Alaska doesn’t use points of any kind. Every drawing permit hunt is a fresh lottery each year: a first-time applicant has exactly the same chance as someone who has applied for twenty years. You can’t build toward a hunt, but you also can’t fall behind. And a lot of Alaska hunting needs no draw at all. Many moose, caribou, sheep and deer hunts run on a free harvest ticket, and registration permits are usually unlimited.

So when people ask how Alaska’s “points” work, the honest answer is: they don’t exist. What matters is choosing hunts wisely, using all your applications, and, for nonresidents, lining up a guide when the species requires one.

How you get into the drawing

There’s nothing to buy ahead of time except a license and the application fee.

• Window: one application period a year, November 1 at 8 a.m. to December 15 at 5 p.m. Alaska time. You apply in late fall for hunts in the regulatory year that starts the next July 1. The current window, November 1 – December 15, 2026, is for 2027–28 hunts.
• License first: you need an Alaska hunting license to apply ($45 resident, $160 nonresident). Residents 17 and younger don’t need one. A license for the current year or the hunt year works.
• Application fees: $5 per application for moose, caribou, brown bear, black bear, elk, mountain goat and Dall sheep. $10 for bison and muskox ($20 for a bison party). Fees aren’t refunded, and applications are online only.
• Locking tags: nonresidents don’t buy the species locking tag to apply. You buy it before you hunt.
• No point-only option. There’s nothing to accumulate.

How the drawing works

Each hunt has its own random drawing. Here’s what you control:

• Up to six applications per species. That count includes party applications. Go over six for a species and ADF&G rejects all of them.
• Repeat entries: you can apply for the same hunt more than once, which gives you more chances in that hunt. A few hunts limit this, such as guided nonresidents on Kodiak brown bear.
• Parties: two hunters can apply together and share one draw number. If either is ineligible, the whole application is thrown out. Two nonresidents hunting with a resident relative can’t apply as a party.
• Results: posted the third Friday of February.

Nonresident limits

There’s no statewide nonresident quota. Instead, the Board of Game sets nonresident access hunt by hunt:

• Resident-only and nonresident-only hunts. The supplement lists who can apply. Some hunts are split into guided and unguided versions.
• Percentage caps on some sheep hunts. For Dall sheep drawing hunts such as the Tok Management Area and Delta Controlled Use Area, the Board has allocated about 10% of permits to nonresidents (20% in Unit 13D, per a 2016 Board summary). Check the current supplement for each hunt.
• Hunting with a relative. Kodiak brown bear hunts cap nonresidents guided by resident relatives at four per season and eight per regulatory year.

Guide requirements for nonresidents

Nonresidents who are U.S. citizens must hunt brown/grizzly bear, Dall sheep and mountain goat with an Alaska-licensed guide or a resident relative 19 or older within the second degree of kindred (parent, sibling, child, spouse, grandparent, grandchild, in-laws and step-relatives). Nonresident aliens need a guide for every big game species.

For a guided drawing hunt, you need a signed guide-client agreement before or at the time you apply, and your guide’s verification code goes on the application. Book the guide first, then apply. Drawing a permit doesn’t guarantee a guide.

Residents vs. nonresidents

2026	Resident	Nonresident
Hunting license (required to apply)	$45	$160
Application fee (most species)	$5	$5
Application fee (bison)	$10	$10
Points	None	None
Locking tag	Not required (except some brown bear)	Moose $800, caribou $650, sheep $850, goat $600, brown bear $1,000, bison $900, deer $300, elk $600
Guide required	No	Brown bear, sheep, goat
Nonresident quota	n/a	Hunt by hunt; about 10% on some sheep hunts
Tier I / Tier II	Eligible	Not eligible

Rules after you draw

There are no points to lose, but there are limits that work like waiting periods:

• One drawing permit per species per regulatory year.
• No back-to-back wins on the exact same hunt. You can’t be awarded the same drawing hunt two years in a row, unless permits went undersubscribed.
• Bison: a resident who wins a bison permit can’t apply for another for 10 years. A nonresident who wins can’t apply again.
• Kodiak: hunters drawn for a fall Kodiak bear hunt can’t draw a Kodiak permit the next spring.
• Report or sit out. If you don’t report on a permit, you can’t get permits the next year.
• Each species is separate. Moose, caribou, sheep, goat, bison, brown bear, black bear and elk each get their own six applications and their own one-permit limit.

Tier I, Tier II and registration permits

Tier II permits are subsistence hunts for Alaska residents only, used when there isn’t enough game for everyone. They’re not random. Applications are scored on five questions about your history with the game population and the cost of food and fuel where you live, up to 140 points, and permits go to the highest scores. Ties are broken at random. Tier II uses the same November–December window and February results.

Tier I and community subsistence hunts are also resident-only. The Unit 13 Nelchina caribou Tier I hunt and the Copper Basin community caribou hunt aren’t being held in 2026–27. For 2027–28, ADF&G announced in September 2026 that a Nelchina caribou Tier II hunt (TC566) may be offered; watch the upcoming subsistence supplement.

Registration permits aren’t a draw. They’re usually unlimited and issued online or in person during a set window, but the hunt can close early by emergency order once the harvest quota is reached. Many brown bear and some moose hunts work this way.

“Points to draw” without points

With no points, odds come down to permits divided by applicants, every year. There’s no creep, but popular hunts stay long shots forever.

Moose example (illustrative): a hunt offers 5 permits and draws 500 applications. Each entry has about a 1% chance. Apply once a year for 10 years and you have roughly a 1-in-10 chance of drawing at least once. Use all six moose applications across several similar hunts and your yearly odds rise.

Deer example (no draw): Alaska’s Sitka black-tailed deer hunts are general season hunts. You buy a license (and a nonresident deer tag) and go. No draw.

Strategy

• Use all six applications for each species you want. At $5 each, it’s cheap.
• Apply where demand is low. Remote, hard-to-reach hunts often draw fewer applicants.
• Don’t wait on a draw. Plan a general season moose or caribou hunt or a registration bear hunt while you apply.
• Nonresidents: guide first. For brown bear, sheep and goat, your guide often knows which draw hunts they hold permits for and helps you apply.
• Watch the budget. Fly-in costs dwarf tag fees. See discount guided hunts for deals.

Key numbers for 2026

Item	2026
Application window	Nov 1 – Dec 15, 2026, 5 p.m. AKST (for 2027–28 hunts)
Results	Third Friday of February
Points	None
Applications per species	Up to 6
Application fee	$5 ($10 bison and muskox)
Nonresident license	$160
Resident license	$45
Guide required (NR)	Brown bear, Dall sheep, mountain goat
Bison win lockout	10 years resident; permanent nonresident

FAQ

Does applying every year help? Only in that each year is another chance. There are no points, so last year’s application doesn’t improve this year’s odds.

Can I apply for the same hunt more than once? Yes, as long as your total for that species stays at six or fewer.

Is there a nonresident quota? Not statewide. Some hunts are resident-only, and the Board of Game has historically allocated nonresidents a small share (about 10%) of some sheep drawing permits. Check the current supplement for each hunt.

Do I need a guide to apply? For guided hunts of brown bear, sheep and goat, yes: the signed contract and guide code must be in place by the time you apply.

Can nonresidents apply for Tier II? No. Tier I and Tier II hunts are for Alaska residents only.

Related: Alaska Hunting Guide · How to apply for Alaska drawing permits · Nonresident guide requirement and tags · Preference points by state

Rules and fees are from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for the 2026 draw (2026–27 regulatory year where noted). Confirm in the current regulations before you apply.