Purchasing a License

Having hunter education does not mean you can immediately go hunting; you need to purchase a hunting license for the species you are going to hunt. Also, just having hunter education does not guarantee you the ability to purchase a hunting license. There are three scenarios where you can have hunter education but be unable to hunt legally:

1. Think of your hunting record like your driving record. If you repeatedly get tickets for breaking traffic laws, you accumulate points on your license. If you get too many points, you can lose your license. This is true with hunting as well. If you receive multiple tickets for wildlife violations (exceeding limits, abandoning game, trespassing, etc.), you can lose the right to buy a license.
2. Felons in Colorado cannot possess a “deadly weapon”; that precludes them from most forms of hunting, including bowhunting.
3. People who are delinquent on child support are not allowed to buy hunting or fishing licenses.

As long as none of those situations apply to you, you will be able to purchase any license available to you.

To purchase a license, you need a photo ID, proof of hunter education, and a Habitat Stamp. The Habitat Stamp is a fee that is automatically added to the first license you purchase for the year and that money goes directly to improving and protecting the wild places of Colorado. Licenses can be purchased in person at any CPW office or state park, online, or at any officially licensed retailer. You can find the license retailer closest to you here. You can also purchase licenses over the phone at 303-297-1192 or 1-800-244-5613 (toll free).

Licenses for big game animals and turkey are very specific. They are good for specific season dates, species, sex of that species, area of the state (Game Management Unit(s) or GMU), and method of take (rifle, archery, or muzzleloader). Small game licenses are much broader and cover all harvestable species categorized as small game, but you still have to adhere to the season dates and bag and possession limits associated with the species you are hunting. The only specialized aspect of a small game license deals with waterfowl and furbearers. To legally hunt waterfowl, you must purchase a state waterfowl stamp and federal duck stamp in addition to your small game license. To legally hunt or trap furbearers, you must purchase either a small game license and a furbearer harvest permit or a furbearer license. You will also need to register with the Harvest Information Program (HIP) and have that registration number with your small game license. You can register with HIP by calling 1-866-265-6447 (1-866-COLOHIP) from 7 a.m.–10:30 p.m., or you can go to the Colorado HIP website.

Some of the licenses available to you are sold over the counter and are unlimited in number. However, there are many big game and turkey licenses that are limited in number and are only available through a lottery process known as the big game draw and the turkey draw. For turkey, there is a spring draw (held in February) for the spring season and a fall draw (held in July) for the fall season. Every limited license for the spring season is available in the spring draw, and all the limited licenses for the fall season are available in the fall draw. Any limited license that is not sold through the draw becomes available, first come first served, over the counter.

For big game, there is a primary draw (held in April) and a secondary draw (held in July).

• In the primary draw, all the limited licenses, statewide, are available.

• In the secondary draw, all the licenses that were not sold after the primary draw are available. Any big game licenses left after the secondary draw are considered leftover and go on sale on a first-come, first-served basis in early August.