How preference points work

On this page: Earning a point · What points bought in 2026 · Resident vs non-resident · 2027 points · Point fees · Hybrid draw · Questions

Already holding points? The draw lookup shows what exactly your points drew on every 2026 elk, deer and pronghorn hunt code, from CPW's 2026 recaps.

How you earn a point

Two ways, both inside the primary draw application window:

• Apply and miss. If you apply for a species and don't draw your first-choice hunt code, CPW credits you one preference point for that species. Points accumulate year over year until you draw a first choice, at which point they reset for that species.
• Apply for a point only. You don't have to apply for an actual hunt code to bank a point: the point-only code P-999-99-P buys a preference point directly, with no chance (and no intent) of drawing a license that year. Hunters saving up for a hard-to-draw unit use this every year they don't plan to hunt that species. Putting it first still leaves your second, third and fourth choices free for real hunt codes.

Points can lapse. If you go a full 10-year period without applying for a species and without buying a license for it, CPW voids your points for that species. One application in that stretch, even for the point-only code, keeps them alive. CPW 2026 Big Game Brochure, p. 9

Higher point totals draw first. For units where demand far exceeds the license quota, the number of points needed to draw can run into double digits, which is why point strategy is a multi-year plan, not a one-season decision. CPW Primary Draw

What points bought in the 2026 draw

Five real hunt codes from CPW's 2026 primary draw recaps, read at build time. Each is shown with its full list of valid GMUs from the 2026 Big Game Brochure; a code that covers several units has one set of numbers for all of them. "Drew at" is the lowest point level that drew the code as a first choice, and how many applicants at that level got a license. Reading CPW draw odds walks through one row and adds an example that needs no points at all.

Two things these rows show. First, the drawn-out level is a cutoff, not a promise: at that level only some applicants drew. Second, one year is one data point. When more hunters bank points for a code than it has licenses, the level it takes to draw tends to rise year over year (point creep), and a single recap cannot show that trend. Compare the same code across CPW's earlier recaps before you commit years to it. CPW · Elk statistics

Resident vs non-resident: one draw, two cutoffs

CPW 2026 Big Game Brochure, p. 4

The 2026 recaps show what the cap does in practice. In the five codes above, the drawn-out levels were E-M-054-O1-R (elk, GMU 54): residents 0, non-residents 3; D-M-079-O3-R (deer, GMUs 79, 791): residents 4, non-residents 9; E-M-076-O1-R (elk, GMU 76): residents 9, non-residents 21; E-M-061-O1-R (elk, GMU 61): residents 15, non-residents 27; A-M-201-O1-R (pronghorn, GMUs 2, 201): residents 25, non-residents 26. In every one, non-resident adults needed more points than resident adults. Your residency's line is the only one that applies to you. 2026 draw (CPW 2026 draw recap)

Points and the 2027 draw

Points carry forward, so a point earned in the 2026 draw counts on your 2027 application. What is not known yet is when that application window opens: CPW has not published 2027 application dates as of October 17, 2026, when this site last checked. For reference only, the 2026 window ran March 1, 2026 to April 7, 2026, 8 p.m. MT, and CPW confirmed that calendar for 2026 only. The same window is the only time to buy a 2027 point with the point-only code. The deadline calendar will not show a 2027 date before CPW publishes one. CPW Primary Draw

Point fees: most species are free

Elk, deer, pronghorn and bear cost nothing extra to hold a point; you pay only the per-species application fee (see the fee tables). The once-in-a-lifetime species (moose, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goat) charge $50 resident / $100 non-resident for the point itself. That fee is a choice you make on the application, not an automatic charge: decline it and you are charged nothing and receive no point. Take it and CPW bills the card on file when draw results post, either because you applied for the point-only code as your first choice, or because you missed your first choice. It is waived for youth and for resident lifetime license holders. CPW Primary Draw

Weighted points are a lottery, not a ladder

Those same three species run a second layer on top of ordinary points, and it is routinely described backwards. You build regular preference points first; once you hold three and miss your first choice again, further misses earn weighted points. A weighted point is not a place in a queue. CPW converts your application into a fresh random number and divides it by your weighted points plus one, then hands out licenses from the lowest number upward. More points shrink your number and genuinely improve your odds every year, but a first-year applicant can still beat someone sitting on ten. Think extra lottery tickets, not seniority. Desert bighorn sheep is the exception inside the exception: it awards no preference points at all. CPW Primary Draw

The hybrid draw: the back door into premier units

Points are not the only way into the hardest units, which matters if you have been told a marquee unit is a fifteen-year wait. Inside the primary draw CPW runs a hybrid draw: a purely random draw for up to 20% of the licenses in hunt codes that have taken 10 or more resident preference points to draw and that have at least five licenses this year. The brochure measures those 10 points as a rolling three-year average of past draws, with a one-year lag; CPW's Primary Draw page shortens that to "the previous primary draw", so check the brochure's hybrid list for your code rather than last year's number alone. Elk, deer, pronghorn and bear only. You need at least five preference points, you must apply as an individual rather than a group, and a hybrid code has to be your first choice; non-resident caps still apply. The cost of winning is steep: draw a hybrid license and you forfeit every preference point you hold for that species. Miss, and you earn a point like anyone else. CPW Primary Draw CPW 2026 Big Game Brochure, p. 19 The hybrid draw runs through the 2027 draw: from 2028, half of each hunt code's licenses go by a bonus draw instead.

Points don't guarantee anything by themselves

A point only matters at the moment of the draw. It doesn't reserve a tag or carry any value outside CPW's system. It also doesn't help in the secondary draw or leftover/OTC sales, which run outside the point system entirely (see the full deadline calendar). Points are awarded per species, not per unit, sex, season or method, and a point you earn this spring is spendable on next spring's application, not this one.

One piece of that is worth knowing before you rank your choices: only your first choice touches the point system. Second, third and fourth choices neither spend points nor earn them, so drawing a second choice gets you a tag this year and leaves your points intact for next year. Points are forfeited only when you successfully draw your first choice. CPW Primary Draw If you're deciding whether a unit is worth years of points, read CPW's own draw statistics before you commit a season to the wait.

Common questions

How do you get a preference point in Colorado without hunting?

Apply during the primary draw window using the point-only code P-999-99-P. It banks a preference point for that species without entering you in the draw for an actual hunt code.

Do preference points expire in Colorado?

Yes, if you stop applying. Points carry forward year to year and reset when you draw a first-choice hunt code for that species, but CPW voids them if you go a 10-year period without applying for that species and without buying a license for it. One application in that stretch, even for the point-only code, keeps them.

Is there a fee to hold a preference point in Colorado?

Not for elk, deer, pronghorn, or bear; you pay only the application fee. Moose, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, and mountain goat charge $50 (resident) or $100 (non-resident) for the point, and you choose on the application whether to take it: decline and you're charged nothing but receive no point. If you take it, CPW charges the card on file when results post. The fee is waived for youth and resident lifetime license holders.

What are weighted preference points in Colorado?

An extra layer used only for moose, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goat. After you hold three regular points, further misses earn weighted points. They are not a queue position. CPW re-randomises your application number and divides it by your weighted points plus one, awarding licenses from the lowest number up. More points mean better odds, never a guaranteed turn.

What is the Colorado hybrid draw?

A random draw run inside the primary draw for a small share of licenses in the hardest hunt codes: those that have taken 10 or more resident preference points to draw (the brochure measures this as a rolling three-year average) and have at least five licenses this year, for elk, deer, pronghorn and bear. Up to 20% of those licenses go by random draw. You need at least five points, must apply individually, and must list a hybrid code first. Drawing one forfeits all your preference points for that species. It runs through the 2027 draw; from 2028 a 50/50 preference and bonus draw, already adopted by CPW, replaces it.

Can I submit a separate application just for a preference point?

No, not alongside a hunt-code application for the same species in the same primary draw. CPW disqualifies both applications. Use one application and put the point-only code P-999-99-P as your first choice; your second through fourth choices can still be real hunt codes.

Do residents and non-residents compete for the same licenses?

In the same draw, but not on equal terms. On first choices, non-residents can win only up to 20% of a hunt code's licenses where residents needed six or more points, and up to 25% elsewhere, for elk, deer, pronghorn and bear. Once that share fills, non-residents are skipped. At second choice and later, residents get no preference. From the 2028 draw the share becomes a flat 25% for every hunt code.

Do non-residents need more preference points than residents in Colorado?

Often, because the non-resident cap fills before the resident line runs out. In the 2026 draw (CPW 2026 draw recap), the drawn-out levels for adults were E-M-054-O1-R (GMU 54) 0 resident vs 3 non-resident; D-M-079-O3-R (GMUs 79, 791) 4 resident vs 9 non-resident; E-M-076-O1-R (GMU 76) 9 resident vs 21 non-resident; E-M-061-O1-R (GMU 61) 15 resident vs 27 non-resident; A-M-201-O1-R (GMUs 2, 201) 25 resident vs 26 non-resident. Check your own hunt code's line for your residency.

When can I apply for a 2027 Colorado preference point?

During the 2027 primary draw application window, on the same single application as any hunt codes for that species. CPW has not published 2027 application dates as of October 17, 2026, when this site last checked. The 2026 window ran March 1, 2026 to April 7, 2026, and CPW confirmed that calendar for 2026 only, so do not plan 2027 around it.