Updated on September 8, 2026. Confirm every fee, draw deadline, and hunter-education rule on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife hunting licenses page before you put a card in the reader. This is the field readout, not the proclamation.
| Who this is for | Resident and nonresident deer hunters in California (Columbian blacktail west of the crest, mule deer east). There is no white-tailed deer hunt. |
|---|---|
| Buy it here | CDFW Online License Sales (ALDS), a CDFW license sales office, a license agent, or (800) 565-1458. |
| Hunter education | Required for first-time California buyers unless you hold a hunter-ed certificate or a hunting license from any state or province issued in the last two years. Other-state certificates count. Online course still needs a 4-hour follow-up. |
| What you actually buy | An annual hunting license and a zone-specific deer tag — a first-deer tag or a first-deer tag drawing application. Those are different products. Two deer tags max. Age 12+ for a deer tag. |
| OTC vs draw | Unrestricted tags (A, B, most D) sell over the counter from April 15, including to a first-year nonresident. Premium tags (X zones, C, D-12, D-14, D-17, most G/M/A hunts) go through the June 2 drawing. Leftovers, if any, July 2 at 8:00 a.m. |
| License year | July 1 through June 30. Licenses, tags, and drawing applications go on sale April 15. |
| Antlerless / bonus | A general zone tag is a forked-horn or better. Either-sex and antlerless chance lives in apprentice (J) hunts and some additional (G) hunts through the drawing — not a gas-station doe tag. |
| WMA / public extras | National forest takes the same hunting license and zone tag. Type A/B passes only on state-operated wildlife areas that use them. SHARE and PLM are private-land add-ons, not a forest substitute. |
| Youth / apprentice | Junior hunting license if under 16 on July 1. Deer tags at age 12. Apprentice (J) hunts are drawn. Second-deer drawing application is junior-only. |
| Where to hunt next | California deer hunting guide · blacktail vs mule deer · hunting national forest land |
Buy the tag before you book the motel
I have watched people book Bishop around an X-9 opener with an A-zone tag in the console. California does not care that you “hunt the Sierra.” An A tag is not valid in X-9, and a two-day nonresident hunting license is not valid for deer at all. The national walkthrough lives at how to get a hunting license. This page is only California’s cart. Seasons, public land, and towns sit on the California deer hunting guide.
Step 1: Hunter education
California wants proof of hunter education the first time you buy an annual hunting license here, unless you already hold a California hunting license from a prior year, a hunter-ed certificate, or a hunting license from any state or province issued in the last two years. A current out-of-state license counts. Bring the number.
Two class paths: a traditional course (classroom plus field, at least ten hours) or an approved online course plus a required 4-hour follow-up. The online course alone is not a certificate. No senior exemption. Classes: California hunter education.
If hunter ed is not in your ALDS record, you cannot finish an online purchase. Take the certificate to a license agent or a CDFW office first.
Step 2: Resident or not
Residency is not “I have a cabin at Tahoe.” Fish and Game Code §70 defines a resident as someone who has lived continuously in California for six months or more immediately before the application, plus active-duty U.S. military and Job Corps enrollees. A Nevada driver’s license with a Truckee weekend house is a nonresident.
Nonresidents can buy unrestricted deer tags over the counter in a normal year. That is why a first California trip is usually A or B country, not a hope-and-a-prayer X-5b. Confirm the current dollar amounts on the hunting license items and fees page the week you buy. Cost band for 2026–27, last checked September 8, 2026 against that official sheet: resident hunting license in the mid-$60s and first deer tag in the low $40s; nonresident hunting license in the low $200s and each deer tag in the high $300s. A two-day nonresident license is not valid for deer. Out-of-state trip planning: planning an out-of-state deer hunt.
Step 3: What goes in the cart
Think in layers, not “a deer license”:
- Annual hunting license — resident, nonresident, or junior. Deer will not sell without it.
- First-deer tag for an unrestricted zone (A, B, most D, some archery-only hunts) over the counter. This is a tag, not a drawing application.
- First-deer tag drawing application for a premium hunt (X zones, C, D-12, D-14, D-17, most G/M/A hunts) or a preference point. Buy this product, not the OTC tag, or you are not in the drawing. Point-only code is PD.
- Second-deer tag if you want a second deer. Unrestricted second tags from April 15. Restricted second tags wait until August 2 if your first tag is premium, restricted, or still in the drawing. The second-deer drawing application is junior-only.
The current split is on the deer tag classification list. Keep the same GO ID; preference points ride on that number. Party applications average points and do not split when the last tags will not cover the party. Drawing rules: big game hunting tags and the Big Game Hunting Digest.
Step 4: When it goes on sale
April 15: hunting licenses, unrestricted tags, and drawing applications. June 2, midnight: drawing deadline — miss it and you are not in, and you do not earn a deer point that year. Leftover premium tags, if any remain, go first-come July 2 at 8:00 a.m. Unrestricted A, B, and most D tags are still on the shelf in a normal year the week before the A-zone rifle opener; check the available deer tags list before you drive to a sold-out D-10. Resident deer tag fees are nonrefundable once issued or in the drawing, including fire closures. Preference points on a premium tag can sometimes be reinstated if you mail the unfilled tag back before the season starts. Watch CDFW closures after you have paid.
How you carry it, tag it, and report it
ALDS prints the license and the deer tag on the same paper. Digital copies help. They do not replace punching the tag. Notch it and fill the report card before you move the deer — how to tag a deer is the mechanics. Successful harvest: report within 30 days of the kill or by January 31, whichever comes first. Unsuccessful, or you never left the driveway: report no-harvest by January 31 on the tag reporting page. Miss it and you pay a non-reporting fee in the low $20s the next time you buy a deer tag. Keep the antlered portion of the head for 15 days after the season (Fish and Game Code §4302). CWD management zones (D-7, X-9a, X-9b, X-9c as of this writing) also owe lymph nodes or the head within 10 days: CDFW CWD surveillance and CWD in deer.
Public land does not need a second deer license — it needs the right zone
Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity, Inyo, and the rest of the national forests take the same California hunting license and the zone tag written for that dirt. What they do not take is an A tag on an X-zone two-track, or a SHARE tag you bought because a buddy had a ranch. Look up the zone on the CDFW deer hunting map the night you buy. Type A/B wildlife-area passes are not a deer tag. SHARE and PLM do not replace a zone tag on forest. Woods how-to: hunting national forest land and the public land deer hunting hub. Certified nonlead is statewide, public and private, since July 1, 2019. Baiting, Sundays, and dogs live on the California hunting guide, not here.
Youth and first-timers
There is no mentored license that lets an uncertified adult hunt deer beside you for a season. Hunter ed comes first. A junior hunting license is for anyone under 16 on July 1. Deer tags require age 12 by July 1 of the license year, or at purchase if you buy after July 1. Apprentice (J) hunts are the youth either-sex path through the drawing. The second-deer tag drawing application is junior-only.
Common ways this goes wrong
- Buying a first-deer tag when you meant to buy a first-deer tag drawing application.
- A two-day nonresident hunting license on a deer hunt because it was cheaper.
- An Oregon or Nevada license on California dirt because “it’s the same crest.”
- An A-zone tag in an X-zone parking lot, or a SHARE tag on national forest.
- Skipping the January 31 harvest report, or moving a CWD-zone carcass home without sampling.
Where to hunt once the tag is in the truck
Start with the California deer hunting guide for seasons, baiting, CWD zones, and the public-land list. Field marks: blacktail deer vs mule deer. Species: mule deer. Woods people skip: where to hunt. West Coast siblings: Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. The other license how-to already live on this hub is how to get a Michigan deer hunting license.
Parent hub: how to get licensed · deer hunting · hunting by state.
FAQ
Can a nonresident buy a California deer tag over the counter? Yes, for unrestricted zones (A, B, most D) from April 15 in a normal year. Premium hunts go through the June 2 drawing. Confirm on the deer tag classification list.
Does an Oregon license work in California? No.
Do I need a separate license for Mendocino or Inyo National Forest? No. You need a valid California hunting license and the deer tag written for that zone.
What is the difference between a first-deer tag and a first-deer tag drawing application? The tag is an unrestricted zone tag you can hunt on. The drawing application puts you in the premium drawing or earns a preference point (code PD). Buy the wrong one and you are not in the draw.