Wyoming Administrative Code
Agency 040 - Game and Fish Commission
Sub-Agency 0001 - Game and Fish Commission Regulations
Chapter 44 - REGULATION FOR ISSUANCE OF LICENSES, PERMITS, STAMPS, TAGS, PREFERENCE POINTS AND COMPETITIVE RAFFLE CHANCES
Section 44-4 - License Issuance

Universal Citation: WY Code of Rules 44-4

Current through September 21, 2024

(a) In circumstances where the demand for a particular type of license exceeds the supply, a competitive drawing shall be held when feasible to determine successful applicants.

(b) The Department shall only issue licenses in excess of established quotas in the following circumstances:

(i) To accommodate a successful party application in a limited quota drawing;

(ii) To process a Commissioner or Governor license authorization;

(iii) Upon authorization by the License Review Board to resolve a Department license issuance error; or

(iv) As provided by Commission regulation.

(c) To establish the number of licenses available for the leftover drawing, the Department may continue alternately running the unsuccessful applicants of each resident and nonresident drawing until there are no unissued licenses or permits for which there are unsuccessful applications.

(d) License selling agents shall comply with the following procedures for the sale of limited quota full and reduced price issue-after licenses.

(i) License selling agents shall not sell or allocate licenses prior to the date and time established annually by the Fiscal Division Chief.

(ii) All applications for resident licenses, preference points and permits shall contain the resident applicant's original or electronic signature and when applicable, the parent or legal guardian's signature in accordance with Wyoming statute. Applications for youth licenses and permits may contain a signature from the youth's parent or legal guardian in lieu of the youth applicant's signature. All applications for nonresident licenses and permits shall contain either the nonresident applicant's signature or the signature of the person submitting the application on behalf of the nonresident applicant;
(A) In the event the license is issued through the ELS, the resident applicant shall be present at the license selling agent location to purchase the license. The parent or legal guardian of a resident youth applicant shall be present at the license selling agent location to purchase a license for the resident youth applicant.

(iii) License selling agents and the ELS shall only issue licenses to one customer at a time, first-come, first-served in the order the individuals are present in line. The agent may issue up to the maximum number of licenses specified by Chapter 2, General Hunting Regulation to a single individual who provides the required information for license issuance.

(e) Big Game Licenses. No individual shall apply for or receive more than one (1) license for each big game species during any one (1) calendar year, except as otherwise provided in Commission regulation(s).

(i) Antelope. Eighty percent (80%) of the total available limited quota antelope licenses shall initially be offered to residents in the initial drawing. The order of the resident antelope initial drawings depicted in this section shall be Resident Landowner Licenses, then Resident Regular Licenses.
(A) Statutes provide for up to one hundred sixty (160) licenses to be available for up to two (2) antelope hunt events each year. These licenses shall be issued above quotas established for the hunt area(s) and shall be allocated to residents and nonresidents, taking into consideration resource management requirements as designated by the Wildlife Division. These licenses are exempt from the provisions in this Chapter limiting the number of big game licenses an individual may obtain in one (1) calendar year. Applications shall be reviewed by the Department and brought before the Commission for final approval and selection. The Commission may designate an organization to receive antelope hunt event licenses for up to three (3) consecutive hunting seasons before requiring the organization to reapply. Applications for any future antelope hunt event licenses shall be accepted as advertised by the Department.
(I) An application for an antelope hunt event shall be submitted on a form provided by the Department and shall specify:
(1.) The name of the organization;

(2.) The organization's history, background and mission;

(3.) The number of antelope licenses requested by individual hunt area and type;

(4.) The number of consecutive years antelope hunt event licenses are being requested; and

(5.) The organization's financial plan to benefit wildlife, conservation and the community with funds raised from the antelope hunt event.

(II) The Commission may revoke an organization's opportunity to receive antelope hunt event licenses if any information provided on their application is incorrect or is no longer valid.

(B) The Commission may, upon receipt of payment of antelope license fees as specified in W. S. § 23-1-705, issue up to a total of fifty (50) antelope licenses each year for the exclusive distribution to individuals with disabilities by nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing hunting opportunities to individuals with disabilities.
(I) Qualifying organizations shall make application to the License Section of the Department on or before January 31 for these antelope licenses. The application shall specify:
(1.) The total number of licenses requested;

(2.) The Hunt Area and Type designation of the licenses requested; and

(3.) Certification that shows the organization qualifies under the definition of a "Nonprofit Organization Dedicated to Providing Hunting Opportunities to Individuals with Disabilities".

(II) In the event that more than one (1) qualifying organization requests licenses under this subsection, the Department shall allocate the licenses through a random drawing to the specific qualifying organization(s).

(III) The antelope licenses issued shall be issued through the Department above quotas established for the hunt area(s) and shall be allocated to residents or nonresidents as designated by the nonprofit organization(s).

(C) The order of the nonresident antelope initial drawing set forth in this section shall be Nonresident Landowner Licenses, Nonresident Special Licenses, then Nonresident Regular Licenses. The allocation of remaining licenses after the Nonresident Landowner License Drawing shall be forty percent (40%) to the Nonresident Special License Drawing and sixty percent (60%) to the Nonresident Regular License Drawing.

(D) The Department shall allocate not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the available Special and Regular Nonresident antelope licenses to a preference point drawing in the initial drawing. The order of the nonresident antelope preference point drawing shall allow individual applicants with the highest number of preference points to be given a drawing advantage for the total number of available licenses to be issued in accordance with this section; then the applicants with the next highest number of preference points shall be selected, and so forth, until the quota has been filled for all first choice selections. The Department shall allocate up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the available nonresident antelope licenses to a random drawing in the initial drawing in which all unsuccessful applicants from the preference point drawing shall be placed. The preference point drawing advantage shall only apply to an applicant's first choice selection. All unsuccessful applicants in the preference point drawing shall participate in the respective random drawing for all remaining choices, giving no advantage to applicants with preference points.
(I) In addition to the restrictions set forth in Section 17 of this Chapter, party applications with a differing number of preference points among party members shall have preference points averaged and rounded out to four (4) decimal places.

(E) Antelope licenses that have not been applied for and issued through initial drawings or leftover drawings shall be offered to residents and nonresidents as issue-after licenses.

(F) Eighty percent (80%) of the total available limited quota reduced price doe/fawn antelope licenses shall be offered to residents in the initial drawing. Reduced price pioneer doe/fawn antelope licenses shall be made available through the ELS. In addition to the statutorily prescribed application fees, the price of reduced price doe/fawn antelope licenses shall be twenty-two dollars ($22) for residents, fourteen dollars ($14) for resident youth, two dollars ($2) for resident pioneers, eighteen dollars ($18) for pioneer heritage, thirty-four dollars ($34) for nonresidents and nineteen dollars ($19) for nonresident youth.

(ii) Bighorn Sheep. Ninety percent (90%) of the total available limited quota full price bighorn sheep licenses shall initially be offered to residents in the initial drawings.
(A) Ninety percent (90%) of the total available limited quota reduced price ewe/lamb licenses shall be offered to residents in the initial drawing, except as otherwise provided by Commission regulations. In addition to the statutorily prescribed application fees, the price of reduced price ewe/lamb licenses shall be thirty-six dollars ($36) for residents, twenty dollars ($20) for resident youth, two hundred forty dollars ($240) for nonresidents and one hundred dollars ($100) for nonresident youth.

(iii) Deer. Eighty percent (80%) of the total available limited quota deer licenses shall initially be offered to residents in the initial drawing. The order of the resident deer initial drawings depicted in this section shall be Resident Landowner Licenses, then Resident Regular Licenses.
(A) The Commission shall annually establish the nonresident region general deer license quotas in addition to license quotas for limited quota hunt areas.

(B) W.S. § 23-2-101(f) provides for up to seventy-five (75) nonresident special deer licenses to be available for a national bow hunt. This quota shall be deducted from the nonresident special deer quota for the nonresident deer region in which the national bow hunt is held. National bow hunt deer licenses shall only be valid during the hunt dates established by Wyoming National Bowhunt, Inc. and the Department. These dates shall be within the existing special archery season dates as set forth in the most current Commission Regulation Chapter 6 Deer Hunting Seasons of the Commission regulations for the specific deer hunt area(s) in which the hunt will occur.

(C) W.S. § 23-1-705(c) provides for up to twenty-five (25) licenses, which may be issued for a gunpowder and buckskin hunt(s). These licenses shall be issued above quotas and allocated to residents and nonresidents as designated by the Wildlife Division. These licenses are exempt from the provisions in this Chapter limiting the number of big game licenses an individual can obtain in one (1) calendar year.

(D) The order of the nonresident deer initial drawings described in this section shall be Nonresident Landowner Licenses, Nonresident Special Licenses, and then Nonresident Regular Licenses. The allocation of remaining licenses after the nonresident landowner drawing shall be forty percent (40%) to the Nonresident Special License Drawing and sixty percent (60%) to the Nonresident Regular License Drawing.

(E) The Department shall allocate not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the available Special and Regular Nonresident deer licenses to a preference point drawing in the initial drawing. The order of the nonresident deer preference point drawing shall allow individual applicants with the highest number of preference points to be given a drawing advantage for the total number of available licenses to be issued in accordance with this section; then the applicants with the next highest number of preference points shall be selected, and so forth, until the quota has been filled for all first choice selections. The Department shall allocate up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the available nonresident deer licenses to a random drawing in the initial drawing in which unsuccessful applicants from the preference point drawing shall be placed. The preference point drawing advantage shall only apply to an applicant's first choice selection. Unsuccessful applicants in the preference point drawing shall participate in the respective random drawing for all remaining choices, giving no advantage to applicants with preference points.
(I) In addition to the restrictions set forth in Section 17 of this Chapter, party applications with differing number of preference points among party members shall have preference points averaged and rounded out to four (4) decimal places.

(F) Nonresident region general deer licenses that have not been applied for and issued through the initial drawing and leftover drawing shall be offered to nonresidents as issue-after licenses.

(G) Limited quota deer licenses that have not been applied for and issued through the initial and leftover drawings shall be offered to residents and nonresidents as issue-after licenses.

(H) Eighty percent (80%) of the total available limited quota reduced price doe/fawn deer licenses shall be offered to residents in the initial drawing. Reduced price pioneer doe/fawn deer licenses shall be made available for sale through the ELS. In addition to the statutorily prescribed application fees, the price of reduced price doe/fawn deer licenses shall be twenty-two dollars ($22) for residents, fourteen dollars ($14) for resident youth, two dollars ($2) for resident pioneers, eighteen dollars ($18) for pioneer heritage, thirty-four dollars ($34) for nonresidents and nineteen dollars ($19) for nonresident youth.

(I) Resident general deer licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS. Resident general deer licenses may also be applied for and issued through the initial drawings by submission of a completed application.

(iv) Elk. Sixteen percent (16%) of the total available full price limited quota elk licenses shall be made available to nonresidents in an initial nonresident drawing each year.
(A) The order of the nonresident elk initial drawing shall be Nonresident Landowner Licenses, Nonresident Special Licenses and then Nonresident Regular Licenses. Following the Nonresident Landowner License Drawing, remaining licenses shall be allocated as follows: Forty percent (40%) to the Nonresident Special License Drawing and sixty percent (60%) to the Nonresident Regular License Drawing.

(B) Sixteen percent (16%) of the total available reduced price cow/calf elk licenses shall be offered to nonresidents in a separate nonresident initial drawing each year.

(C) The Department shall allocate not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the available Special and Regular Nonresident elk licenses to a preference point drawing in the initial drawing. The order of the nonresident elk preference point drawing shall allow individual applicants with the highest number of preference points to be given a drawing advantage for the total number of available licenses to be issued in accordance with this section; then the applicants with the next highest number of preference points shall be selected, and so forth, until the quota has been filled for all first choice selections. The Department shall allocate up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the available nonresident elk licenses to a random drawing in the initial drawing in which all unsuccessful applicants from the preference point drawing shall be placed. The preference point drawing advantage shall only apply to an applicant's first choice selection. All unsuccessful applicants in the preference point drawing shall participate in the respective random drawing for all remaining choices, giving no advantage to applicants with preference points.
(I) In addition to the restrictions set forth in Section 17 of this Chapter, party applications with differing number of preference points among party members shall have preference points averaged and rounded out to four (4) decimal places.

(D) Following the nonresident elk initial drawings, quotas for resident limited quota full priced and reduced price cow/calf elk licenses shall be the greater of the elk quotas established by Commission regulation less any elk licenses currently issued to nonresidents or eighty-four (84%) percent of the quota established by Commission regulation in the initial drawing. The order of the resident elk initial drawings depicted in this section shall be Resident Landowner Licenses, then Resident Regular Licenses.

(E) Limited quota elk licenses that have not been applied for and issued through the initial and leftover drawings shall be offered to residents and nonresidents as issue-after licenses.

(F) The Commission shall annually establish the nonresident region general elk license quotas in addition to the license quotas for limited quota hunt areas.

(G) Nonresident general elk licenses that have not been applied for and issued through the initial drawing and leftover drawing shall be offered to nonresidents as issue-after licenses.

(H) Reduced price pioneer cow/calf elk licenses shall be made available for sale through the ELS. In addition to the statutorily prescribed application fees, the price of reduced price cow/calf elk licenses shall be forty-three dollars ($43) for residents, twenty dollars ($20) for resident youth, five dollars ($5) for resident pioneers, twenty-seven dollars ($27) for pioneer heritage, two hundred eighty-eight dollars ($288) for nonresidents and one hundred dollars ($100) for nonresident youth.

(I) Resident general elk licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS. Resident general elk licenses may also be applied for and issued through the initial drawings by submitting a completed application.

(v) Moose. Ninety percent (90%) of the total available limited quota moose licenses shall be offered to residents in the initial drawing.

(vi) Mountain Goat. Ninety percent (90%) of the total available limited quota mountain goat licenses shall be offered to residents in the initial drawing.
(A) Any person who has been issued a mountain goat type one (1) or a type two (2) license shall not be eligible to apply for or receive a mountain goat type one (1) or a type two (2) license in any subsequent year.

(B) Any person who has been issued a mountain goat type one (1) or type two (2) license in a previous year may apply for and receive a mountain goat Type A license in any subsequent year.

(C) Any person who applies for and receives a mountain goat Type A license shall be eligible to apply for or receive a mountain goat Type A license in any future year.

(f) Trophy Game. No individual shall apply for or receive more than one (1) license for a specific trophy game species during any one (1) calendar year, except as otherwise provided in Commission regulation.

(i) Black Bear. Black bear licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS.

(ii) Gray Wolf. Gray wolf licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS.

(iii) Grizzly Bear. No licenses shall be issued for this species until such time as the Commission may establish an open grizzly bear hunting season.

(iv) Mountain Lion. Full price mountain lion licenses and reduced price mountain lion licenses shall not be limited in number. They shall be issued through the ELS. A person may apply for and receive a maximum of one (1) full price mountain lion license and one (1) reduced price mountain lion license during any one (1) calendar year. Reduced price mountain lion licenses are only valid in specified hunt areas. A person shall possess and exhibit a full price mountain lion license for the current calendar year in order to receive a reduced price mountain lion license for the same calendar year. The price of a reduced price mountain lion license shall be twenty dollars ($20) for residents and ninety-two dollars ($92) for nonresidents.

(g) Wild Bison. Ninety (90%) percent of the wild bison recreational hunting season licenses shall be initially offered to residents in the initial drawing. If the number of resident applicants for wild bison licenses does not meet or exceed the resident wild bison license allocation, the remaining resident allocation may be issued to nonresidents. If the number of nonresident applicants for wild bison does not meet or exceed the nonresident wild bison allocation, the remaining license allocation may be issued to residents.

(i) Completed applications for resident and nonresident wild bison recreational hunting season licenses shall only be accepted through the ELS. Applicants shall have the choice of applying for any wild bison or any female or calf wild bison. A computer random drawing shall be utilized to determine successful applicants.

(ii) Wild bison licenses that have not been applied for and issued through initial and leftover drawings shall be offered to residents and nonresidents as issue-after licenses.

(h) Bird.

(i) Falconry.
(A) Hunt with Falcon licenses shall be issued as over-the-counter licenses through the ELS.

(B) General Raptor Capture licenses shall be issued as over-the-counter licenses through the ELS at Headquarters. Limited Quota Raptor Capture licenses shall be issued in accordance with Commission Regulation Chapter 25 Falconry Regulation.

(ii) Game Bird. Game Bird licenses shall not be limited in number. They shall be issued as over-the-counter licenses through the ELS.

(iii) Wild Turkey. Eighty percent (80%) of the total available spring and fall limited quota wild turkey licenses shall be offered to residents in the initial drawing. The order of the initial drawings shall be resident landowner licenses, resident regular licenses, nonresident landowner licenses and then nonresident regular licenses.
(A) Limited quota wild turkey licenses that have not been applied for and issued through the initial drawing shall be offered to residents and nonresidents as issue-after licenses.

(B) The Commission may authorize general wild turkey licenses, which shall not be limited in number. Those licenses shall be issued as over-the-counter licenses through the ELS. These licenses may also be applied for and issued through the initial drawing process.

(i) Small Game. Small Game licenses shall not be limited in number. They shall be issued as over-the-counter licenses through the ELS.

(j) Furbearing Animals.

(i) Trapping. Resident furbearing animal trapping licenses shall not be limited in number. They shall be issued as over-the-counter licenses through the ELS. Nonresident furbearing animal trapping licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued in accordance with W.S. § 23-2-303 at Headquarters.

(ii) Capture Furbearing Animal for Domestication. Capture Furbearing Animal for Domestication licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS at Headquarters.

(k) Archery. Archery licenses shall not be limited in number. They shall be issued as over-the-counter licenses through the ELS.

(l) Commercial Licenses. Commercial licenses require written approval by Department personnel prior to issuance.

(i) Commercial Fish Hatchery. Commercial Fish Hatchery licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS at Headquarters.

(ii) Deal in Live Bait. Deal in Live Bait licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS at Department Regional Offices and Headquarters.

(iii) Fishing Preserve. Fishing Preserve licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS at Headquarters.

(iv) Fur Dealer. Fur Dealer licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS at Headquarters.

(v) Game Bird Farm. Game Bird Farm licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS at Headquarters.

(vi) Taxidermist. Taxidermist licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS at Headquarters.

(m) Fishing. Fishing licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued as over-the-counter licenses through the ELS.

(i) Seine or Trap Fish. Seine or Trap Fish licenses shall not be limited in number and shall be issued through the ELS at Department Regional Offices and Headquarters. No person shall apply for or receive more than one (1) seine or trap fish license during a calendar year.

(n) Duplicate Licenses.

(i) In order for a duplicate license to be issued, a duplicate license affidavit shall be properly completed by the licensee.
(A) For a license, permit, stamp or tag that was originally issued through a manual process, the customer shall be required to purchase another license, permit, stamp or tag, rather than a duplicate license, as authorized by Commission regulation.

(B) For a license that was originally issued through the ELS, the license selling agent or sub-agent shall not be required to complete a duplicate license affidavit form prior to issuing a duplicate license as the affidavit is incorporated into the duplicate license document being issued through the ELS.

(ii) Duplicate licenses shall be issued through the ELS.

(iii) The Department and license selling agents shall charge a fee of seven dollars ($7) for issuance of a duplicate license.

(iv) Once a duplicate license is issued, any previous license issued for the same species, hunt area and license type is no longer valid.

(o) Replacement Licenses.

(i) Once a replacement license is issued, any previous license issued for the same license type is no longer valid.

(ii) The Department and license selling agents shall charge a fee of seven dollars ($7) for the issuance of a replacement license issued through the ELS.

(p) Resident Guide Licenses shall be issued for no charge through the ELS at Department Regional Offices and Headquarters, and shall be issued manually through designated Department personnel.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Wyoming may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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