A lot of Alaska hunting doesn’t require a draw at all. General season hunts use a free harvest ticket, and registration permits are usually unlimited. But many of the most sought-after hunts, including Kodiak brown bear, some caribou herds, and limited moose hunts, are drawing permits. Here is how Alaska’s draw works and how it fits with the other hunt types.

Key dates

ADF&G runs one application period each year. You apply in late fall for hunts that start the following July or later.

Step	Timing
Drawing Permit Hunt Supplement published	Fall, before the application period
Applications open	November 1, 8:00 a.m. Alaska time
Application deadline	December 15, 5:00 p.m. Alaska time
Results posted	Third Friday of February
Hunts take place	Regulatory year starting July 1

For the hunts in the current 2026–2027 regulatory year, applications ran November 1 – December 15, 2025. Applications for 2027–2028 hunts are expected to follow the same window, November 1 – December 15, 2026; confirm in the 2027–2028 supplement.

Step 1: Buy a hunting license

You need a valid Alaska hunting license before you apply. Residents 17 and younger are the exception. ADF&G accepts a license for the current year or for the year the hunt takes place, and you can buy next year’s license online.

License (2026)	Resident	Nonresident
Annual hunting license	$45	$160
Annual hunting and sport fishing	$60	$260

You don’t need to buy a nonresident locking tag to apply. You buy the tag before you go hunting.

Step 2: Read the Drawing Permit Hunt Supplement

Every drawing hunt has a hunt number, like DM for moose, DC for caribou and DB for brown bear. The supplement lists each hunt’s area, season, bag limit, how many permits are offered, and who can apply. Many hunts are resident only. Others are nonresident only, or are split between guided and unguided nonresidents.

Read the fine print. Some hunts have antler restrictions, special orientation requirements, or rules that keep you from drawing the same hunt two years in a row.

Step 3: Choose up to six hunts per species

You can submit up to six applications per species. That count includes party applications and any repeat applications for the same hunt. If you go over six for a species, ADF&G rejects all of your applications for that species.

You can apply for the same hunt more than once, which gives you more chances in that one drawing. A few hunts, including Kodiak brown bear and some limited moose hunts, limit guided nonresidents to one application per hunt.

Step 4: Pay the application fees

Application fee (2026–2027 supplement)	Cost
Moose, caribou, brown bear, black bear, Dall sheep, mountain goat, elk	$5 per application
Bison and muskox	$10 per application

Fees are not refunded. Applications are online only.

Step 5: Know the nonresident rules

• Guide-required species. For brown/grizzly bear, Dall sheep and mountain goat, a nonresident must hunt with an Alaska-licensed guide or a qualifying resident relative.
• Guide-client contract. For guided drawing hunts, you need a signed guide-client agreement before you apply. Your guide’s Unique Verification Code (UVC) must be entered on the application. Line up your guide well before December.
• Hunting with a relative. If a resident relative within the second degree of kindred will accompany you, you choose that option on the application. Some hunts set aside a small number of permits for nonresidents guided by relatives.
• No guarantee. Drawing a permit doesn’t guarantee a guide will be available. Book first, then apply.

Read the full nonresident guide requirement

Step 6: Party applications

Two hunters can apply together on one application, and both get permits if it’s drawn. If either one is ineligible, the whole application is thrown out. Two nonresidents hunting with a resident relative can’t apply as a party.

There are no points

Alaska does not use preference or bonus points. Every draw is a fresh lottery. That’s good news for a first-time applicant, since you have the same odds as someone who has applied for 20 years. It also means you can’t build toward a hunt.

Important rules after you draw

• You can hold only one drawing permit per species per regulatory year.
• If you don’t report on a permit, you can’t get permits the next year.
• Permits can’t be transferred.
• Permit numbers can change after surveys, and hunts can be closed by emergency order.

Registration permits and general hunts: no draw needed

General season hunts only need a free harvest ticket. Many nonresident moose, caribou, sheep and deer hunts are general season hunts.

Registration permits are usually unlimited. You pick them up in person, by mail, or online during a set window before or during the season. Some brown bear hunts, including parts of Southeast Alaska and Unit 23, and some moose hunts in Units 9 and 17 use registration permits. These hunts close early by emergency order if the harvest quota is met.

Draw rules at a glance

• System: No points. Every drawing hunt is a pure lottery, so your odds don’t improve by applying year after year.
• Limits: One drawing permit per species per regulatory year, and you can’t win the same drawing hunt two years in a row (undersubscribed permits excepted).
• Bison lockouts: Residents who win a bison permit can’t draw one again for 10 years. Nonresident winners are locked out for life.
• Kodiak brown bear: Fall Kodiak permit winners can’t draw a Kodiak permit the next spring. Guided nonresidents get one application per Kodiak hunt, and relative-guided nonresidents are capped at 4 per season.
• Nonresidents: Shares are set hunt by hunt. Brown bear, Dall sheep and mountain goat require a licensed guide or a resident relative within the second degree of kindred.
• Parties: A party of two shares one draw number, and the whole application is invalid if either member isn’t eligible.

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

Let a guide help

For guided species, your guide will usually tell you which drawing hunts they hold permits for and help you apply. Book early, sign the contract, and get your verification code before the December 15 deadline.

Related: How Alaska draw points work · Draw odds by unit · Alaska Hunting Guide · Guide requirement and tags · Alaska hunting seasons · Cost of an Alaska hunt

Dates and fees are from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the 2026–2027 Drawing Permit Hunt Supplement. Always confirm in the current supplement before you apply.