Remaining big game hunting licenses go on sale August 1 at 9 a.m.
Joey Livingston
Photo courtesy of Wayne D. Lewis/CPW
DENVER - 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 2023 are placed on the leftover list and will become available for purchase on August 1 at 9 a.m. 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. 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 surrendered or did not pay for during the secondary draw that 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 24 and took fewer than five resident preference points to draw
- Over-the-counter (OTC) licenses for elk, archery pronghorn, whitetail deer, and bear
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.
Inventory held in shopping cart
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.
Queuing system
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.
Additional information
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.
For each species, hunters are limited to one list A and one list B, or two list B licenses. If you received a list A license from the primary or secondary draw, you are only eligible for a list B or list C license. If you received a list B or list C from the primary or secondary draw, you are eligible for either a list A, list B or list C license.
Because the online leftover list updates every 5 - 10 minutes, a hunt code may still be listed as available, even if it is sold out.
Where to purchase
CPW strongly suggests hunters purchase their licenses online at cpwshop.com. CPW offices and sales locations use the same system as you do at home.
Head to cpwshop.com and get logged in to your account up to an hour before 9 a.m. on August 1 so you’re ready to purchase when the licenses go on sale. You can call in and purchase at 1-800-244-5613, but know there will be long wait times.
More information on the leftover list and over-the-counter licenses is available on the CPW website.
Additional licenses will become available as part of our reissue process beginning August 9.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.