Colorado Hunting License 2026-27: Costs & Rules

Colorado is not a state where one license covers everything. Hunters buy a base license to satisfy the requirement, then add species licenses, stamps and applications on top of it. Knowing which fee applies to which animal - and which costs are non-refundable - keeps the draw process from becoming an expensive surprise.

The fees below are the Colorado Parks and Wildlife 2026 resident and nonresident rates. Colorado's license year runs April 1 through March 31, and the draw for deer, elk, pronghorn, bear, moose, sheep and goat opens in the spring and closes in early April.

Colorado 2026-27 License and Tag Costs

Two of those lines are the ones that trip up first-time applicants. The annual small game license is a qualifying license - it is what makes a hunter eligible to apply for and hold big game licenses - and it is also the cheapest way for a resident to get legal for small game, furbearers and turkeys. The application fee, meanwhile, is charged per species every time you apply, and it is not refunded whether you draw or not.

The Habitat Stamp is added automatically to the first hunting or fishing license a Colorado hunter buys each year and applies to ages 18 through 64. Youth and hunters 65 and older are exempt. It is printed on the license with an "H" in the corner, and it funds habitat work on public and private land.

Draw Licenses vs. Over-the-Counter

Most Colorado deer, elk and pronghorn hunting happens on limited licenses issued through the draw. Application deadlines fall in the spring, results post in late May, and the leftover lists - the licenses nobody claimed - go on sale in early August on a first-come, first-served basis.

Elk is the exception that matters most for hunters who plan late. Colorado offers over-the-counter bull elk licenses in several units and seasons, which means a hunter can decide in August, buy a tag and go. OTC licenses are not a shortcut to world-class bulls, but they are the reason Colorado is the default western elk trip for hunters without five years of preference points. We covered how the draw and preference points work in detail in our Colorado big game draw guide.

Preference points are cheap but not free. For the species that use a point system, buying a point each year is what makes a premium unit reachable eventually. Points are purchased without applying for a license, so a hunter who cannot hunt this fall can still stay in line for the future.

Requirements Before You Buy

• Hunter education: Colorado requires a hunter education card for hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1949. CPW accepts its own online course plus a field day, and other states' cards are generally honored.
• Qualifying license: to apply for or buy a big game license, a hunter must first hold a qualifying license such as annual small game.
• Habitat Stamp: automatically added to the first license purchase for hunters 18-64.
• Federal and state stamps: waterfowl hunters need a federal duck stamp plus HIP registration, and Colorado adds its own migratory bird requirements.
• CWD rules: chronic wasting disease management affects where you may transport carcasses from certain hunt codes, so check the current regulations for your unit before the drive home.

Where and How to Buy

Licenses are sold through CPWShop.com, CPW regional offices and authorized license agents across the state. Resident fishing, small game and combination licenses can also be carried in the myColorado app on a phone, which is convenient but worth double-checking against the printed or digital license before a warden check.

Two practical notes. First, licenses are species- and unit-specific in ways that matter - a deer tag for one unit is not valid in another - so read the license, not just the receipt. Second, keep proof of your hunter education card with you; Colorado, like most western states, can ask for it in the field.

If you are comparing Colorado against your home state's fees and rules, our regs and licenses section collects the state-by-state guidance, including license guides for Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Georgia and Florida.

Bottom Line

Budget for the tag, not the license. A nonresident elk tag runs $845.16 and a nonresident deer tag $506.92, before application fees and the $12.76 Habitat Stamp. Residents pay $38.49 for a qualifying small game license and $51.25 to $70.40 for deer and elk tags, which is why Colorado stays popular close to home. Buy the qualifying license early, apply before the spring deadline, and keep the Habitat Stamp and hunter education card in order before opening day.