Wyoming hunting license

How much is a Wyoming hunting license?

A Wyoming hunting license for game birds and small game costs $27.00 for residents and $74.00 for nonresidents for 12 months, as listed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for the current license year. Unlike most states, Wyoming has no general hunting license. Each species, from pheasant to elk, carries its own license and its own price.

On top of the species license, most hunters must also buy a Conservation Stamp for $21.50. Think of it as the entry fee that sits beside whatever species licenses you carry. The one exception is the daily bird and small game license, whose holders do not need the stamp.

Here is how the pieces add up. A resident deer hunter pays $42 for the deer license and $21.50 for the stamp, $63.50 in all. A resident who wants elk instead pays $57 plus the stamp, or $78.50. A nonresident deer hunter who applies through the draw pays the $15 application fee, $374 for the license and $21.50 for the stamp, which comes to $410.50 before any other species.

Big game is priced separately. A resident pays $42 for deer, $57 for elk and $37 for antelope. Nonresidents pay $374 for deer, $326 for antelope and $692 for elk (the nonresident elk license includes fishing privileges), and each draw application adds a fee. The table below lays out the main options; confirm current amounts on the Wyoming Game and Fish license fee list before you pay.

Who needs hunter education for a Wyoming hunting license?

Anyone born on or after January 1, 1966 must complete hunter education before hunting with a firearm in Wyoming. The one exception written into state law is hunting on land owned by your own family. Interestingly, you do not need to show a hunter-ed card to buy the license itself, but you must have it while hunting.

You can take a traditional in-person class, or study online and then attend a required in-person completion class that runs four to six hours. The online route is open to students 10 and older. Course listings are on the Wyoming hunter education page.

Not ready for the course yet? The Hunter Education Temporary Exception is a free online authorization good for one year. You hunt alongside a mentor who is at least 18, holds a valid license and has completed hunter education, and a mentee must be at least 12 to hunt big game. Veterans and peace officers can apply for an exemption; details are on the hunter education exemption page.

Where do you buy a hunting license in Wyoming?

Buy online through the Game and Fish website, where you will need to set up an account first. License selling agents across the state, the regional offices and the Cheyenne headquarters also sell licenses in person. For help, call the department at (307) 777-4600.

Because Wyoming licenses are species by species, plan your shopping list before you check out. A bird hunter needs the bird and small game license plus the stamp. A deer or elk hunter needs that big game license, often won in a draw, plus the stamp.

1. If you were born on or after Jan. 1, 1966, finish hunter education or get the free one-year Temporary Exception.
2. Decide which species you will hunt, and check whether its license is a draw or sold over the counter.
3. Buy the species license and the $21.50 Conservation Stamp on the Wyoming Game and Fish licenses site, from an agent or at a regional office.
4. Carry your license and stamp in the field, and keep the carcass coupon ready for any big game animal.

Buy a Wyoming hunting license on the official site

How do big game licenses and draws work in Wyoming?

Every big game species in Wyoming has its own license: deer, elk, antelope, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, bison and turkey. Many of these are limited-quota licenses awarded through a draw, while some hunts are general licenses. The license carries the carcass coupon you use to tag your animal.

Each big game license includes a carcass coupon. As soon as you take an animal, detach the coupon, sign and date it, and attach it to the carcass.

The application windows published by Game and Fish open January 2. Nonresident elk closes February 2. Resident elk, deer and antelope stay open until June 1. Moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat close April 30, and bison runs from March 2 to April 30. Application fees are $15 for nonresidents and $5 for residents. The department's application dates page posts each year's exact windows, so check it before you apply.

Do kids need a Wyoming hunting license?

Kids under 14 can hunt game birds without a license as long as they are with a mentor. Big game is different: youth big game licenses cover ages 11 (if turning 12 that year) through 17, and anyone under 14 must hunt with a qualified adult.

Youth big game licenses are a real bargain. A resident youth deer license is $15 and a resident youth elk license is $25. Nonresident youth can buy a deer license for $110, a fraction of the adult nonresident price. Young hunters still need hunter education or the Temporary Exception to hunt with a firearm, unless they are on family land.

For a young bird hunter who has turned 14, the daily license is an easy way to try a hunt: it costs $9 for residents and needs no Conservation Stamp. Families planning a first big game trip should line up the mentor and the hunter education plan well before opening day.

What does a nonresident Wyoming hunting license cost?

Nonresidents pay $74.00 for the game bird and small game license for 12 months, plus the $21.50 Conservation Stamp. If you only need a day or two, the daily bird and small game license is $22.00, and daily license holders skip the stamp.

Big game is where nonresidents pay the most and plan the furthest ahead. Deer is $374, antelope $326 and elk $692, and most of those licenses are drawn, with a $15 application fee. Nonresident elk applications close early in the year (February 2 in the published window), well before the resident deadline, so out-of-state elk hunters should apply first.

Coming from the east? South Dakota sells its own nonresident small game license; see the South Dakota hunting license guide.

Other rules for hunting in Wyoming

A handful of Wyoming rules differ from what hunters see elsewhere. Here are the ones to know, and you can compare rules across the West with our hunting license by state guide or the neighboring Colorado hunting license page.

• License length: bird and small game licenses and the Conservation Stamp are sold as 12-month licenses. Big game license limits are counted by calendar year.
• Hunter orange: big and trophy game hunters must wear at least one fluorescent orange or pink outer garment, such as a hat, vest, jacket or shirt. Orange or pink camo counts. Archers hunting archery-only seasons are exempt.
• Landowners: owning land does not exempt you from buying a license. Owners of 160 or more contiguous acres used by the species can get landowner antelope, deer, elk or turkey licenses at the same fee, outside the regular draw.
• Lifetime licenses: residents of 10 or more continuous years can buy a lifetime game bird and small game license for $311, or $496.50 with the Conservation Stamp. A lifetime archery license is $208, and a lifetime Conservation Stamp is $185.50.
• Seniors and veterans: residents 65 and older with 30 years of residency get free bird, small game and fishing licenses through the Pioneer program. Resident veterans rated 100% disabled and Purple Heart recipients can receive free licenses.