Montana · Deadlines
Montana application deadlines
Every date below was read off a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks page or booklet on the verification date, and each row says which one. Where the department is vague, contradicts itself, or has not published a date at all, this page says so rather than filling the gap.
Big game application windows
The summary page and the year-stamped booklets carry these rows independently, and they agree on every application date.
| Application | Opens | Closes | Drawing results | Licence results and refunds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresident combination licences Big Game, Elk, Deer, Landowner-Sponsored Deer, Come Home to Hunt | Mar 1 | Apr 1 | Mid-April | Early May |
| Deer and elk permits resident and nonresident | Mar 1 | Apr 1 | Mid-April | Early May |
| Deer B and Elk B licences antlerless; resident and nonresident | Mar 1 | Jun 1 | Mid-June | End of Aug. |
| Antelope and Antelope B resident and nonresident | Mar 1 | Jun 1 | Early Aug. | Early Sep. |
| Antelope archery 900 and 399 series first and only choice | Mar 1 | Jun 1 | Mid-June | End of Aug. |
| Moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, bison resident and nonresident | Mar 1 | May 1 | Mid-May | not stated |
| SuperTag chances $5 each, unlimited; all eight species and mountain lion | not stated | Jun 30 | see conflict below | NA |
Applications, drawings and bonus points · 2026 deer, elk and antelope booklet · 2026 moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet.
Montana publishes no firm results date for any drawing
This is the single most important thing to understand about the Montana calendar, and it is the department's own position rather than our reading of it. Every drawing date FWP publishes is a window — Mid-April, Mid-June, Early Aug., Mid-May — on both the web page and inside the booklets. The moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet prints Dates are approximate directly above its own results table.
So there is no Montana equivalent of a results day. Anyone publishing one has either guessed from last year's actual posting date or made it up. We are not going to do either. FWP directs applicants to check results through their own account rather than announcing a date, and that is the honest answer to when are Montana draw results posted: the department does not say.
There is no modify or withdraw period
Several western states let you change or pull an application after submitting it. Montana does not. The deer, elk and antelope booklet and the moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet both state the rule in the same words, citing ARM 12.3.601: all licence purchases and applications are final and cannot be changed or withdrawn.
The practical consequence is that the application deadline is also the last moment any decision can be revised — species, district, party, and the bonus or preference point election all lock at submission, not at the deadline.
Where Montana FWP contradicts itself
Four places where two department sources disagree. Both readings are printed. We are not picking a winner in any of them.
- Unlimited bighorn sheep — over the counter, or notThe summary page says these licences “may be available from License Providers, including FWP Online Licensing System, or the hunter has the option of applying by the May 1 deadline through the drawing process.” The 2026 moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet and the regulations index both say the opposite, as a highlighted change: unlimited bighorn sheep licences “will no longer be available over the counter. All unlimited applications must be submitted by May 1.”
- MST, or Montana local timeThe summary page labels every opening and closing time MST. The deer/elk booklet and the moose/sheep/goat/bison booklet both describe the same two times — approximately 5 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. — as “Montana local time,” and as the hours the online licensing system runs every day rather than as deadline-specific cut-offs. The 1 April, 1 May and 1 June deadlines all fall while Montana is on daylight time. FWP never reconciles the two labels.
- When SuperTag results come outThe deer, elk and antelope booklet says “After July 8.” The moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet and the summary page both say “Early July.” Same department, same cycle, two answers.
- The nonresident hound deadlineThe summary page prints “Application Deadline: TBD” for the mountain lion hound licence. The 2026 mountain lion booklet gives it firmly: applications available from 1 July 2026, deadline 1 August 2026, drawing in the first week of August. The booklet date had already passed when this page was verified, and the web page still read TBD.
Mountain lion and hound licences
On the same department page, and worth separating out because two of the three rows are where its gaps show.
| Application | Opens | Closes | Drawing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresident hound licence — black bear | Mar 1, 2026 | Apr 1, 2026 | not stated |
| Nonresident hound licence — mountain lion | Jul 1, 2026 | Aug 1, 2026 | first week of August |
| Mountain lion — limited licence | Jun 30 | Jul 22 | Mid-August |
Applications, drawings and bonus points · 2026 mountain lion booklet.
Two point systems, two different windows
Montana runs bonus points and preference points side by side. They are not variations of one idea — they apply to different draws, cost different amounts, and close on different dates.
Bonus points — every drawn species, both residencies
Bonus points are squared before the draw and added to the current application, so three points give ten chances rather than four. The department's own worked example is ten points producing 101 chances. They apply to first-choice drawings only, and they are lost when you draw that first choice.
There are two ways to buy one, and they are mutually exclusive within a species. You may buy one at the time of application. If you apply and decline it then, the department states you may not buy that same one later in the year — the July to September window is only open for licence types you did not apply for. Standalone purchase runs 1 July to 30 September, in both the bonus points FAQ and the deer, elk and antelope booklet.
| Bonus point | Fee |
|---|---|
| With an application — resident, per licence or permit type | $2 |
| With an application — nonresident, per licence or permit type | $20 |
| Standalone, resident, per species | $15 |
| Standalone, nonresident, per species | $25 |
| Standalone, nonresident — moose, sheep, goat | $75 |
Deer, elk and antelope booklet, p. 17 · bonus points FAQ.
Preference points — nonresident combination licences only
Preference points do not enter any other draw. Seventy-five per cent of nonresident combination licences go to applicants in order of points held; the remaining twenty-five per cent go by random draw among applicants holding none. The department says plainly that whether zero points beats holding points in a given year depends on how many people bought them, and tells applicants to read prior years' statistics rather than assume.
A point costs $100 and nobody may hold more than three. Applicants buy at the time of application; those not applying for a combination licence may buy one standalone between 1 July and 31 December. Accumulated points are lost on drawing a combination licence, or on failing to apply in consecutive years. Clients of a licensed Montana outfitter may buy a second $100 point at application, valid only for hunting with an outfitter.
Bonus and preference points page · deer, elk and antelope booklet, p. 17.
Landowner preference has its own deadlines
Montana sets aside up to fifteen per cent of final quotas for landowner preference in the deer permit, elk permit, Deer B, Elk B, antelope, Antelope B and nonresident Big Game and Elk combination drawings. Both resident and nonresident landowners can qualify.
The application itself follows the normal deadline, but a separate preference form has to be mailed in, and the department states the form must be received — not postmarked — by 1 April for deer and elk permits and for nonresident Big Game and Elk combination licences, and by 1 June for Elk B, Deer B, antelope and Antelope B. Acreage thresholds are 160 acres within the hunting district for deer, Deer B and antelope, and 640 contiguous acres used by elk, as documented by the department, for elk.
After the drawing
Four deadline classes that sit after the draw rather than before it. Unlike the drawing dates, the department stamps each of these with a year.
- Surplus list sign-up — 15 June to 15 July 2026Deer permits, elk permits, Deer B and Elk B licences left over after the draw. You sign up during the window, the list is randomised, and hunters are contacted by email with a purchase window the department describes as typically five days. The table is headed 2026 Surplus Schedule, and the department states the dates depend on when each drawing is held and are subject to change from year to year. Surplus licences page.
- Successful moose, sheep and goat applicants must buy by 1 AugustDrawing a licence is not the same as holding one. Under ARM 12.3.621, a successful moose, bighorn sheep or mountain goat applicant must purchase on or before 1 August or the licence may be offered to the next applicant in the drawing sequence. Bison licences must be purchased before hunting. Moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet, p. 8.
- Over-the-counter Deer B and Elk B sales begin 15 JuneA change the department highlights for 2026. These are separate from the drawn B licences and from the surplus list. Deer, elk and antelope booklet, pp. 7 and 12–13.
- Refund requests — 1 December 2026The department's refund table gives 12/1/26 for all three of its listed reasons: death of the licensee at 100 per cent, death of an immediate family member at 90 per cent, and medical emergency at 90 per cent. Elk permits are listed as nonrefundable. Moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet, p. 12.
What it costs to apply
Licence prices as the department's fee pages give them. The application fee is charged on top and is not refundable.
| Licence or permit | Price |
|---|---|
| Nonresident Big Game Combination — deer and elk | $1,312 |
| Nonresident Elk Combination | $1,112 |
| Nonresident Deer Combination | $760 |
| Nonresident Landowner-Sponsored Deer Combination | $760 |
| Nonresident moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, bison | $1,250 |
| Nonresident antelope, or Antelope B | $200 |
| Nonresident Deer B | $75 |
| Nonresident Elk B | $270 |
| Resident moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, bison | $125 |
| Resident antelope, or Antelope B | $14 |
| Resident Deer B | $10 |
| Resident Elk B | $20 |
| Deer permit — resident and nonresident alike | $5 |
| Elk permit — resident and nonresident alike | $9 |
Nonresident fees · resident fees · cross-checked against the availability charts in the deer, elk and antelope booklet, pp. 12–13, and the moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet, p. 8.
What Montana FWP does not state
Named here rather than filled in. Every item below is a gap in the department's own publications as of 27 August 2026, not a gap in our reading of them.
- Any 2027 date. No 2027 booklet, no 2027 application schedule, no 2027 drawing dates. The regulations archive stops at 2025 and the live pages describe 2026.
- A calendar date for any drawing. Every results date is a window, and the moose, sheep, goat and bison booklet labels its own table approximate. There is no Montana results day to publish.
- Which time standard governs a deadline. MST on the web page, Montana local time in the booklets, on deadlines that fall during daylight time.
- When the mountain lion limited-licence dates apply. The 30 June opening and 22 July deadline carry no year, on a page where every other row does.
- When its own pages were last updated. The department publishes no revision date on the application and drawing dates page, and that page is not in the fwp.mt.gov sitemap, so there is no modification stamp to read either.
- Which of its two conflicting sources supersedes the other. On the unlimited bighorn sheep question, the SuperTag results wording, and the nonresident hound deadline, the department does not acknowledge the discrepancy anywhere.
Every source read for this page
- Applications, Drawings, and Bonus Points — the department’s summary page of application dates and drawing dates, fetched 27 August 2026
- 2026 Deer, Elk, Antelope Hunting Regulations — the year-stamped booklet; Important Dates p. 11, availability charts pp. 12–13, drawing rules p. 14, points and landowner preference p. 17, fetched 27 August 2026
- 2026 Moose, Sheep, Goat, Bison Hunting Regulations — availability chart p. 8, Important Dates p. 9, refunds p. 12, fetched 27 August 2026
- 2026 Mountain Lion Hunting Regulations — Highlights and the Nonresident Hound License drawing, p. 2, fetched 27 August 2026
- Bonus and Preference Points — how each of the two point systems works, and what each costs, fetched 27 August 2026
- Bonus Points FAQ — department PDF; carries the July–September standalone purchase window, fetched 27 August 2026
- Nonresident Licenses and Fees — nonresident licence prices and application fees, fetched 27 August 2026
- Resident Licenses and Fees — resident licence prices and application fees, fetched 27 August 2026
- Surplus Licenses — the surplus list sign-up schedule, headed 2026, fetched 27 August 2026
- Hunting Regulations — the regulations index, where each 2026 booklet and its corrections are published, fetched 27 August 2026
- Regulations Archive — checked for a 2027 booklet; it lists 2019 through 2025 only, fetched 27 August 2026
- Drawing Statistics — the department’s description of the three kinds of drawing statistics it publishes, fetched 27 August 2026
Montana draw odds on this site
Not yet. Montana publishes real point-level detail — the department describes three separate report types, including a bonus-point breakdown by residency and a preference-point breakdown for the nonresident combination draw — which is why Montana belongs in our odds coverage rather than in the deadline-only tier. It is queued, not excluded, and it will appear here only once the numbers have been checked against those reports.