CPW Secondary Draw: Eligibility, Fees, and Key Dates

Colorado’s secondary draw is a random second-chance drawing for elk, deer, pronghorn, and bear licenses that went unclaimed in the primary draw. For 2026, applications open June 18 and close June 30 at 8:00 p.m. MDT, with results posted July 7.¹ Preference points play no role, so a first-year applicant has the same odds as someone who has been saving points for a decade.²

Key 2026 Dates

Application window: June 18 – June 30, 2026 (closes 8:00 p.m. MDT)
Results posted: July 7, 2026
Surrender deadline: July 9, 2026, 11:59 p.m. MT
Leftover list on sale: August 4, 2026, 9:00 a.m. MDT

All dates come from CPW’s secondary draw and leftover license pages.¹³

Who Can Apply

Residents and nonresidents are both eligible, and prior participation in the primary draw is neither required nor disqualifying. If you drew a license in the primary round, you can still apply in the secondary, subject to the List system: holding a List A license already means you cannot draw a second List A license for that species, but a List B or List C license is still on the table.¹

Youth applicants ages 12 through 17 are processed first. Every youth application is run before any adult application, which is a meaningful advantage on the more popular hunt codes.¹

Group applications are not permitted. Everyone applies as an individual.

Preference Points Don’t Apply

The secondary draw does not use or award preference points.¹ Your existing point balance is untouched, and an unsuccessful application will not add a new one. That is the whole reason the secondary draw is often the best odds a newer hunter has all year.

Get a Qualifying License First

You cannot submit a secondary draw application without a current-year qualifying license on your CPW account. The qualifying license must sit in your cart before the draw application at checkout, though both can be purchased in the same transaction.¹ Any of the following works:

Annual Small Game License
Annual Spring Turkey License
Annual Fall Turkey License (valid for the secondary draw only)
Resident Combination Small Game/Fishing License (residents only)

The fall turkey license is worth remembering. It doesn’t qualify for the primary draw, but it does for the secondary, so it’s a cheap way to become eligible if you missed the spring window.⁴

Hunter Education and Habitat Stamp

Anyone born on or after January 1, 1949, must hold a completed hunter education certificate before applying.⁵ If you haven’t finished the course, an Apprentice Hunter Certificate provides a one-year waiver, available to hunters at least 10 years old and usable only twice in a lifetime.⁶

A current Habitat Stamp is also required. It costs $12.47, funds the Wildlife Habitat Program, and runs from March 1 through the following March 31. If you already bought one this cycle with a fishing or hunting license, you’re covered.⁷

How to Apply

Applications are submitted at CPWShop.com. Have your Customer Identification Number (CID) ready before you log in. If you’ve lost it, CPW’s number is 303-297-1192 during business hours, or Aspira at 1-800-244-5613 around the clock.

Each application allows up to four hunt code choices, and you can submit one application per species.¹ Pick codes from the published leftover list, which shows the species, sex, weapon type, and game management unit for every available license. Build your choices before the window opens.

Watch the hunt code carefully. A “P” in the second-to-last position means the license is valid only on private land, so you’ll need landowner permission before the tag is any use.³ The free Colorado Hunting Atlas maps land ownership and public access by unit.⁸

Application Fees and License Costs

A non-refundable application processing fee is charged per species at submission, and the same fee applies to residents and nonresidents. If you draw, the card on file is charged the full license price. Resident and nonresident pricing differ sharply.¹

Elk, resident adult: $67.86
Deer, resident adult: $49.15
Pronghorn, resident adult: $49.15
Resident youth, any big game: $18.90
Elk, nonresident: $845.16
Deer, nonresident: $506.92
Pronghorn, nonresident: $506.92
Nonresident youth, any big game: $130.07

Confirm the card linked to your CPW account is valid and funded. A failed charge after you draw forfeits the license and can affect future draws.¹

After the Draw

Results are posted on July 7, 2026. Log into CPWShop.com and open the My Requests tab. If you drew, your card will already show the charge for the license.⁹

If your plans change, the surrender deadline is July 9, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. MT. When you surrender a license, CPW makes you choose one of two outcomes: a monetary refund or restoration of the preference points used. You cannot have both.¹⁰

If You Don’t Draw

Whatever the secondary draw doesn’t award moves to the leftover list, which goes on sale August 4, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. MDT.³ Leftover sales are first-come, first-served, through CPWShop.com, by phone at 1-800-244-5613, or at sales agents statewide. Popular units disappear within minutes, so line up your qualifying license, Habitat Stamp, and payment method before the sale opens.

One exception: Ranching for Wildlife licenses do not roll to the leftover list even if they go unissued in the secondary draw.¹

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Secondary Draw
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. CPW Preference Points Presentation
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Leftover (Remaining) and Reissued Licenses
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Qualifying License
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Education and Outreach
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. New to Hunting
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Habitat Stamp
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Colorado Hunting Atlas. Colorado Hunting Atlas
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Big Game
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Hunting License Refunds, Reversals and Exchanges