendar has followed a similar pattern for years: guided draw in late winter, main draw in spring.

Step	2026 date
Nonresident guided mule deer applications	February 9 – March 9
Nonresident guided results	March 20
Main draw applications open	March 23
Main draw deadline	May 13, 11 p.m. Pacific
Main draw results	On or before May 29
Second draw applications	June 8 – 15
Second draw results	June 26
First-come, first-served tags	After the second draw, online only

Step 1: Get hunter education and a license

Anyone born after January 1, 1960, needs proof of hunter education to buy a Nevada hunting license. Nevada accepts hunter education certificates from other states and Canadian provinces if they show your hunter education number and the issuing agency’s logo or seal.

You need a current Nevada hunting license to earn bonus points, and it can be bought with your application. You can instead choose to buy the license only if you draw, but that application earns no bonus point.

• Residents: adult hunting license $38, or combination hunting and fishing $75
• Nonresidents: adult combination license $155
• Youth (12–17): $15 combination for residents and nonresidents

Step 2: Choose up to five hunt choices

Each mule deer hunt is a combination of unit group, season, and weapon. You can list up to five choices on one antlered mule deer application, and NDOW recommends using all five. You can submit one antlered mule deer application per draw.

How to think about your five choices:

• 1st choice: The hunt you really want.
• 2nd to 5th choices: Hunts with more tags or less demand, so you still hunt if your first choice doesn’t come through.
• Bonus point only: If you want to build points without hunting, you can apply for a bonus point only. You still need a license for that year.

NDOW publishes draw odds and past results each year. Check them before you choose.

Step 3: Understand bonus points

• Points are squared. Every application gets one draw number. For each bonus point you hold, you get more numbers, equal to your points squared. Four points means 16 extra numbers, or 17 chances in all. Your best (lowest) number is the one that counts.
• How you earn them: One point each year you apply and don’t draw, if you hold a hunting license.
• Points reset: Your deer points go back to zero when you draw or buy a tag in that category.
• Don’t skip two years: If you fail to apply for two years in a row, you lose your points.
• Points follow you: If you move to or from Nevada, your points move with you.

Nevada has no guaranteed point-based draw like a preference point system. Even hunters with many points can miss, and a hunter with no points can draw a good tag.

Nonresident quotas: NDOW sets quotas at about 90% for residents and 10% for nonresidents. For many smaller unit groups, that means only one or two nonresident tags.

Step 4: Apply alone or as a party

A party must have at least two hunters, and everyone applies for the same hunts. The party’s points are averaged and rounded to the nearest whole number. The group draws together or not at all.

Step 5: Pay the application fees

Application fees are not refundable. You pay the tag fee only if you draw.

Item (2026)	Resident	Nonresident
Hunting license (adult)	$38	$155 (combination)
Big game application fee	$10	$10
Game tag application fee	$3	$3
Processing fee	$1	$1
Due when you apply	about $52	about $169
Mule deer tag, if drawn	$30	$240

A $1 processing fee is also added to license purchases. The $3 game tag application fee lets you choose whether it goes to predator management or to habitat and research for other wildlife.

Point rules at a glance

• System: Squared bonus points in a fully random draw. Each application gets one number plus extra numbers equal to your points squared, and your lowest number is used. No tags are reserved for top point holders.
• Nonresident share: About 10% of tags. Nonresidents can also enter a separate guided draw.
• You lose your points if: you draw or buy an antlered mule deer tag, or don’t apply for two years in a row when a season was available.
• Waiting period: None listed for mule deer in the 2026 regulations.
• Parties: Points are averaged and rounded to the nearest whole number. The party draws together or not at all.
• Point only: A $10 Bonus Point Only application during the main draw or the second draw period.

Full breakdown: how the draw works, with examples · check last year’s odds for every hunt

Didn’t draw? You still have options

• Second draw (June): A second chance at tags that were not issued in the main draw.
• First-come, first-served: Tags left after the second draw are sold online on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Specialty tags: Silver State tags (no bonus points used), Dream tags, and Partnership in Wildlife tags offer a small number of mule deer tags through their own drawings.
• Hunt another state while you build points. Keep applying every year so you never lose them.

Let an outfitter help

Nevada outfitters can tell you which unit groups they guide and what your odds look like. If you’re a nonresident, talk to an outfitter before the guided draw in February.

Related: How Nevada draw points work · Draw odds by unit · Nevada Mule Deer Hunting Guide · Tags, unit groups, and the guided draw · Season dates · Cost of a Nevada mule deer hunt

Fees and dates are from the Nevada Department of Wildlife for 2026. Always confirm in the current NDOW big game regulations before you apply.