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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 April 7; results post in late May, a secondary draw closes June 30, and whatever is left goes on sale over the counter on August 4. CPW Primary Draw
The pieces of the draw
Four things sit under every Colorado draw application, and getting any one wrong voids it:
- A hunt code — a single string that encodes species, unit, season, and license type (for example the second-rifle bull-elk code for a particular unit). You apply for specific hunt codes in order of preference.
- Preference points — you earn one point each year you apply and don't draw your first choice. Licenses go to the highest-point applicants first, so a hard-to-draw unit can take years of points. How points work in full.
- A qualifying license — you must hold one (usually the annual small-game license) to even apply. It is a real added cost; the fee tables spell it out.
- The application fee — a non-refundable processing fee per species application ($8.93 resident, $11.49 non-resident). CPW Primary Draw
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:
- Primary draw — apply March 1 to April 7, 2026; results post late May. This is where the good limited tags are awarded. CPW Primary Draw
- Secondary draw — a real second draw (not a first-come sale) for elk, deer, pronghorn and bear licenses left after the primary, closing June 30, 2026 at 8 p.m. MT. Open to everyone whether or not you applied in the primary; one application per species, up to four choices, no groups. Preference points are not used or awarded here, and youth aged 12–17 get priority for every license. CPW Secondary Draw
- Leftover & over-the-counter — remaining limited licenses go on sale August 4, 2026 at 9 a.m. MDT, the same day OTC tags go on sale. What stays over-the-counter. CPW · leftover licenses
Everything in the Draw & Licenses section
- Draw application deadlines
The full deadline calendar — primary, secondary, and leftover.
- How preference points work
How points accumulate, and the res vs non-res pools.
- Over-the-counter (OTC) elk tags
Which elk tags you can still buy without the draw — and what changed.
- What a Colorado hunting license costs
Resident and non-resident fee tables for every species.
- Reading CPW draw odds
How to read CPW's own draw statistics before you apply.
- Youth hunting in Colorado
Youth seasons, discounted licenses, and mentor rules.
- Hunter education requirements
The hunter-education card requirement and how to get it.
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, Rocky Mountain sheep, goat) charge $50 resident / $100 non-resident for a point, which you opt into on the application. There is also a hybrid draw inside the primary — a random shot at the units that took 10+ points last year, open to applicants holding at least five. 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, closing June 30, 2026 at 8 p.m. Mountain time.
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, which closes June 30, 2026 at 8 p.m. Mountain time, for licenses left after the primary — or buy an over-the-counter tag when leftover and OTC sales open on August 4, 2026 at 9 a.m. MDT. You just lose access to the best limited tags, which are awarded in the primary draw.