An Arizona elk tag costs $135 for residents and $650 for non-residents. That price is the same whether you draw the tag through the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s lottery or buy an over-the-counter nonpermit-tag for an eligible archery or limited-opportunity season. If you go through the draw, you also pay a non-refundable application fee of $13 (resident) or $15 (non-resident), which brings the drawn total to $148 or $665. A separate hunting license, required before you can apply or buy, adds $37 to $160 depending on residency.
Elk Tag Prices by Type
The tag fee itself does not change based on how you acquire it. What changes is whether an application fee is layered on top.
- Resident drawn elk tag: $135 tag + $13 application fee = $148
- Non-resident drawn elk tag: $650 tag + $15 application fee = $665
- Resident OTC elk tag: $135 (no application fee)
- Non-resident OTC elk tag: $650 (no application fee)
- Non-resident youth cow elk (drawn): $50 tag + $15 application fee = $65
The published all-in prices on the AZGFD fee schedule for drawn tags already include the application fee. When you see “$148 resident elk permit-tag,” you are not paying $148 and then another $13 on top; the $13 is baked in.1Arizona Game & Fish Department. Hunting Licenses
OTC nonpermit-tags cover a narrower set of hunts than the draw and they sell out, so availability, not price, is usually the deciding factor between the two routes.
The Hunting License You Also Need
A valid Arizona hunting license is required before you can apply for the draw or buy an OTC tag. Licenses are sold separately and are valid for 365 days from the date of purchase.1Arizona Game & Fish Department. Hunting Licenses
- Resident general hunting license: $37
- Resident combination hunt and fish license: $57
- Non-resident combination hunt and fish license: $160
- Youth combination hunt and fish license (ages 10–17, any residency): $5
Non-residents cannot buy a hunting-only license. Arizona sells out-of-state hunters only the combination hunt and fish license, so the $160 is unavoidable.2Arizona Game & Fish Department. Non-Resident Hunting Your license must be valid both when you submit your draw application and on the application deadline date, so time the purchase accordingly.
How the Application Fee Works
Every draw application carries a non-refundable fee of $13 for residents or $15 for non-residents, charged per species. If you apply for both elk and pronghorn in the same cycle, you pay the fee twice.3Arizona Game & Fish Department. Big Game Draw If you are not drawn, you lose the application fee but earn a bonus point for that species. You can also submit a bonus-point-only application at the same price if you want to build draw odds without being considered for a tag that year.
The tag fee itself is only charged if you are drawn. Nobody pays $135 or $650 just to enter.
Getting Your Money Protected if You Can’t Hunt
Arizona’s PointGuard program is worth knowing about if you are putting real money and years of bonus points into a draw. For $10 per species at the time of application, or $25 for PointGuard Plus covering all eligible big game species for three consecutive draw cycles, you can surrender a drawn tag and have your accumulated bonus points restored, including the point you would have earned had you been unsuccessful.4Arizona Game & Fish Department. PointGuard
One important limit: PointGuard protects your points, not your money. AZGFD does not refund the tag fee for a surrendered tag. You also have to surrender the unused tag before the close of business the day before the hunt begins.5Cornell Law School. Arizona Administrative Code R12-4-118 – Hunt Permit-tag Surrender
What a First-Time Hunter Should Budget
For the mandatory government fees on a drawn tag:
- Resident total: $37 license + $148 drawn elk tag = $185
- Non-resident total: $160 combination license + $665 drawn elk tag = $825
- Non-resident youth (cow elk): $5 youth license + $65 drawn tag = $70
Residents who go the OTC route rather than the draw save the $13 application fee, paying $37 + $135 = $172 total for license and tag. Optional add-ons include PointGuard at $10 per species or $25 for PointGuard Plus.
What These Figures Don’t Cover
The prices above are only what Arizona charges for the tag, the application, and the license. They do not include gear, travel, lodging, or meat processing, which typically runs $1 to $2 per pound for professional butchering. A guided elk hunt in the western states generally runs $6,000 to $12,000 or more on top of all government fees, depending on guide-to-client ratios and whether the outfitter hunts private or public land. If you are comparing an Arizona elk hunt to one in another state, compare the full package, not just the tag.