How to Get a North Dakota Deer Hunting License

Updated on September 8, 2026. Confirm every fee, lottery deadline, and hunter-education rule on the North Dakota Game and Fish buy-and-apply page and the 2026–27 deer proclamation before you apply. This is the field readout, not the proclamation.

Who this is for Resident and nonresident deer hunters in North Dakota (white-tailed deer statewide; mule deer in the west, especially gun units 4A–4F).
Buy it here myGNF, the buy-and-apply page, the NDGF app, a department office, or a retail vendor. Bow tags are printed and mailed from Bismarck.
Hunter education Required if you were born after December 31, 1961. Other-state and Canadian provincial cards count. Own-land, under-12, and apprentice paths are the exceptions. NDGF hunter education.
What you actually buy A Fishing, Hunting, Furbearer Certificate and a General Game and Habitat license and a deer license. Gun season is a unit-and-type tag from the lottery. Bow is a separate license. A resident combination license can replace habitat.
OTC vs draw Deer gun is a weighted lottery. Resident any-deer bow is over the counter. Nonresident white-tailed bow is over the counter. Nonresident any-deer bow (the mule tag) is a 240-license lottery. Muzzleloader is a lottery, white-tailed only. 2026 gun licenses are sold.
License year Gun lottery applications generally open in early May. 2026 deadline was midnight June 3. Nonresident any-deer bow applications run April 15–May 15. Successful gun licenses mailed in early August. Confirm the next year’s dates on Game and Fish.
Antlerless / bonus The gun license itself is the antlerless or antlered tag — species, sex, and unit are printed on it. Weighted bonus points apply to first choice in the first lottery. City herd-reduction bow licenses are extra antlerless, not a Little Missouri backup.
WMA / public extras No second “PLOTS license.” Same deer tag on WMAs, PLOTS walk-in, and national grasslands. Nonresidents stay off public land and PLOTS for the first 9½ days of bow season, and off Game and Fish WMAs and PLOTS Oct. 10–16, 2026.
Youth / apprentice Youth deer season is residents only (Sept. 18–27, 2026). Apprentice hunter validation is one license year in a lifetime, age 12+, and the mentor stays in sight and voice. Apprentice rules.
Where to hunt next North Dakota deer hunting guide · walk-in access programs · where to hunt

Do not book Medora until the paper matches the dirt

I have watched people price a cabin around the Friday noon gun opener with a Midwest plan: “I’ll buy the tag when I get there.” That works in Michigan. It does not work for a North Dakota deer gun license. You apply in May. You wait. If the lottery does not print your unit and deer type, you do not hang a deer on that dirt in November.

The national walkthrough lives at how to get a hunting license. This page is only North Dakota’s cart. Seasons, Sunday hunting, baiting, orange, and where to sit are on the North Dakota deer hunting guide.

Step 1: Hunter education

If you were born after December 31, 1961, North Dakota will not sell you a firearm or bow hunting license until a certified hunter-education course is on the account. Other-state and Canadian provincial cards count. Bring the card or the number. Two paths on the hunter education page: a free 14-plus-hour classroom (turn 11 during the year) or a hybrid online-plus-classroom course (turn 12). Classes cluster in spring. Bowhunter education does not replace hunter ed. Exceptions: own or operate the land; under 12 with a parent in unaided verbal contact; apprentice validation. A kid who turns 11 this year can get a whitetail-doe youth license without the course. Born 1961 or earlier, you are generally exempt from hunter ed — not from buying the license. Reprints: My Account.

Step 2: Resident or not

Residency is not a duck shack on Devils Lake. Game and Fish wants you actually living in North Dakota for the past six months, and not still claiming residency somewhere else. Applicants 18 and older need a North Dakota driver’s license number or nondriver photo ID. The field version is the residency eligibility page. A Minnesota address with a Pembina camp is a nonresident.

A North Dakota resident stationed outside the state can take a deer gun license without the lottery if they show proof the way Game and Fish asks. A waiver of residency can open some nonlottery licenses at resident prices; it is not a back door into the deer gun drawing. Nonresident youth under 16 get a cheap small-game path. That path is not a deer tag.

Step 3: What goes in the cart

Think in layers, not “a deer license.”

  1. Fishing, Hunting, Furbearer Certificate. One per person per year.
  2. General Game and Habitat license. Required for deer. Residents can swap this for a combination license. One habitat or combo per year.
  3. Deer gun license if you drew. Unit and deer type are printed on it. One deer of that type. 2026 printed 39,100 including gratis; the deer page says they are sold.
  4. Deer bow license if you hunt archery. Residents: unlimited any-deer, mailed from Bismarck. Nonresidents: unlimited white-tailed bow. The any-deer bow that includes mule deer is a 240-license lottery. One regular bow license per year.
  5. Muzzleloader only if you drew. Statewide, white-tailed only. 375 antlered and 375 antlerless in 2026.
  6. Gratis, nonresident landowner preferential, or city herd-reduction bow only if you qualify. Gratis comes out of Bismarck and subtracts from the unit cap. Herd-reduction needs a city access permit first. Confirm who qualifies on Game and Fish.

Cost band, last checked September 8, 2026 on the resident and nonresident fee pages: resident adult stack (deer + certificate + habitat) sits in the mid-$50s. Nonresident first-lottery gun sits in the high-$300s plus those add-ons. Leftover nonresident gun after the second lottery is listed in the $50s if any remain. Nonresident white-tailed bow sits in the mid-$300s plus certificate and habitat. Gun lottery fees are collected only if you draw. Trust the cart.

Step 4: Lottery, leftover, and when the tag shows up

2026 dates from the deer hunting page and the lotteries hub:

Iowa’s draw is a different machine: how to get an Iowa deer license. Colorado leftover: Colorado deer license. If you skip June here, you are bowhunting or you are staying home.

How you carry it, tag it, and report it

Paper or electronic is legal. I still screenshot the license. Bow tags are printed in Bismarck and mailed — allow mailing time. Do not buy a bow license on Thursday and expect it in a Medora motel Friday. Tag immediately: cut the month and day, then attach the tag to the antler base or an ear slit. Keep it with the edible flesh until the meat is packaged. Carry the tags while you hunt. Mechanics: how to tag a deer.

North Dakota does not run telecheck. Harvest numbers come from post-season surveys. If a questionnaire shows up, send it back even if you sat in the truck. CWD is not a license, but it will ruin the drive home. Carcass waste leaving its gun unit of origin goes to a landfill. Drop a head at a collection site or request a lymph-node kit. Symptoms and testing: CWD in deer · how to get your deer tested. Official: gf.nd.gov/cwd.

PLOTS and public land do not need a second license

Wildlife management areas, PLOTS walk-in, Little Missouri and Sheyenne national grasslands, and most other public dirt take the same North Dakota deer license. There is no extra public-land stamp. What they do not take is a gun tag written for a different unit, a white-tailed bow license on a mule deer, or a nonresident on PLOTS during the first 9½ days of bow season. Public and PLOTS open to nonresident bowhunters on September 14. Game and Fish WMAs and PLOTS are also closed to nonresidents October 10–16, 2026 — first week of pheasant, all hunting. Exception: you own the enrolled PLOTS. Special refuge permits are no longer required for gun deer on J. Clark Salyer, Upper Souris, and Tewaukon. State parks that allow deer still want their own park permit. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is closed. Atlas: where to hunt. Walk-in how-to: walk-in hunting access programs. Pressure: public land deer hunting. Baiting, dogs, orange, and Sunday hunting live on the North Dakota hunting guide.

Youth and first-timers

Youth deer season is residents only, Sept. 18–27, 2026, noon opener. Ages 11–13: any antlerless, except mule-doe licenses in 4A–4F are a unit lottery. Ages 14–15 who have never drawn a regular gun license: any deer, with the same 4-unit mule exception. Applying for youth replaces the regular gun application. An unarmed parent, guardian, or authorized adult must stay in unaided verbal contact.

Apprentice hunter validation is the one-year tryout if you were born after 1961, are 12 or older, and have not finished hunter ed. It covers small game and deer. You still buy every license. The adult (18+) next to you cannot also be on an apprentice validation. “Accompanied” means uninterrupted visual contact and unaided verbal communication.

Common ways this goes wrong

Where to hunt once the tag is in the truck

Start with the North Dakota deer hunting guide for seasons, units, PLOTS, CWD, and towns. Whitetail vs mule is the trip decision: mule deer vs. whitetail. Use the official atlas for Little Missouri and Sheyenne. South Dakota’s east/west split is the sibling hunt: South Dakota deer hunting. Minnesota: Minnesota deer hunting. Montana’s combo draw: Montana. Out-of-state checklist: planning an out-of-state deer hunt. Overlooked woods: where to hunt.

Parent hub: how to get licensed · deer hunting · hunting by state.

FAQ

Can a nonresident buy a North Dakota deer gun license over the counter? No. Deer gun is a lottery. 2026 gun licenses are sold. Nonresident white-tailed bow is the usual OTC door. Confirm on the NDGF deer page.

Do I need hunter education? If you were born after December 31, 1961, yes, unless you qualify for the own-land, under-12, or apprentice exception that day.

Does a Minnesota license work in Pembina? No.

Do I need a draw to hunt with a bow? Residents: no. Nonresidents: white-tailed bow is OTC; any-deer bow (mule included) is a 240-license lottery.

Do I need a separate license for PLOTS or a WMA? No. You need a valid North Dakota deer license of the right type. Nonresident bowhunters wait until September 14 for public and PLOTS.

Where do I report a deer? Tag it immediately. Harvest is estimated with post-season surveys, not telecheck. If a survey shows up, fill it out.