Arizona draws its deer tags in early summer, alongside fall turkey, javelina, bighorn sheep, and bison. Elk and pronghorn are drawn separately in February, so if you hunt both, you’ll apply twice a year. Here’s how the deer draw works.

Key dates

These are AZGFD’s dates for the 2026–27 fall draw. Next year’s dates will come with the 2027–28 regulations in early May, but the timing is consistent year to year.

Step	2026 date
Fall regulations published, applications open	Early May
Application deadline	Tuesday, June 2, 11:59 p.m. Arizona time
Results	Posted to your AZGFD portal account (2026 results were released June 22)
Tags mailed	By July 24
Leftover (first-come) mail applications	On or after July 6, 8 a.m.
Leftover tags sold at AZGFD offices	From July 13

Step 1: Buy a hunting license

You need a valid Arizona hunting license or combination license when you apply and on the deadline day. Short-term licenses don’t qualify.

License (2026–27)	Resident	Nonresident
Hunting	$37	Not offered
Combination hunt and fish	$57	$160
Youth combination (10–17)	$5	$5

If you bought a license for the February elk draw, check its expiration. It may still be valid in June.

Step 2: Set up your customer ID and portal account

Every 2026 application needs your AZGFD customer ID. Results and bonus points appear only in your free portal account.

Step 3: Choose your hunts

Each deer hunt has a four-digit hunt number for the unit, dates, weapon, and bag limit. Most hunts are for antlered deer, and the regulations say whether a hunt is for mule deer, whitetail (Coues), or any antlered deer. Read it carefully: some units have separate mule deer and whitetail hunts on different dates.

Under state rules, you can list up to five choices. Only your first and second choices are eligible for the bonus pass.

Points only: If you just want a bonus point, use the deer bonus-point-only hunt number (1000). You can’t pick any other deer hunt with it.

Step 4: Bonus points and the bonus pass

• You earn a deer bonus point every year you submit a valid application and don’t draw.
• Each point gives you an extra random number in the draw.
• Up to 20% of the tags in each hunt go first to the applicants with the most points who listed it as their first or second choice.
• A loyalty point (apply five years in a row) and a hunter education point add to your total.
• Your deer points reset to zero when you draw a deer tag.

Draw odds vary widely. Many Coues whitetail hunts, which have hundreds of tags, are far easier to draw than premium mule deer hunts on the Kaibab and Arizona Strip, which can take many years. AZGFD publishes past draw results so you can check.

Step 5: The nonresident cap

Nonresidents can get no more than 10% of the antlered deer tags in each hunt. In hunts with 10 or fewer tags, nonresidents can get one at most, and a single-tag hunt is resident-only. Only half of the nonresident tags can be issued in the bonus pass.

Step 6: Groups

Two to four hunters can apply together. If one member’s application is rejected, the whole group is rejected, and no one gets a tag unless there are enough for everyone.

Step 7: PointGuard

For $10 per species ($25 for PointGuard Plus, covering three draws), you can surrender a drawn tag for any reason and get your points back.

What it costs to apply (nonresident example, 2026)

Item	Cost
Combination hunt and fish license	$160
Application fee	$15
PointGuard (optional)	$10
Due when you apply	$175–$185
Deer tag total if drawn (includes the $15 already paid)	$315

Residents pay $13 to apply and $58 for the deer tag. Keep your card current: a declined payment at draw time means you don’t get the tag.

Point rules at a glance

• System: Bonus points. Each point (including loyalty and hunter education points) adds one random number, and your lowest number is used. Up to 20% of each hunt’s tags go first to the highest point holders.
• Loyalty point: Apply for deer every year and you earn an extra loyalty point. Miss a single year and you lose it.
• You lose your points if: you draw a deer tag, buy a surrendered or reissued tag, or go 5 straight years without applying for deer. Your hunter education point stays.
• Nonresident share: At most 10% of antlered deer tags per hunt (1 tag in hunts with 10 or fewer, none in single-tag hunts), and no more than half of those in the bonus pass.
• Waiting period: None.
• Point only: List hunt number 1000 as your only choice.

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

Didn’t draw?

• Leftover tags go on sale first come, first served in July.
• Over-the-counter archery tags let you hunt archery seasons without drawing. See how it works.
• You earn a bonus point toward next year.

Related: How Arizona draw points work · Draw odds by unit · Arizona Deer Hunting Guide · Season dates · OTC archery deer tags · Cost of an Arizona deer hunt

Fees and dates are from the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s 2026–27 Arizona Hunting Regulations. Always confirm in the current regulations before you apply.