North Dakota Turkey

North Dakota is a tough state to get a turkey tag as a nonresident. The 2026 state spring lottery was restricted to North Dakota residents and authorized 8,497 licenses. Three additional statewide spring licenses were assigned to the National Wild Turkey Federation for raffle or auction and may be awarded to a resident or nonresident. Four more statewide licenses went to the Outdoor Adventure Foundation for qualifying youth with cancer or another life threatening illness.

The practical nonresident pathways are a conservation permit, a tribal license, or a state fall leftover. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe listed 300 total nonmember spring licenses for 2026 at $175, with archery beginning March 27 and gun hunting beginning April 10. In the state system, only residents enter the first fall drawing, but any remaining licenses may then be sold to residents and nonresidents. The 2025 leftover release produced 1,230 licenses in 10 units, meaning that the fall option provides a real chance for a nonresident to pick up a tag.

At the time of publishing, North Dakota had finalized the spring season but had not posted the signed 2026 fall proclamation, application deadline, permit allocation or closing date. The agency listed October 10 as the tentative fall opener.

State spring applications are resident-only. The 2026 application deadline was February 11, the drawing was complete by February 17, and remaining resident licenses went on sale February 25 at 8 a.m. Central. North Dakota uses a weighted bonus point lottery. An unsuccessful first choice applicant earns one point; additional chances are based on the cube of the point total. Drawing a first choice license resets the points.

State fall licenses also begin with a resident only weighted lottery. The ordinary schedule is applications open in mid August, an early September deadline and results in mid September. After that first drawing, residents and nonresidents may purchase remaining licenses as directed by the Department. The nonresident strategy is to monitor the leftovers and buy immediately when sales open.

North Dakota does not offer a general OTC turkey license. Spring state leftovers remain resident-only. Fall licenses become functionally OTC only after the resident drawing and only in units with licenses left. Those licenses are issued first-come, first-served to residents and nonresidents. Availability changes quickly and the license remains valid only in the printed unit.

Tribal permits are separate sovereign licenses, not North Dakota state OTC licenses. Standing Rock sold 2026 spring permits online, by telephone and through its Game and Fish office beginning January 5. A tribal permit does not automatically authorize hunting on every fee-title or nontribal parcel inside a reservation boundary. Confirm jurisdiction and obtain landowner permission before hunting.

State shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Tribal shooting hours and equipment restrictions are controlled by the tribal proclamation and may differ. For state fall leftovers, start with the units that repeatedly carry surplus rather than the units with the highest name recognition. Unit 13 (Dunn County) and Unit 25 (McHenry and portions of Pierce/Ward) accounted for 909 of the 1,230 leftovers in 2025. Unit 13 offers western breaks and wooded drainages; Unit 25 is more agricultural and shelterbelt driven. Unit 30 along the Morton County portion of the Missouri system added 83 leftovers and fits NDGF's central/west central river corridor recommendation.

Public access is useful but fragmented. PLOTS provides walk-in access, and federal parcels include national grasslands and waterfowl production areas where turkey hunting may be legal. However, nonresidents may not hunt Game and Fish Department owned or leased lands, including WMAs and PLOTS during the first week of pheasant season. Because the tentative 2026 fall turkey and pheasant openers are both October 10, a nonresident leftover holder should plan on federal land or private permission during that first week unless the final dates change.

Late in fall, flocks often concentrate near grain, livestock feed and protected river bottom roosts on private land. NDGF's HuntLink/depredation contacts and direct landowner outreach can outperform a public land only plan. Ask before the season, identify the exact state turkey unit and verify that the license covers the parcel.

At Huntin' Fool, we are always looking for ways to improve our service and help out members to the very best of our abilities. We believe communication is what makes our Huntin' Fool community great!