Florida quota hunt permits are free to apply for, but you must hold an active hunting license and a $26.50 Management Area Permit before you enter the drawing, and you have to apply inside one of three set windows on GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission caps the number of hunters on each Wildlife Management Area during specific seasons, and the quota permit is what gets you through the gate.
What a Quota Permit Covers
A quota permit limits how many hunters can access a particular WMA during a given hunt window. Florida Administrative Code Rule 68A-15.005 sets the hunt categories that require one: archery, muzzleloading gun, general gun, spring turkey, family, wild hog, track vehicle, and mobility-impaired hunts. Each category spells out what species you can harvest, what equipment is allowed, and the exact dates. Some permits restrict you to a single zone within a WMA or to a window of just a few days.
Points and permits are tracked separately by hunt type, so an archery permit and a general gun permit on the same WMA are two different applications with two different draws.
What You Need Before You Apply
Applying costs nothing, but your GoOutdoorsFlorida account needs the right credentials already active before the window opens.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Recreational Hunting Licenses and Permits
Resident Costs
- Annual hunting license: $17.00
- Management Area Permit: $26.50 per year (required for any WMA hunt)
- Deer permit: $5.00 per year, if hunting deer
- Turkey permit: $10.00 per year, if hunting turkey
A resident planning a general gun deer hunt on a WMA will spend roughly $48.50 on licenses and permits before ever entering the drawing. Five-year options are available for most of these at a modest discount.
Non-Resident Costs
Non-residents pay considerably more. The annual non-resident hunting license is $151.50, and a ten-day non-resident license is $46.50. The ten-day license is not valid for turkey hunting. Non-residents still need the $26.50 Management Area Permit plus any applicable species permits, and a non-resident turkey permit runs $125.00. Vendors may add a 50-cent issuance fee on top of the listed prices.
Application Windows for 2026–2027
The Commission runs three phases. All windows open at 10 a.m. Eastern on the first day and close at 11:59 p.m. on the last.2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Limited Entry Hunt Application Periods and Deadlines
Fall and Winter Hunts
Archery, family, general gun, mobility-impaired, muzzleloading, track, and wild hog permits follow this schedule:
- Phase I (random draw): May 15–June 15, 2026
- Phase II (leftover draw): June 26–July 6, 2026
- Phase III (first-come, first-served): July 9, 2026, until filled or the final hunt date
Spring Turkey and Quail Hunts
- Phase I: November 1–30, 2026 for spring turkey and youth spring turkey; November 20–30, 2026 for quail
- Phase II: December 4–14, 2026
- Phase III: December 17, 2026, until filled or the final hunt date
Phase I is the main event. You submit one choice per hunt type, and winners come out of a random drawing weighted by preference points. Phase II reopens unclaimed permits in another random draw. Phase III releases whatever is left on a first-come, first-served basis, and popular WMAs can sell out within hours of Phase III going live.
How to Apply Through GoOutdoorsFlorida
Applications run through GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. If you don’t have an account, create one with your date of birth, last name, and either the last four digits of your Social Security number or your driver’s license number.3Go Outdoors Florida. Go Outdoors Florida Online Licensing System
Once logged in, open the limited entry or quota hunt application section and select the hunt area and date range you want. Review carefully before you submit, because Phase I gives you one selection per hunt type. The system sends a confirmation email with a transaction number after you submit. Keep it.
Check results by logging back in and opening the results section after each phase closes. If Phase I didn’t come through, you can try again in Phase II for leftovers.
Preference Points and Your Odds
Preference points reward persistence. Every time you apply in Phase I and don’t get drawn, you earn one point for that hunt type. You can also apply in Phase I purely for a point, without requesting a specific area, and bank it for later.4Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Preference Points for Limited Entry and Quota Hunts
Points improve your odds in Phase I but don’t guarantee a draw. The system weighs accumulated points against a random lottery number and your area choices. Archery points, general gun points, and turkey points all accumulate on their own tracks.
Skip a year and your points stay intact. Skip five consecutive years without applying in Phase I for a particular hunt type and you lose every point you’ve built for it. That forfeiture is permanent.5Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code 68A-15.005 – Quota Permits, Antlerless Deer Permits, Special-Opportunity Permits
Points you earned in Phase I stay with you even if you later get a permit in Phase II or Phase III. One exception: if you draw a National Wildlife Refuge permit in Phase I and don’t claim it, you forfeit all preference points for that hunt type.
If Your Plans Change
You can return a permit electronically through your GoOutdoorsFlorida account, but only up to 10 days before the hunt starts. Nothing is accepted inside that final 10-day window, by any method.6Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Permit Returns and Reissues
To return a permit, log in, open “Limited Entry Quota Applications & Awards,” and click the green “Return Permit” option next to your award. The return is irreversible.
Returning a Phase I permit on time restores your preference points for that hunt type immediately. If you simply no-show, you burn your points and the permit goes unused instead of being reissued. Waterfowl permits don’t carry preference points at all, so the return calculation is different there.
Guests and Transfers
Quota permits are non-transferable. You can’t sell, give away, or lend yours. Many hunt types do allow a guest, but the guest needs a separate guest permit from the GoOutdoorsFlorida portal and must stay in your physical company while hunting the WMA. A guest permit does not grant independent hunting rights, so the guest cannot wander off, hunt a different area, or stay in the field after you leave.7Justia Law. Florida Administrative Code 68A-15.005 – Quota Permits, Antlerless Deer Permits, Special-Opportunity Permits
Both of you need the species permits for whatever you’re after. Hunting deer means two deer permits in the party; hunting turkey means two turkey permits.
Youth, Family, and Mobility-Impaired Draws
Youth quota hunts are open to hunters 15 and younger, who must stay with a supervising adult at least 18 years old at all times in the field. Family quota permits work similarly, pairing an adult with a young hunter. These hunts are separate from Florida’s general youth deer hunting weekend, which is not available on WMAs managed under the quota system.8Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Youth Deer Hunt Weekend
Hunters with qualifying permanent disabilities can apply for mobility-impaired permits, which are drawn from a separate pool. You must submit a Physician Certification Form signed by a licensed doctor confirming a permanent mobility impairment. Qualifying conditions include paraplegia, hemiplegia, quadriplegia, permanent wheelchair dependence, permanent reliance on assisted walking aids or bilateral leg braces or prostheses, and single-leg above-the-knee amputation. Temporary disabilities don’t qualify. Submit the completed form by scanning and uploading it through your online account, or by fax or mail with the FWC cover sheet. Get this done well before the application window opens, because an incomplete form holds up the whole application.9Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Mobility-Impaired Certification
Penalties for Hunting Without a Valid Permit
Hunting on a WMA without a valid quota permit, or violating the terms of one, is a Level One violation under Florida law. The civil penalty for a first offense is $50. A repeat within 36 months jumps to $250, and a county court judge can impose $50 to $500 for repeat offenders.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 379.401 – Penalties and Violations
Refusing a citation, failing to pay, or not showing up in court escalates the matter to a second-degree misdemeanor. A Florida license suspension can also cross state lines through the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which all 50 states have joined, meaning other member states can suspend your privileges too.11Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact