The Colorado Hunting Guide

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How the Colorado draw works

Colorado awards its limited hunting licenses through an annual draw: you apply in the spring for a specific hunt code, and licenses go first to the applicants with the most preference points. The primary draw application window opens March 1 and closes in early April; results post in late May, a secondary draw follows in late June, and whatever is left goes on sale over the counter in August. CPW Primary Draw

The pieces of the draw

Four things sit under every Colorado draw application, and getting any one wrong voids it:

Primary draw, secondary draw, leftover

The season runs on a fixed cadence. If you don't draw in the primary, you get two more shots at a tag:

Everything in the Draw & Licenses section

Preference points, in one paragraph

You earn a preference point for a species when you apply correctly and miss your first-choice hunt code — or when you apply for a point on purpose using the point-only code P-999-99-P. Points accumulate until you draw a first choice, then reset. Residents and non-residents draw against separate caps, so the two groups effectively build points in separate pools. Elk, deer, pronghorn and bear have no point fee; the once-in-a-lifetime species (moose, sheep, goat) charge $50 resident / $100 non-resident to hold a point. CPW Primary Draw The preference-points page works through the details.

Common questions

When is the Colorado draw application deadline for 2026?

The 2026 primary draw closes April 7, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. Mountain time. The application window opened March 1. A secondary draw for leftover licenses follows in late June.

Do I need preference points to hunt elk in Colorado?

Not for over-the-counter elk tags — those need no points and no draw. You need points to draw the limited hunt codes (specific units and seasons), and hard-to-draw units can require many years of points. See OTC tags and preference points.

What happens if I miss the draw deadline?

You can still apply in the secondary draw in late June for licenses left after the primary, or buy an over-the-counter tag when leftover and OTC sales open in early August. You just lose access to the best limited tags, which are awarded in the primary draw.

Primary sources

Never miss a deadline

The Colorado draw application closes in early April, and season dates shift a little each year. Leave your email and we'll send one short reminder before the draw deadline and a note whenever the season dates change — nothing else.