Updated on September 7, 2026. Confirm every fee, harvest-ticket rule, and hunter-education cutoff on the ADF&G licenses page and the 2026–2027 hunting regulations before you buy.
| Who this is for | Resident and nonresident Sitka blacktail hunters (Units 1–6 and 8). Mule and white-tailed deer in a handful of units are a salvage-and-sample rule, not a tag you buy. |
|---|---|
| Buy it here | ADF&G online store for the hunting license and locking-tag. Free harvest tickets at hunt.alaska.gov, vendors, and ADF&G offices. |
| Hunter education | Not required to buy a hunting license. Required in Units 7, 13, 14, 15, and 20 if born after January 1, 1986 — not Sitka country. Mendenhall Wetlands (1C) still wants it. Bowhunters born on or after January 1, 1986 need bowhunter ed for big game. |
| What you actually buy | Hunting license (calendar year) + free deer harvest ticket (regulatory year). Nonresidents also buy a metal deer locking-tag. Residents do not. |
| OTC vs draw | Sitka blacktail is a general-season harvest-ticket hunt. No deer drawing. A first-year U.S. nonresident can buy the license and locking-tag over the counter. |
| License year | Hunting licenses: date of purchase through December 31. Harvest tickets: regulatory year (July 1–June 30). The 2026–27 booklet runs July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. |
| Antlerless / bonus | Bag is by Game Management Unit, not a leftover doe tag. Some units are bucks only. Some allow any deer after a bucks-only window. |
| WMA / public extras | No second “WMA license.” Tongass, Chugach, and Kodiak NWR take the same state license and harvest ticket. Federal subsistence is a different hunt. Unit 2 federal land can add extra limits and an early-August closure. |
| Youth / apprentice | Residents under 18: no hunting license. Ages 10–17 get their own harvest tickets. Under 10 uses the supervisor’s ticket. Nonresidents need a hunting license. |
| Where to hunt next | Alaska deer hunting guide · Washington blacktails · Hawaii island deer |
Buy the locking-tag before you book the floatplane
I have watched people buy a Ketchikan ferry ticket with a Washington hunting license in the dry bag. Alaska does not care that you already hunt blacktails. You need an Alaska hunting license, a deer harvest ticket, and — if you live in the Lower 48 — a metal locking-tag before you step off the dock.
The national walkthrough lives at how to get a hunting license. This page is only Alaska’s cart. Hunt locations and weather math are on the Alaska deer hunting guide.
Step 1: Hunter education (Alaska is not Michigan)
ADF&G will sell you a hunting license without a hunter-ed card. That is the official answer on their hunter education FAQ. You need the card to hunt in the places the booklet names, not to click “buy.”
The birth-year rule (born after January 1, 1986) applies in Units 7, 13, 14, 15, and 20. Sitka blacktails live in Units 1–6 and 8. I still carry the card. Mendenhall Wetlands in Unit 1C wants hunter ed, and youth hunts require it. Bowhunters born on or after January 1, 1986 need bowhunter education for big game. Alaska accepts out-of-state hunter-ed certificates; bring a photo of the card.
Step 2: Resident or not
Residency is 12 consecutive months of domicile in Alaska with intent to stay, and you are not claiming residency somewhere else. A Juneau time-share and a Washington driver’s license is a nonresident. Military stationed in Alaska for 12 months, and their dependents, can qualify as residents; under 12 months they buy the nonresident-military products. Read the residency definition before you click “resident.”
U.S. nonresidents do not need a registered guide for deer. Brown bear, Dall sheep, and mountain goat are the guided species. Nonresident aliens need a guide for any big game, including deer. That split is on the guide-requirements page.
Step 3: What goes in the cart
Alaska does not sell one object called a deer license. Think in three layers.
- Hunting license. Residents 18–59 buy the annual hunting license. Residents 60 and older use a free permanent ID. Residents 17 and under hunt without a license. Nonresidents buy the annual hunting license, not the small-game-only product.
- Deer harvest ticket. Free. Required for the general Sitka season in Units 1–6 and 8. Write the ticket number on your hunting license. Carry every unused deer ticket. Validate them in sequential order, starting with ticket one. Do not use a deer harvest ticket to report a mule or white-tailed deer.
- Metal locking-tag (nonresidents only). Buy it before you hunt. Lock it on the antlers or cape so it cannot be pulled off and reused. Residents do not buy a deer locking-tag. Qualified nonresident military hunters get a free deer tag; confirm that on ADF&G’s military PDF.
2026–27 cost band, last checked September 7, 2026 on the ADF&G pricing list: resident hunting license $45; nonresident hunting license $160; nonresident deer locking-tag $300; nonresident-alien deer locking-tag $400. Harvest tickets are free. If the store disagrees the week you buy, the store wins.
Step 4: When it goes on sale
You can buy a hunting license any day of the calendar year it covers, and pick up a general-season harvest ticket any time during the regulatory year. There is no deer application window in November. Drawing hunts for other species open then; skip that queue if all you want is a Sitka blacktail.
The trap is the two clocks. A hunting license bought in July 2026 dies on December 31, 2026. A 2026–27 harvest ticket is good through June 30, 2027. Deer seasons wrap in late fall, so one calendar-year license covers a normal Sitka trip.
How you carry it, tag it, and report it
Printed, phone-photo, and eSigned licenses are all legal formats on the general license page. I still keep a paper copy in a zip bag. Salt spray kills phones. Write the harvest-ticket numbers on the license.
When you kill a deer, cut out the month and day on that harvest ticket before you leave the kill site. Keep the validated ticket until the animal is processed for food. Nonresidents lock the metal tag at the same time. In one-sex hunts, leave evidence of sex naturally attached to the meat, or leave the antlers on the carcass. Notch-and-hang mechanics: how to tag a deer.
Report within 15 days of taking your bag limit, or within 15 days after the season closes, even if you never left town. Deer reports are “report-as-you-go” at hunt.alaska.gov. CWD has not been detected in Alaska; do not haul a Lower 48 spine or brain north. Symptoms: CWD in deer.
Public land does not need a second license
Tongass, Chugach, and Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge take the same Alaska hunting license and harvest ticket. There is no extra state forest permit for the general deer season. Federal subsistence is a separate system for qualified rural residents. Unit 2 federal public land is the overlay I actually re-read: extra NFQU limits and an early-August closure can apply. The federal map is not the state map.
Seasons, Sunday hunting, baiting, and dogs live on the Alaska hunting guide. Forest how-to: hunting national forest land and the public land deer hunting hub.
Youth and first-timers
A resident kid under 18 does not buy a hunting license. At 10–17 they get their own harvest tickets and bag. Under 10 they hunt under direct, immediate supervision of a licensed hunter 16 or older, they use that adult’s harvest ticket, and the deer counts on the adult. Nonresident youth still need a hunting license. There is no Michigan-style “apprentice license” on the Alaska cart. Confirm the age table on the general license page.
Common ways this goes wrong
- Showing up with a Washington or Oregon license because “it’s the same blacktail.”
- Buying only the hunting license and skipping the harvest ticket or the nonresident locking-tag.
- Buying the small-game-only nonresident license.
- Validating harvest tickets out of order, or leaving unused tickets in the cabin.
- Assuming hunter ed is required to buy the license — or assuming it is never required in the field.
- A nonresident alien hunting deer without a registered guide. Deer is not a draw.
Where to hunt once the tag is in the pack
Start with the Alaska deer hunting guide for units, bags, and the Sitka / Kodiak / Prince William Sound bases. Pacific blacktails without a floatplane: Washington and Oregon. The other island deer hunt we cover is Hawaii. ID: blacktail vs mule deer. Flying in: planning an out-of-state deer hunt. OTC truck hunt: Michigan’s deer license. Woods people skip: where to hunt.
Parent hub: how to get licensed · deer hunting · hunting by state.
FAQ
Can a nonresident buy an Alaska deer tag over the counter? Yes. Sitka blacktail is a harvest-ticket hunt. U.S. nonresidents buy the hunting license and the deer locking-tag. There is no deer lottery. Confirm on the licenses page.
Do I need hunter education to buy the license? No. You may need it in named units and management areas. Bowhunters born on or after January 1, 1986 need bowhunter ed for big game.
Do I need a guide for deer? Not if you are a U.S. resident or a U.S. nonresident. Nonresident aliens need a guide for deer.
Does a Washington license work on Prince of Wales? No.
Do I need a separate Tongass permit? Not for the state general-season deer hunt. Federal subsistence is a different hunt.
Where do I report a deer? Online at hunt.alaska.gov, by mail, or in person. Within 15 days of filling your bag, or within 15 days after the season closes, even if you did not hunt.