Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks :: Nonresidents: How to Apply

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Nonresidents: How to Apply

1. Choose the Nonresident Combination License for which you wish to apply:

Big Game Combination ($944) Includes General Elk and Deer, Upland Game Bird, Fishing, and Conservation licenses and Hunting Access Enhancement Fee (HAEF). A total of 17,000 are available.

Elk Combination ($794) Includes General Elk, Upland Game Bird, Fishing, Conservation licenses, and HAEF. The available licenses are included in the 17,000 noted above.

Deer Combination ($561) Includes General Deer, Upland Game Bird, Fishing, Conservation licenses, and HAEF. A total of 4,600 are available.

Landowner Sponsored Deer Combination ($561) Landowner Deer (valid only on LO's property), Upland Game Bird, Fishing, Conservation licenses, and HAEF. A total of 2,000 are available.

2. Determine if you need a Deer or Elk permit in your hunting area. A permit and a general license are required to hunt Bull Elk and Buck Mule Deer in certain hunting districts.

Your permit must be used with your General Elk or Deer hunting license. A permit is not a second license and does not allow the holder to kill an additional animal. Rather, it offers a special opportunity to hunt for a species in a particular hunting district allowing the hunter to harvest a buck mule deer or bull elk.

Review the maps for Elk and Deer. If the hunting district where you wish to hunt indicates a permit is required, you must apply by March 15. If the map indicates that no permit is required, your General Elk or Deer license is all you need to hunt there during the 2012 general hunting season.

3. If you apply for a Big Game or Elk Combination License—and an elk permit—you must choose from the following options if you are not awarded an elk permit via the drawing

Keep your Big Game or Elk Combination license, or

Request an 80% refund, or

Turn in the General Elk license portion of your Big Game Combination License and retain the deer, fishing, and upland game bird licenses and receive a $358 refund.

4. Pick the correct elk and deer permit code and know the hunting district

Some hunting districts have more than one option for a permit— for instance, HD 631 offers one for archery-only and one for general season only, while HD 380 offers one for archery and the general season. Some permits—like those offered for deer in HDs 213 and HD 298—also are valid in more than one hunting district. NOTE: Hunting districts that have a quota of "pending" will not be finalized until the FWP Commission meets on Feb. 16; do not apply for these hunting districts until you have verified the commission's action.

5. Are you applying as a party?

NOTE: In Montana, a "party" simply means that a group of hunters are applying together for the chance to obtain hunting licenses or permits. It is strictly illegal to transfer any hunting license. Each individual in the application "party" must harvest his or her own game.

For paper applications: Make sure: (1) all party members are listed; (2) all party members apply for the same hunting districts, in the same order and include the same preference/ bonus-point participation; (3) all party applications must be submitted in the same envelope; (4) if one party member makes an error, that application will be eliminated but the remaining will be processed.

For online applications: The party establisher must list all party members and provide the party number to all party members so each member can apply online for that party.