Everything you need to know to get an Idaho nonresident general season deer or elk tag on their returned tag sale dates
Sale date (10:00 a.m. MT) | April 23, 2026 |
|---|---|
Date to view available tags (10:00 a.m. MT) | April 21, 2026 |
Sale date (10:00 a.m. MT) | June 25, 2026 |
Date to view available tags (10:00 a.m. MT) | June 23, 2026 |
Sale date (10:00 a.m. MT) | August 6, 2026* |
Date to view available tags (10:00 a.m. MT) | August 4, 2026 |
Sale date (10:00 a.m. MT) | September 17, 2026 |
Date to view available tags (10:00 a.m. MT) | September 15, 2026 |
Sale date (10:00 a.m. MT) | Date to view available tags (10:00 a.m. MT) |
|---|---|
April 23, 2026 | April 21, 2026 |
June 25, 2026 | June 23, 2026 |
August 6, 2026* | August 4, 2026 |
September 17, 2026 | September 15, 2026 |
The above screenshot was grabbed while I was going through the process of the "waiting room" on the April 23, 2026, tag sale date.
The screen will keep you updated on the time remaining until the 10 a.m. "pre-waiting room" time is over.
The screenshot above will be an example of what will happen once you get your random number assigned.
As you wait, you'll see a list of tags that sold out before you got in.
Login to access the Idaho Fish and Game licensing website.
A Hunt Plan I created the other year as an example.
Over the past several years, I've written about this information in multiple articles to help nonresident hunters navigate Idaho's process for the return sale of general-season elk and deer tags.
I figured it would be easier to make this information a standalone article.
By now, I'm sure most people understand how this works, but it can still be fairly confusing if you're new to picking up an Idaho tag.
* Second tags become available to residents and nonresidents
Once the returned sale date arrives, you can purchase tags online, over the phone (1-800-554-8685), at a licensed vendor location, or at an Idaho Fish and Game regional office during normal business hours. During this tag sale, tags may be purchased for another person online, by phone, at a Fish and Game office, or a license vendor location. Keep in mind that if you want to buy a tag for another person online, you'll have to start over in the virtual line.
For in-person sales at Fish and Game offices, customers will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. Anyone (including outfitters) wishing to purchase for five or more individuals at a Fish and Game office must use the designated high-volume terminal that will be identified at each office.
Perspective nonresident tag buyers should contact the license vendor or individual Fish and Game office for specific sales-day information, including hours of operation, camping restrictions, sales process, specific sales rules, line management, etc.
Note: this is only for nonresident general season tags and has nothing to do with controlled hunts. If you pick up a general tag, you can still apply for a controlled hunt, and if you draw a controlled tag, you will be given the option to turn in your general tag for the controlled tag.
Demand for these nonresident Idaho elk and deer tags is always high. You should plan accordingly; expect long wait times, system slowness, and a limited number of products available for purchase.
This article will help you understand the best practices for getting a tag, how to research these hunts, and the system. It is a very long article, but I wanted to provide all the intricate details to make this a smooth process for all hunters.
As I've stated each year, this is a slow tag process; it just is what it is, so have faith, and I hope you get a lucky random number.
I know it might be hard to do, but if you can’t be at your computer all morning, you might want to take the morning off work if Idaho is the main state you have planned to hunt in. This process is very tough for someone to grab a tag if they can't be glued to a computer/phone or are driving for their job, etc.
But, unfortunately, if you want a tag, we all need to start thinking outside the box. So it could be worth "calling in sick" on the morning of these tag sale dates. Or, to a greater degree, if you really want a tag, it could be worth flying to Idaho to purchase one in person, as those sales are typically faster than online sales.
I highly recommend that you double-check your login information before the sale. And if you haven't purchased or applied in Idaho before, set up your account before the sale date to make the process much smoother.
If you really want to ensure you get the deer unit/elk zone you want, you should get in the waiting room roughly 30 minutes in advance of the 10 a.m. sale time.
Everyone who accesses the GO Outdoors Idaho licensing page in advance will be put into a “virtual waiting room,” and then at 10 a.m., everyone who was in the waiting room will be randomly assigned a place in line to make a purchase, so there is no real benefit to accessing the waiting room well in advance of the sale. Each year, I hear people claiming that accessing the waiting room super early has a benefit, but it doesn't matter as long as you're in the waiting room before 10 a.m.
I have had co-workers who jump in the waiting room 5 minutes before the 10 a.m. MT sale date, and sometimes they randomly have a better number than I do. Then I also had some access the waiting room earlier than me, and they also got a better number than I did. So, there is no benefit to jumping in the waiting room super early. But I do it for a general peace of mind.
Please note that if you access the GO Outdoors Idaho licensing website after 10 a.m., you will be placed at the end of the line.
Once you get through the waiting room, you will need to log in to your customer account to purchase a tag. Purchasing multiple tags for different people under the same customer account is not currently available.
More on that. In case it’s not clear, if you access the Idaho Fish & Game licensing website early, you will be placed in the pre-sale waiting room. Keep your screen open, and I'd suggest not refreshing the screen.
Then, right at 10:00 a.m. MT, you’ll be placed in the next waiting room, and your screen will look like the screenshot above. Once you are at this screen, you’ll be able to see your number in line, the number of users in line ahead of you, and your estimated wait time.
Then, you will have to wait for your turn before you can jump in to purchase a license. Again, stay on this screen.
While on this screen, you will see updates at the bottom indicating which units/zones have sold out.
Once your time in the waiting room is over, you'll automatically move past the waiting room screen. You will need to log in with your Date of Birth, Last Name, and last four digits of your Social Security number.
You can then click on "Buy a License, Permit, and Tags," which will be in the upper-left portion of the home page. Then select the species you want to purchase a tag for and the unit/zone. This is where you'll see real-time tag availability for deer units and elk zones. Units/Zones that are unavailable will be marked as "sold out." Sometimes, if you go back to your IDFG licensing account page and then click back into the "Buy Licenses, Permits, and Tags" section, some tags will show up. I mention this because I have seen instances where all tags for a species show as sold out when they shouldn't be. So, doing this extra step fixes a bug on their end.
Once you add a tag to your cart, you will have 30 minutes to complete the sale. If you don't make the purchase in 30 minutes, the tag will be removed from your cart and made available to other hunters. Act fast and purchase a tag!
I've always said it is essential to prepare ahead of time for these returned tag sale dates because, most likely, the same long wait times everyone experienced over the past several years will happen again. Do keep in mind that certain units and zones will sell out quickly. Because of this fact, I like to have a plan in place for at least 5 to 10 units that I have already researched, that I'd be happy to pick up a tag for. That way, I have options if the unit or zone I'm looking at sells out, and I don't have to panic since I have a backup plan.
Each year, Idaho's website becomes "temporarily unavailable" during its nonresident tag sale for anything other than the sale of tags. So, if you think you'll be able to do last-minute research on Idaho's website, looking at harvest stats, you will be disappointed. This is why Insider exists. To always help you with your hunting research 24/7/365.
The best way to prepare for this tag sale date is to dive into GOHUNT's Filtering tool on Insider, either on the web or in the mobile app.
On the web, once logged in, navigate to Tools > Filtering and click on Idaho, select your species, then select your season. This will then map out all of the general hunting units for that species in Idaho. From there, you can manipulate the filters to start to really narrow down your search results for what you're looking for in a hunt. Then, my next approach would be to head over to the Unit Profile for that unit to read up on it, and finally, I'll jump over to GOHUNT Maps and really dive into the habitat and terrain. This is also when I'll play around with different mapping layers.
Check out the links below to take you directly to the general season hunts for each species/weapon on Filtering:
If you're curious about what areas of the state each Idaho elk zone is located in, you can also find that in Filtering. Once you're in Filtering, select Idaho > Species: Elk and then tap on "Zone Profiles" at the top. A tab will open up, allowing you to scroll through the list to see the elk zones mapped out. You can then click on a zone to pull up a short "Zone Profile" to really see what units are included in each zone.
Elk hunting in Idaho is managed in 28 elk zones with a two-tag system in most zones - A tag & B tag. Hunters may select one elk zone and choose either an A tag or a B tag.
Again, I like to jump into Unit Profiles of several units to learn more information about them. AND... remember you can even save units. This is a feature on Insider we released a couple of years ago! Once you've saved some seasons, you can access your "Hunts" by hovering over Tools and then clicking on Hunt Planner.
Once you're in your saved hunts section, you now have the ability to compare units, add notes, and totally customize this to your research page.
Now, one more step I like to take is to dive into several of those units using GOHUNT Maps to check out the terrain and public land.
To get a general season tag in Idaho, you need to purchase a $185 hunting license and add it to your cart before you can fully check out with a tag. If you select the tag first, a prompt will appear to select a hunting license.
Nonresidents with Idaho lifetime hunting licenses cannot buy deer and elk tags during these sales. They can buy tags during the summer resident tag sales period and are not subject to the nonresident tag limits.
A Tags generally provide more opportunities for muzzleloader and archery hunters
B tags provide more opportunities for rifle hunters
$185.00 for a one-year hunting license
$351.75 for a deer tag
$651.75 for an elk tag
$23.75 for a deer DAV tag
$39.75 for an elk DAV tag
You can visit Idaho's returned nonresident deer and elk quota and limit page to see the quotas and unit/zone limits ahead of time (typically, they will link out to the sale details, including tag availability next to the sale date).
Idaho nonresident deer tags are on a unit basis, and elk are zones of units.
Online users, only one deer tag and one elk tag may be purchased for the person that is logged in once you get through the waiting room.
If you want to buy tags for another person online, you'll have to return to the virtual line and start over.
10 a.m. Mountain Time is when you can attempt to purchase a returned nonresident elk or deer tag
Jump in and get in the waiting room/line on GO Outdoors Idaho licensing page roughly 30 minutes before 10 a.m.
The time you access the GO Outdoors Idaho licensing page prior to 10 a.m. MT doesn't matter, just make sure you jump in before 10 a.m.
For example, if you jump in 30 minutes early, it doesn't mean you will get a better random number than someone who accesses the licensing page at 9:45 a.m.
At 10 a.m., everyone in the pre-sale waiting room will be randomly assigned a number.
If you access the GO Outdoors Idaho licensing page after 10 a.m., you'll be placed at the end of the line.
Then, you will move on with a random number, and another countdown will begin.
You’ll now be able to see your number in line, the number of users in line ahead of you, and your estimated wait time.
Once your time in the waiting room is over, the screen will move you to the licensing page.
Log in to your GO Outdoors Idaho account
Then click on "Buy a License, Permits, or Tags," which is in the upper-left portion of the main Idaho license purchase home page.
Then select the species you want to purchase a tag for and the unit/zone.
From here, you can see the real-time number of available deer and elk tags and, if available still, purchase one.
If this system doesn't show you any tags, I sometimes find it helpful to go back to my GO Outdoors Idaho licensing account (don't go all the way outside your account) and then jump back into the purchase tag section to see if any tags are available. This will clear a potential bug you might experience.
If you don't currently have a hunting license, you will be prompted to add one to your cart.
Note: No group apps are allowed for the general season elk and deer tag sales.
