The big (game) day is almost here! Hunters mark their calendars for the first Tuesday in August each year to take a shot at any big game hunting licenses remaining after the primary and secondary draws. Remaining licenses for 2022 are placed on the leftover list and will become available for purchase on August 2 at 9am Mountain Time. Over-the-counter licenses for elk, bear, archery pronghorn, and whitetail deer will go on sale at the same time.
Licenses go on sale online, over the phone, and in person at CPW offices and sales locations all at once. If you’re on a computer or mobile device at home, you have the same shot as someone first in line at a sales location. Limited licenses are first come first served and this is the first opportunity to get a big game hunting license outside of the draw process.
Licenses that will become available include:
- Limited licenses leftover after the primary and secondary draws for elk, deer, pronghorn and bear
- Limited elk, deer, pronghorn, and bear licenses that someone drew but did not pay for during the secondary draw and took fewer than five resident preference points
- Limited licenses that were returned for refund/preference point restoration since the opening of the secondary draw but prior to July 25 and took fewer than five resident preference points to draw
- Over-the-counter (OTC) licenses for elk, archery pronghorn, whitetail deer, and bear
Preparing for sales day
CPW locations and sales agents will be very busy that morning, so try to get prepared ahead of time.
Log into the online system a few days prior to sales day to ensure your information, such as email and mailing address, is up-to-date. If you have any problems getting into your account, contact CPW ahead of time for assistance.
Have your hunt codes and credit/debit card number ready. Check the leftover list, write down all hunt codes you are interested in, and list them with your most coveted licenses first.
If you call the CPW sales line for your purchase, be prepared for extended wait times and have all of your information – including hunt codes – ready. The sales line representatives will not be able to look up hunt codes for you.
When you enter a hunt code and confirm it, that hunt code is “held” for you in the cart for 15 minutes or until you process the transaction, whichever comes first. If the time is allowed to expire, another customer can hold/purchase that hunt code.
Keep the inventory hold system in mind when attempting to purchase licenses from multiple species. Licenses are held in your cart for 15 minutes. Be sure to pay within that timeframe or licenses become available for someone else.
CPW’s licensing vendor Aspira utilizes a virtual queuing program, called Queue-It, to mitigate the load on the system. While products go on sale at 9 a.m., customers who are on the site and logged in up to an hour prior will be placed in the queue. Do not go further than the residency page until 9 a.m. or you will be moved to the back of the queue.
You can only purchase for one person at a time, so it may be necessary to work on multiple devices if you are purchasing for multiple people like your children or spouse.
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