Frances Xavier Cabrini Day Office Closures
Colorado Parks and Wildlife offices, including park visitor centers, will be closed for the state holiday, Monday, Oct. 6. Some offices may have limited operations for the hunting season. Call ahead and plan accordingly.
'What's New' 2025 Colorado Big-Game Hunting
The 2025 Colorado Big Game brochure is now available. This video provides a short overview of some of the changes that affect the upcoming seasons and the limited-license draw. Be sure to reach the "what's new" pages in the Big Game and Sheep and Goat brochures to see a full list of changes for the 2025 hunting seasons.
For Selected Elk, Deer and Pronghorn Hunters
Colorado Parks and Wildlife conducts big game harvest surveys annually from mid-October through mid-February to collect hunt and harvest information from deer, elk and pronghorn hunters. Individual hunters are asked a series of questions related to their experience. Only those hunters who have been randomly selected and notified by CPW are eligible.
Note: Always check your physical license and the Colorado Big Game Brochure for specific hunting dates and legal hunting hours.
Stay Informed!
Stay updated with Colorado's latest hunting news! CPW's Hunting eNews provides information on regulations, special events, public access opportunities, and much more. Sign up today to become part of our community!
Apply Today
CPW is accepting applications from hunters, anglers and trappers to join the Sportsperson’s Roundtable.
Application Period: September 16 through October 17, 2025.
CPW depends on feedback and advice from our state’s hunters and anglers to make the best decisions about the management of fish, wildlife, and habitat. In order to discuss issues and gather ideas, CPW convenes a statewide Sportsperson’s Roundtable and holds regional sportsperson meetings to foster information sharing between the hunting, angling and trapping community and CPW on issues that pertain to wildlife recreation and management in Colorado.
Special Edition
The Colorado Outdoors Hunting Guide is a special annual edition of Colorado Outdoors magazine. View the contents.
What are limited licenses?
Each year, a set (limited) number of licenses is allotted to each game management unit (GMU). Huntable areas are broken down into units called “game management units.” These units help you decide where you'd like to hunt. A GMU map is available through the Colorado Hunting Atlas or on the inside back cover of the Big Game Brochure.
You can apply for the big game draw(s) to get one of these limited licenses, or after the draws are over, you can purchase a remaining (leftover) limited license when they go on sale.
A qualifying license is required prior to applying for limited licenses through the big game draw(s).
Hunters can submit one application per species to participate in the draw. Applications can include up to four hunt choices to maximize your opportunity to draw a license and hunt. Applicants may only draw one license per species, per draw.
Limited licenses include public-land, private-land-only, Ranching for Wildlife (RFW), Bighorn Sheep Access Program (BSAP), season choice and leftover limited licenses.
Preference points help hunters to be successful in future primary draws because points add up per species until an applicant draws a first-choice license. One preference point is awarded to each applicant who qualifies for and does not draw their first-choice limited license for deer, elk, pronghorn or bear in the primary draw, or who applies using a specific preference-point hunt code that gets them a preference point only as their first choice.
Preference points are available on the primary draw application only.
Tip: If you can’t hunt this year, but intend to in the future, apply for a preference point by entering the “preference point only” hunt code in the “first choice hunt code” on the application. See pages 3 and 9 in the Big Game Brochure for details.
What are leftover licenses?
Leftover licenses are the remaining limited licenses available after the primary and secondary draws are completed. If you purchase one of these licenses, you will not use any of your preference points. Leftover licenses can include reissued big game licenses.
Leftover licenses will go on sale August 5th, 2025.
What are reissued licenses?
Reissued licenses are limited licenses that were returned for a refund or preference points, as well as those that were not paid for - and are listed on the leftover list. For more information on reissued licenses, visit the Leftover License and Reissue page.
The Reissue Preview List
All hunt codes will be released as close to 11 a.m. MT as possible on Wednesday of every week, starting the week after leftover licenses go on sale. No new hunt codes will be added to the list after 1 p.m. MT each Wednesday.
What are over-the-counter licenses?
OTC licenses are not restricted in quantity but are restricted to certain units, seasons and manners of take. Although they are considered "unlimited licenses," they are still subject to purchase limits for each individual. Please see the Big Game Brochure for valid OTC units.
OTC licenses do not require buying/having a qualifying license, do not use preference points and may be purchased any time before and during a season.
For sale online, by phone (1-800-244-5613) and at sales agents around the state.
OTC License Benefits
Some licenses for elk, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, and bear are available without needing to enter the draw(s) and are not restricted in quantity (unlimited). Find more information on over-the-counter licenses in the Big Game brochure.
The LPP encourages private landowners to provide habitat for the benefit of wildlife populations and to relieve hunting pressure on public lands. Deer, elk and pronghorn vouchers are allocated to landowners who meet certain qualifications. Applications are drawn during the primary draw, and successful landowners receive a voucher for each winning hunt code. The voucher is transferred directly to a hunter, who then purchases a license to hunt. Vouchers are not available for purchase from CPW.
Definitions
By applying in a group for the Colorado limited license primary draws, you agree that you have read, understand and will abide by the group rules outlined below.
Applicants are only considered a group for the draw. After the draw, if a group member fails to pay for their license or chooses to return it, it does not affect any of the other group members.
Youths will not receive youth preference if they apply as part of a group.
Group applications are not accepted in the hybrid draw.
CPW issues special Auction and Raffle Program big game licenses to nonprofit organizations focused on conserving wildlife in Colorado. The funds generated from the sale of these licenses are used for big game habitat enhancement, research, management, and education.
For information on license refunds, please visit the Hunting License Refunds, Reversals and Exchanges page.
By switching to lead-free ammunition, hunters can help protect our country’s most beloved birds and wildlife, promote healthy ecosystems and conserve our natural heritage.
Learn from the Experts!
In this video series, Colorado's wildlife officers answer frequently asked questions, discuss access, describe animal movement, and more.
In an effort to aid hunters in being as knowledgeable as they possibly can before heading out into the field, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has released videos with wildlife officers addressing the questions they frequently get asked.
Over 120 videos on the playlist below feature the wildlife officers discussing the districts they cover, or the Game Management Units where hunters apply for licenses. It was targeted to aid big game hunters, but other hunting opportunities are also discussed for certain areas of the state.
Attention Hunters
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that attacks the brains of deer, elk and moose. It causes animals to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior and eventually die. Infected animals often show no signs of illness.
CPW will require mandatory submission of CWD test samples (heads) from all deer harvested during rifle seasons from specific hunt codes to better evaluate the prevalence of CWD in herds. There will be no charge for mandatory testing. If a hunter is not selected for mandatory testing but wants to know whether their harvested deer or elk has CWD, they can submit their animal's head and pay a testing fee of $25.
Big Game Hunting
Every five years, the Parks and Wildlife Commission adopts a Big Game Season Structure (BGSS) to provide an overall framework for hunting.
The five year time frame which is designed to provide sportspersons, hunting-related businesses, landowners, and communities an opportunity to plan ahead for the upcoming seasons by considering what, when and where types of big game hunting is available, and how the timing of hunting opportunities is divided among hunters.
The Big Game Brochure includes hunting information for deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, and bear.
The online Big Game brochure is the most up-to-date version.
The Sheep & Goat brochure includes hunting information for Desert Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, and Mountain Goat.
The online Sheep and Goat brochure is the most up-to-date version.
