Hunting legally in Arizona means holding a current hunting license, carrying the right tag for your species, using only weapons and methods the Arizona Game and Fish Commission allows, hunting on land where you have access, and tagging and reporting your harvest on time. Arizona hunting regulations are set by the Game and Fish Commission and enforced by its wardens, and the rules differ by species, season type, and where you plan to hunt. A resident general hunting license costs $37 and is valid for 365 days from purchase; non-residents pay $160.
Who Needs a License and Hunter Education
Every hunter needs a valid license. To buy a resident license, you must have lived in Arizona for at least six consecutive months immediately before applying and cannot claim residency in another state.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 17-101 – Definitions An Arizona driver’s license or voter registration card works as proof. You’ll also set up a portal account on the Game and Fish Department website; it issues a Customer ID used for every future license, draw application, and harvest report.
Hunter education is narrower in Arizona than in most states. Only youth ages 10 through 13 must complete a certified course before hunting big game. If you’re 14 or older, no course is required.2Arizona Game and Fish Department. Hunter Education Classes Children under 10 cannot hunt big game at all. Some older hunters still take the course voluntarily because it adds a bonus point in the big game draw.
License Types and Fees
A general hunting license covers small game, furbearers, predators, and upland game birds. It does not cover big game or migratory birds on its own; those need a separate tag or stamp. A combination license adds statewide fishing.3Arizona Game & Fish Department. Hunting Licenses
- Resident general hunting: $37
- Resident combo hunt and fish: $57
- Non-resident general hunting: $1604Arizona Game & Fish Department. Non-Resident Hunting
- Non-resident combo hunt and fish: $160
Every license runs 365 days from the purchase date rather than on a calendar year.
Getting a Tag: The Draw and Over-the-Counter Options
Most high-demand big game species in Arizona, including elk, deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, bison, turkey, javelina, and bear, require a hunt permit-tag issued through a lottery draw. Once you have a license, you log into the portal, pick specific hunt numbers that identify the species and geographic unit, and pay the application fee: $13 per species for residents, $15 for non-residents.5Arizona Game & Fish Department. Copper State Draw Those fees do not come back if you don’t draw.
Arizona splits applications into spring and fall cycles. The spring 2026 draw for pronghorn and elk closed in February 2026, and the fall 2026 period typically opens in May.6Arizona Game & Fish Department. AZGFD Draw Miss the deadline and you lose both the chance at a tag and the bonus point you would have earned that cycle. Every year you apply without drawing adds one bonus point for that species, and your points reset for that species when you finally draw.7Arizona Game & Fish Department. Draw Process
Not every hunt runs through the draw. Arizona sells over-the-counter archery deer and bear tags in many units, limited OTC elk tags on a first-come basis, and leftover tags from unfilled draw quotas. OTC fees are lower; a resident OTC archery deer tag runs $45, compared with $58 for a draw deer permit-tag.3Arizona Game & Fish Department. Hunting Licenses
Legal Weapons, Equipment, and Prohibited Methods
Equipment rules change with the season type on your tag: general firearm, archery-only, or muzzleloader. Wardens check gear routinely, and using the wrong equipment is one of the most common sources of citations.
Firearms, Archery, and Crossbows
Centerfire rifles are standard for big game in general seasons. Rimfire rifles are limited to small game. Fully automatic firearms and military-style ammunition such as tracer, armor-piercing, or full-jacketed rounds are prohibited for all wildlife.8Arizona State Legislature. Section R12-4-303 – Unlawful Devices, Methods, and Ammunition Migratory bird shotguns cannot be larger than 10 gauge and must be plugged to hold no more than three shells.
Archery-only seasons require a bow with broadheads at least 7/8 inch in cutting width. Crossbows are not legal in archery-only seasons unless you hold a crossbow permit, which requires a healthcare provider to certify a qualifying physical disability such as an amputation, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular condition, or inability to draw and hold 30 pounds for four seconds.9Legal Information Institute. Arizona Admin Code R12-4-216 – Crossbow Permit Hunters who already hold a Challenged Hunter Access/Mobility Permit (CHAMP) do not need separate medical certification.
What You Cannot Use
Arizona’s fair-chase rules bar several tools that hunters coming from other states often assume are legal:
- Drones, treated as aircraft, cannot be used to locate or help take wildlife during any open season.10Arizona Game & Fish Department. Fair Chase
- Trail cameras cannot be placed, maintained, or used to take or aid in taking wildlife.
- Night vision, thermal imaging, and laser sights are illegal. Laser rangefinders and self-illuminating reticles are fine.8Arizona State Legislature. Section R12-4-303 – Unlawful Devices, Methods, and Ammunition
- Any lure, attractant, or cover scent containing cervid urine is prohibited.
- Baiting big game with food is illegal, though livestock-industry salt or mineral blocks are explicitly allowed.
You cannot use dogs on any big game except bear and mountain lion, and even for those two species the hunter must be present for the entire pursuit.11Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 17-309 – Violations; Classification Arizona does not require blaze orange or non-lead ammunition, though the department encourages both.
Where You Can Hunt
Access is as much a part of staying legal as the tag in your pocket. Arizona has large tracts of federal public land open to hunting, but private property and State Trust Land each have their own rules.
Private Land and Posting Rules
Landowners who want to close their property to hunters must post signs at least 8 by 11 inches with bold, capitalized lettering at least one inch tall, placed at every vehicle access point, every property corner, and every quarter mile along the boundary. Signs must say “no hunting,” “no trespassing,” or similar wording.12Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 17-304 – Prohibition by Landowner on Hunting, Fishing, Trapping or Guiding; Trespassing; Posting; Requirements As an alternative to signs at the quarter-mile intervals, landowners can use posts painted with at least 100 square inches of orange paint. Entering posted land to hunt is criminal trespass, and staying on unposted land after being told to leave is also trespass. If you’re not sure, get written permission.
State Trust Land
State Trust Land is not public land. The State Land Department manages it, and you need a recreational permit before you set foot on it, even with a valid hunting license. An individual permit costs $15 and a family permit (two adults plus children under 18) costs $20, each valid for one year.13Arizona State Land Department. Frequently Asked Questions Small group permits for up to 19 people cost $15 and last five days.14Arizona State Land Department. Applications and Permits Camping on Trust Land is capped at 14 cumulative days per calendar year.
After the Shot: Tagging, Reporting, and Transport
Once you’ve taken an animal, validate your tag by recording the harvest date and attach it to the carcass before you move anything. Transporting big game without a valid tag attached is a standalone violation.11Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 17-309 – Violations; Classification The tag stays with the meat until it reaches final storage or a processor. You also have to be able to prove species and sex at any point in transport, so keep the head or other identifying parts attached until processing is complete.
Mandatory Harvest Reports
Bear, mountain lion, and OTC archery deer all require a harvest report within 48 hours of the kill, filed online or by phone.15Arizona Game and Fish Department. Harvest Reporting and Tracking Bear and mountain lion add a physical check-in within 10 days: bring the unfrozen skull, hide, and proof of sex to a department office for inspection.16Legal Information Institute. Arizona Admin Code R12-4-308 – Wildlife Inspections; Check Stations; Roadblocks; Harvest Reporting; Hunt Surveys Skipping a required report can block you from future draws.
Bringing Out-of-State Deer or Elk Home
Chronic Wasting Disease rules restrict which parts of a deer or elk you can bring into Arizona from out of state. Under R12-4-305, imports are limited to boneless or commercially cut meat, clean hides and capes with no skull tissue, clean skulls or skull plates with no soft tissue, finished taxidermy mounts, and upper canine teeth. Whole heads with brain or spinal tissue are prohibited, and velvet antlers must be stripped or treated with freeze-drying or formaldehyde before crossing the state line.
Penalties for Violations
Arizona penalties scale with the seriousness of the violation, and the consequences reach beyond the fine.
- A class 2 misdemeanor is the default for any violation of Title 17 or a commission rule that doesn’t carry a specific penalty. This covers hunting with an unlawful device, exceeding bag limits, littering a hunting area, and failing to tag a carcass.11Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 17-309 – Violations; Classification
- A class 1 misdemeanor applies to knowingly taking big game during a closed season, or knowingly possessing or transporting big game taken in a closed season.
- A class 6 felony applies to selling or bartering unlawfully taken big game, selling wildlife taken in a closed season, helping someone take big game illegally for pay, or hunting while under permanent license revocation.
The department can also revoke your license and bar you from future draws. Because Arizona belongs to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, a suspension here can follow you to other member states and a suspension elsewhere can keep you from hunting in Arizona.17CSG National Center for Interstate Compacts. Wildlife Violator Compact Wardens patrol hunting areas and run check stations with authority to inspect gear, tags, and harvests on the spot. Letting edible portions of a game animal go to waste is its own separate violation, and one that officers in Arizona take seriously.