The 2026 Vermont moose hunt application period is open. Go to https://fshandwildlife.com/node/344 for more information on Vermont moose hunting. Vermont has two different moose lotteries. The first lottery is for the archery hunt, with season dates falling between October 1 and 7, and the second lottery is for the regular season, with season dates falling between October 17 and 25. Any legal weapon may be used on the regular lottery hunt. For 2026, Vermont will be offering 59 either-sex moose permits through the draw. The moose drawing will be held on July 15.
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Online applications must be completed by midnight EDT on June 17, 2026. You will only submit the application fees at the time of applying; you do not have to purchase your license or moose tag until you have drawn the permit. Paper applications are available upon request by calling 802-828-1190 or by emailing cheri.waters@vermont.gov.
Up to 10% of the available moose permits may be issued to non-resident hunters. Permittees are selected through a computer-generated random drawing. Each applicant selected in the drawing is assigned their first choice unless the permit quota for that unit has already been filled, in which case they will be issued their next available choice.
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Successful applicants will be sent a winner’s packet within a few days of the drawing. The winner’s packet will include a Moose Hunter’s Guide, Moose Permit Form, and instructions for purchasing the permit. Successful applicants have fifteen days to return the completed forms and corresponding fee to Vermont’s office. If the packet is not received by the deadline, you will forfeit your winning permit, and it will be redrawn.
Vermont requires a five-year waiting period for all successful applicants following their acceptance of a moose permit. Bonus points cannot be accrued during this five-year waiting period.
For online applications, you may use Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. For paper applications, you must send a check or money order payable to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. All application fees are non-refundable.
Successful completion of a hunter education course is required for Vermont hunters of any age who haven’t previously held a hunting license. While there is no legal requirement, the VFWD recommends that any person hunting with a firearm or bow during hunting season wear hunter orange.
There is no minimum age to apply or hunt for moose in Vermont as long as the hunter has passed a hunter safety class. There is no minimum age to apply for bonus points.
Starting in 2006, Vermont instituted a bonus point system for the regular lottery, and in 2011, they instituted a bonus point system for the archery lottery. Unsuccessful applicants accrue one point for each lottery for each consecutive year they apply. Each point translates to a chance in the drawing; the first year you apply, you have one chance in the lottery; in the second year, you have two chances; etc. Applicants lose all accrued points if they do not apply for the lottery for one year or if they accept a moose permit. You may apply for points only for $25 each in both the regular lottery and the archery lottery. You may apply online or with a paper application.
In 2025, 1,564 non-residents applied for the 13 non-resident permits drawn in the regular lottery, and 757 non-residents applied for the 2 non-resident permits available in the archery lottery.
Vermont does not have any special youth moose tags.
To take a moose, a hunter may use the following: a centerfire rifle or centerfire handgun of no less than .25 caliber; a muzzleloading firearm of no less than .45 caliber designed to be fired from the shoulder with a minimum barrel length of 20 inches; a muzzleloading handgun of no less than .45 caliber with a minimum barrel length of 10 inches; a 20 gauge or larger bore shotgun with slugs; or a bow of no less than 50-pound draw weight and broadheads with 7/8 inches cutting width and two or more cutting edges. A crossbow may be used as a means of take by any person during any hunting season that permits the use of a bow and arrow. Proof of completion of bowhunter education will be needed for successful applicants and subpermittees to hold an archery season moose permit.
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Vermont will auction off three moose hunting permits in the middle of summer to applicants who submit the highest bids through a written bid process. Anyone wanting a bid package may request one by calling 802-828-1190. Bids must be received at the VFWD’s central office prior to the deadlines established. If you held a moose permit in the last five years, you are not eligible to participate in the moose auction. Vermont does not offer landowner tags.
If you are successful in drawing a moose permit but do not want to go, you may decline the permit. If you choose to decline a permit, you will receive a bonus point for that year, you will not lose any accrued bonus points, and you will be able to apply the next year.
The Vermont Game Commissioner may grant a one-time, one-year deferment to successful moose applicants for reasons of personal or family illness, temporary disability, or military deployment.
Each hunter who is successful in drawing a moose tag may designate one person as a subpermittee to participate in the moose hunt. The subpermittee is a person who can hunt with the permittee, and either the permittee or the subpermittee may kill the moose. Only one moose can be killed per permit, so the permittee and subpermittee must be physically in each other’s presence so that they don’t both kill a moose. A moose permit winner is not allowed to change their subpermittee except in the case of personal or family illness, temporary disability, or military deployment. The change must be approved by the Vermont Game Commissioner. No person who has held a Vermont moose permit in the last five years can be a subpermittee on another hunter’s permit. No person who draws a moose permit may be a subpermittee on another hunter’s permit in the same year. No person may be the subpermittee on more than one hunter’s permit in the same year.
You must report your moose within forty-eight hours of harvest. If reporting a moose on October 1 or 2, or during the regular season, you must report it to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department biological check station. If reporting a moose between October 3 and 7 or after the regular season is closed, you must call 802-424-6552 to arrange for a biologist to meet you. A registration form will be completed when you report your moose.
You will be required to mark the exact location of the harvest on a USGS map. The permittee must travel in the same vehicle as the moose during transport to the check station.
For more information on Vermont moose hunting, go to https://vtfishandwildlife.com/hunt/find-a-place-to-hunt.
Hunting on properly posted land is illegal without written permission. Timber companies own thousands of acres of land across Vermont, especially within the Northeast Kingdom. Most timber companies allow access to their private land. As a hunter, remember that you are a guest and that it is a privilege to hunt their private land.
Vermont continues to battle with heavy winter tick loads in its core moose range. Calf survival rates have been hit especially hard, and it’s estimated that just half survive their first winter. The VFWD believes that, to improve the health of moose in Northeastern Vermont, moose population reduction is necessary to break the winter tick cycle. Research shows that a moose population with less than one moose per square mile supports relatively few winter ticks, resulting in a reduced impact on the moose population.
For 2026, 65 either-sex permits have been proposed: 44 rifle permits, 15 archery permits, 3 auction permits, and 3 special opportunity permits. Another 20 antlerless-only permits are also proposed. All of these hunts will only take place in E1 and E2, which are Vermont’s most densely populated units.
Vermont’s archery moose hunt will take place from October 1 to 7, 2026. Seven permits will be issued for E1, and eight will be issued for E2. Between E1 and E2, only one archery permit may be awarded to a non-resident applicant in 2026. Hunters who draw an archery tag will have a great chance at finding a big bull due to the season dates hitting the peak of the rut.
New for 2026, the regular moose season has been extended from six days to nine days and now includes two weekends. The reason for this change was to provide more flexibility for hunters in hopes that success rates will be more consistent and less affected by poor weather. The regular season rifle hunt will take place between October 17 and 25, 2026, and will have 44 either-sex lottery permits available, 5 of which are set aside as veteran permits. Twenty-four of the permits will be for E1, and 20 will be for E2. In addition to the either-sex permits, there will be 11 antlerless-only permits drawn for E1A and another 9 drawn for E2A. Up to 6 regular season permits may be awarded to non-resident applicants. During the regular season hunt, the rut will be winding down, and you can expect to cover a lot of country to find a bull.
Last year, a total of 174 moose tags were awarded by lottery in E1 and E2. The VFWD issued 20 either-sex lottery permits for the archery season, and all three auction permit winners elected to hunt the E1 archery season. The archery season is hands down the best time to harvest a big bull, as it takes place in the middle of the rut. In 2025, the thirteen archery hunters in E1 had a 69% success rate on bulls, and the ten E2 hunters had a 60% success rate on bulls. Of the nine archery bulls taken in E1, four broke the 50” mark. Of the six archery bulls taken in E2, the widest bull checked in at 46”.
The regular season hunters were met with challenging conditions at the beginning of the season. The hunt began with warm conditions, followed by some rain and more seasonable temperatures to finish the hunt. As is typically the case, most of the harvest occurred in the first half of the season, and no harvest occurred on the last day. Between E1 and E2, 34% of either-sex tags were filled on bulls. E2 either-sex hunters saw a better bull harvest rate than those of E1, with 40% success reported in E2 and 29% in E1.
Located in the northeast corner of Vermont, Wildlife Management Units E1 and E2 have traditionally been the best areas in the state for producing trophy bulls. Most years, an argument can be made for either unit being the better of the two, but the difference between the units is marginal. E1 has pulled away as the better hunt for a top-end bull in recent seasons. With more logging cuts and a slightly higher population density, it has been a little easier to turn up a good bull. On the other hand, E2 is not hunted as much and still provides the possibility of turning up a big, mature bull as well. In 2025, each of the five bulls that hit the 50” mark was taken in E1, with all but one of those taken during the archery season. Over the past three seasons, the average bull harvested in E1 has been 42” wide, while E2’s average width has come in at 39 1/8” wide. Eighteen of the 54 bulls harvested in E1 cleared the 50” mark, while 9 of the 45 bulls taken in E2 broke the same mark.
Most moose hunters hire a moose retrieval service to assist in getting their moose out of the woods. A contact list with Vermont-approved retrieval services will be mailed to you in your moose permit package if you are successful in drawing a permit. Vermont also has some great moose outfitters that are very reasonably priced if you are looking for a guided hunt. If you draw a tag and are looking for an outfitter, give us a call, as we have Endorsed Outfitters in Vermont. While Maine and New Hampshire are better trophy-producing states, Vermont produces a few really good bulls every year. Opportunities to hunt Canadian moose are rare, so, given the inexpensive application fees, make sure you get your name in the hat for the Vermont moose draw.
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