Washington’s 2026 big-game application period closes May 20, 2026, at midnight (PDT). Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules are available in printed form at Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) offices and statewide hunting license vendors. For online access to the regulations, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations. Results of the draw should be available by the end of June.
Washington continues their special permit draws system with extremely low draw odds. However, if you have youth hunters under the age of sixteen, have a robust application budget, or you want to apply for some great trophy opportunities and feel you can justify the $152.30 cost per application, you may want to look at adding Washington. If not, Washington remains one of the first states to cut for applicants.
• The Selah Butte California sheep unit will be reopened with 2 tags available in the 2026 draw.
• The Cleman Mountain California sheep unit doubled the ram tags available and will have 8 tags available in 2026 draw.
• Electronic tagging is now available for all big game tags in the MyWDFW app.
| Washington Species Specific Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Washington Bighorn Sheep | Washington Moose | Washington Mountain Goat |
| Washington Bear | Washington Mountain Lion | |
Washington special permit applications are separated into categories within each species. For example, there are multiple categories for moose, including “any antlered moose”, “antlerless moose”, and “youth antlerless moose”. As a result, a youth under the age of sixteen could apply for all three categories of moose. To do so, a special permit application fee would need to be paid for each of the categories. Bonus points are built separately in each category. The bag limit for a hunter is one moose, one goat, and one bighorn sheep, even if a hunter draws permits in more than one category for a given species in the same year.
There is a two-part process to apply for a Washington special permit hunt. Step one requires applicants to purchase a special permit application for each category they want to apply in. These applications can be purchased in person at license vendors or online at www.wdfw.wa.gov. Step two requires applicants to submit their special permit application(s) with their hunt choices. They can be submitted at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov. Once submitted, applications cannot be withdrawn. However, amendments can be made on your online account prior to the draw taking place.
Washington provides applicants with a points-only option. However, this is never recommended, as it is the same cost to apply for points only as it is to apply for a permit, and the draw odds are long. A maximum of two applicants may apply as a party for sheep, moose, and goat hunts. For party applications, the group leader is responsible for creating the application, adding each group member’s WILD ID, entering the hunt choices, submitting the application, and sharing the confirmation number with other group members. Other group members apply separately using the same confirmation number. The points accumulated by each hunter in the group are averaged and applied to the group application. We highly recommend that nobody applies for sheep, moose, or mountain goat permits with a group application because of the limited number of permits available.
You will be given four hunt choices when applying for the special drawings. It is possible to draw a permit for any of your listed choices. All of your choices will be considered before the next applicant is drawn. There is no non-resident quota or cap for any species, so the draw odds are the same for residents and non-residents. If you were drawn for an any-ram license and were unsuccessful in harvesting, you may not apply for that species again. Anyone who has harvested a mountain goat since 1998 may not apply again. However, if you previously harvested a mountain goat on the now discontinued Conflict-Reduction Hunts, there is no waiting period or once-in-a-lifetime bag limit.
Draw results will be available in the middle of June. To see if you have been awarded a special permit, you must visit WDFW website. In Washington, it is the applicant’s responsibility to verify if they have been selected for sheep, moose, and goat permits. Special hunting licenses for sheep, moose, and goat must be purchased within fifteen days of the notification date or the permit will be void and offered to an alternate.
A non-refundable special permit application fee of $152.30 will be assessed for each category of hunt under each species applied for. For youth under the age of sixteen, the non-refundable fee is only $5.05 for each special permit application. If successful, the license for the species drawn must be purchased within fifteen days of drawing. Adults pay $2,729 license while youth pay $77.90 license.
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Anyone born on or after January 1, 1972, must show proof that they have completed a hunter education class or that they are not hunting during the year in Washington when applying. Online applicants should apply early, as hunter education documentation must be submitted before a license can be purchased.
Hunter orange is not required during the sheep, goat, or moose seasons unless a modern-firearm season is open for deer or elk in the same unit. The use of one leashed dog for the purpose of tracking wounded big-game animals is now allowed
There is no minimum age to apply, build points, or hunt in Washington. However, you must have and provide proof of completed hunter education courses if you were born on or after January 1, 1972.
A single bonus point is accrued for each year of application for each species category. For example, submitting an application for an any-ram sheep and a separate application for a ewe sheep permit would result in two separate bonus point groups per applicant. Accumulated bonus points are squared in the draw. No permits are set aside for those with maximum points. An applicant can only draw one permit per species per year. Once drawn for a special permit, bonus points for that species category will revert to zero.
The draw odds we list are not the true odds of drawing a particular permit, as they do not reflect the number of bonus points each applicant has accumulated. These simple odds are calculated by dividing the total number of applications by the total number of permits issued for a particular hunt. All applicants are included in one drawing, with no limits or quotas on resident permits.
Hunters who have completed a hunter education class and are under sixteen years of age at the time of application may purchase youth-priced special permit applications for $5.05 each. Additionally, if youth are drawn for moose, sheep, or goat permits, they are only required to pay a youth permit fee of $77.90 (as opposed to the $2,729 fee for non-resident adults). Youth can apply for the trophy hunts for sheep, moose, and goat, but they can also apply for youth-only permits for sheep and antlerless moose.
All hunts for bighorn sheep, moose, or mountain goat are designated as any weapon hunts. For archery hunters, it is unlawful to use any of the following: a bow equipped with a scope, electronic equipment, or electronic devices on your bow; any device that helps keep the bow at full draw; a bow that does not produce a minimum of 40 pounds of draw weight; any arrow that measures less than 20 inches; or a broadhead that has blades less than 7/8 inches wide. Crossbows are illegal to use during the archery-only season unless you have a disabled hunter permit. Illuminated nocks, verifier peep sights, and mechanical broadheads are legal in Washington.
To be legal for muzzleloader-only hunts, a muzzleloader must be loaded from the muzzle using black powder or black powder substitute and a single projectile; have a single or double barrel; be at least .45 caliber; possess open, peep, or fiber optic sights; and utilize a wheellock, matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap ignition system. (Primers designed to be used in modern cartridges are legal.) It is illegal to carry a modern firearm in the field while muzzleloader hunting during a muzzleloader-only season unless the firearm is a modern handgun carried for personal protection.
There are no landowner permits for sheep, moose, or goat in Washington. Additionally, due to high demand, there are nearly no leftover permits.
Washington offers raffle permits for California bighorn sheep, moose, mountain goat, deer, and elk. Multi-species tickets are $23.27, California bighorn sheep tickets are $15.68, and all other tickets are $8.09. The deadline to purchase raffle tickets is July 15, 2026. These tickets must be purchased in person at license vendors in Washington state. A Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep raffle permit will also be available this year from the Washington chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation. Refer to the raffle permit section in the article for more information.
Very few opportunity hunts exist for bighorn sheep or moose in any state in the West. However, in Washington, there are 24 antlerless moose permits and 4 ewe-only California bighorn sheep permits available in the draw this year to all applicants. Additionally, there are 1 antlerless moose permit and 3 ewe-only California bighorn sheep permits available exclusively to youth under the age of sixteen. There are also other permits set aside for hunters with disabilities and for hunters over the age of sixty-five. Draw odds are still not great for these hunts, but if you are looking for a moose or sheep hunt experience in one of these special species categories, Washington may have what you’re looking for. It is important to note that the $152.30 application fee per category still applies for these female permits hunts. If you have a hunter under the age of sixteen, the price of applying is cheap ($5.05 per category), so it may be worth applying youth hunters while they are still under the age limit.
The only raffle that you can participate in as a non-resident without being physically present in the state of Washington is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep raffle conducted by the Washington Wild Sheep Foundation. Individual ticket prices for the raffle are $20 each, but there is no limit to the number of tickets you may purchase. The mail-in form found at www.washingtonwsf.org is the only way to submit payment and obtain tickets; phone, fax, online, and emailed orders cannot be accepted due to Washington State gambling rules. Mail-in orders must be received by July 3, 2026.
Tickets for the state-held raffle must be purchased by July 15, 2026, in person at authorized license dealers in Washington State only. There is no way to purchase raffle tickets remotely or through the mail. Odds are still terrible because of the number of residents who participate. If you can make the trip to Washington to buy tickets in person before the deadline, the best odds for a sheep permit are to buy raffle tickets ($15.68 each) for the California bighorn sheep raffle. You can purchase nine tickets for these raffles ($141.12 total) for less money than a special application for the state sheep drawing ($152.30 total). The 2025 California bighorn sheep raffle, there were 7,652 tickets sold. As such, your nine tickets would have resulted in 1 in 850 odds. These odds are way better than (you found in the regular sheep draw (without respect to bonus points). If we take the same thought but apply it to moose and mountain goat, your odds are just as better, as those raffle tickets are just $8.09 each. For the moose raffle in 2025, there were 5,254 tickets sold for two tags, so your eighteen tickets would have resulted in 1 in 146 odds. For the mountain goat raffle in 2025, there were 3,637 tickets sold, and your eighteen tickets would have resulted in 1 in 202 odds.
The total number of tickets purchased for each category is tracked real-time on the WDFW site, providing insight into the demand for each of these opportunities. The once-in-a-lifetime harvest restriction is waived for all raffle hunts. The tag and licenses will be provided at no cost to the winners. Proceeds from the state-held raffles will be used for the management and benefit of wildlife in the state of Washington.
Other state-held raffles that include bighorn sheep, moose, or mountain goat permits are listed in the table. Additional raffles are available for elk, deer, and other species. See the WDFW website for more information.
There are no refunds for hunting licenses. Exchanges of hunting licenses will not be made after applying for a special permit or after the hunting season opens. Washington allows successful applicants for all big-game special permits to return their permit to the WDFW any reason up to two weeks prior to the opening day of the season and have their points restored.
Hunter reports are required for all turkey, deer, elk, black bear, sheep, moose, and goat hunters. Reports are due by January 31, 2027, even if you did not hunt or harvest. There is a $10 penalty for not reporting on time or at all. Reports can be filed online at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov or over the phone at 360-902-2464.
Anyone who harvests a bighorn sheep or mountain goat must present the head and horns completely attached for inspection and marking within ten days of harvest. Successful hunters need to call a WDFW Regional or District office to schedule an appointment with a biologist for horn marking. The inspection is not a substitute for the mandatory harvest reporting. For sheep and goat, both processes are required for proper reporting
Washington has provided a new hunt planning map tool at https://geodataservices.wdfw.wa.gov/hunt-planner/ free of charge, and it should be utilized by all Washington hunters.
The WDFW’s Private Lands Program strives to provide access to hunters, but western Washington timber companies continue to increase the number of acres that are “pay to play” when it comes to access. In spite of that, over one million acres are enrolled in public access and habitat development agreements through WDFW’s Private Lands Program. Washington has multiple types of access passes required in various areas. Before your hunt, visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/hunting/access/ and familiarize yourself with the opportunities and access requirements specific to your hunt.
Wolf populations in Washington continue to grow and expand into new areas, but the state has not released any current population estimates. The last population count was 230 wolves across forty-three different packs. Overall, reports show the wolf population is growing yearly across the state. We hope that Washington is able to address the growing population of wolves in the eastern portion of the state before their moose population is lost. However, with a Game Commission intent on completely removing hunting as a management tool, the future may not be too bright for Washington’s wildlife.
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