2025 Utah Application Details

If you’re planning to hunt Utah this year, get the need-to-know details from Huntin’ Fool.

Cost Overview

Hunting license and species costs for tags usually include:

• Application fee.
• Hunting license fee to apply (usually need a qualifying license before you can apply).
• Species fee (This is what you pay for the animal you want to hunt. Some you pay upfront at application, some you pay for once you get the tag.).
• Points-only fee (fees for people just buying points and not actually applying for a hunt).

Application Dates

The Utah big game application period begins in late March and ends in late April, with draw results available by the end of May.

Key 2025 Changes

• Utah increased all non-resident license and permit fees beginning in 2024 and added a 2.2% processing fee to all applications and licenses beginning this year.
• Blaze orange requirements have changed and now only require one item of orange clothing during any legal weapon (rifle) hunts. Valid items include a hat, shirt, jacket, coat, vest, or sweater.
• Applicants may no longer apply for both the Dedicated Hunter Program and the General Season deer draw. Applicants must apply for only one drawing and may not build preference points for both in the same year.
• Restricted weapon general deer hunts will take place on the Beaver/West, Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache, and Thousand Lake units (see new weapon restriction definitions).
• Thousand Lakes deer was moved from the general season back into the limited-entry pool.
• Buck/doe ratios were dropped to 15-17/100 from 18-20/100 in all but 11 general season units, most of which are primarily private land and have limited access.
• Boundary changes were implemented to the former Beaver, Oquirrh/Stansbury, West Desert/West, and West Desert/Tintic general deer units.
• San Juan Mancos Mesa was added as a new deer HAMSS hunt in November.
• Henry Mountains/Little Rockies, La Sal Castle Valley, and La Sal/Moab Valley have all been added as limited-entry any weapon November hunts.
• Cache, South will not have an early any weapon elk tag for non-residents.
• Panguitch Lake will have an early rifle any weapon elk tag.
• Morgan-South Rich will not have a non-resident moose tag.
• Nebo Archery, Uintas East, and Uintas Central will not have any non-resident mountain goat tags.
• Wasatch, Timpanogos will have a non-resident mountain goat tag.
• The Escalante Desert bighorn sheep unit was split this year into East and West units. The Escalante, East will have a non-resident tag, but the West will not.
• The early Box Elder Newfoundland California bighorn sheep hunt will not have a non-resident tag.
• The Nine Mile, Gray Canyon Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep unit will have a tag.
• Bison hunts have been whittled down to only three draw hunts this year with the elimination of all but one Book Cliffs/Little Creek any bison hunt, two Henry Mountains any-bison hunts, and one Henry Mountains cow bison hunt.

Utah Draw Process Basics

Utah has two separate and distinct drawings for mule deer: limited-entry and general. The limited-entry hunts are managed for more mature bucks overall, but are also typically more difficult to draw. The general hunts are available in a different group of units and generally provide for more draw opportunities.

Utah uses a bonus point system, but it’s possible to draw a premium big game tag in Utah with no points if you get lucky enough in the random portion of the drawing.

Hunters may apply for tags on the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources website.

Point System

• For limited entry elk, deer, antelope, and once-in-a-lifetime (OIL) moose, sheep, and goats, Utah uses a traditional bonus point system.
  • Bonus points are like raffle tickets: the more you have, the more “chances” you have in the draw.
  • You get one chance for your current application, and then one additional chance for every bonus point you have (so with three points, you’d get four chances).
  • If you apply for a tag and are unsuccessful, you will be awarded a bonus point for that species that will apply to next year’s application.
  • Or, you can also choose to apply for a bonus point only each year to accumulate bonus points.
  • If you draw your first choice for a limited entry tag, your bonus points are purged back to zero.
• For general deer tags, Utah uses a traditional preference point system.
  • Preference points are like a place in line: first in, first out. The applicants with the most preference points draw before those with fewer.
  • You can apply for preference points only and accumulate general deer preference points.
  • If you draw your first through fifth choice for general deer, your preference points are purged back to zero.

Tag Allocation

• Non-residents are issued a maximum of 10% of the total tags for a given hunt code.
• For limited-entry and OIL tags, 50% of the total number of tags for that hunt will be awarded to the applicants with the most bonus points.
• The remaining 50% of tags for any given hunt code will be issued in the random draw.
• If the resident or non-resident total quota is an odd number, the extra tag will be issued in the bonus point draw.
• But if there is only one tag available in total, it will be issued in the random draw.
• 100% of the general deer tags per hunt code are issued to the applicants with the most preference points.
• 20% of the total general deer buck tags are allocated to the youth drawing.
• You can apply for both a limited-entry and a General Deer tag, but if you draw a limited-entry deer tag, your General Deer tag application will not be considered (but you will still get a preference point).
• You can only hold one limited-entry or OIL tag per year. The draw order is limited-entry deer, elk, antelope, OIL species (sheep, moose, mountain goat, bison), youth general deer, and then general deer.

Utah-Specific Considerations

1. For limited-entry hunts, Utah considers everyone’s first choice before anyone’s second choice is looked at. Because of the high demand, this means only your first choice is truly relevant to your application.
2. For elk, Utah does have some general season rifle hunts/units that are obtained on a first-come, first-served basis during a special period in July. Most of these hunts have a capped number of tags and will typically sell out in a matter of hours.
3. If you are an archery elk hunter, there are early-season spike hunt tags available in limited-entry units. These are unlimited and enable you to hunt spike elk in some of the best trophy elk units in the country.
4. Point creep is a problem in Utah—each year these hunts get harder and harder to draw, especially as a non-resident. If you only apply for the highest-demand hunts, you can go a lifetime without ever drawing. At least consider the middle tier demand hunts as part of your long-term Utah strategy.

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