See the list of 2026 big game hunting tags for each species in the secondary draw and important information before you apply
If you didn't draw a tag for this past season in Colorado, or you elected to just apply for points, well, there is still hope to hunt this year in the state of Colorado! The application period for the 2026 Colorado Secondary Draw is June 18 through June 30 at 8 p.m. MT.
You can apply online here. The draw results should be available in mid-July.
Hunters who didn't draw a license or didn't apply in the primary draw still have the opportunity to draw a license in the secondary big game draw.
Most elk, deer, antelope, and bear licenses not issued through the primary draw will now be made available in a secondary draw that is open to anyone, whether they applied for the primary draw or not.
Once again, for 2026, I uploaded the original PDF documents for all tags available in the Colorado secondary draw. This means you'll always have access to this original document (even if you forget to save it).
Keep in mind that these leftover draw PDF documents are useful tools for the next application season. They can help gauge which tags might be available as leftovers, which can help when deciding how to use your first and second choice on your Colorado application in the primary draw, and tracking trends on what tags were available. So, you can use the 2026 and prior years' information when researching hunts for next season.
2025 Colorado Secondary Draw licenses that were available
Below is the 2025 Colorado secondary draw list. I'll repeat that again; below is the 2025 list. The 2026 list is above this section. I'm including the 2025 list as a way for people who are interested in data as a means to track trends.
2024 Colorado Secondary Draw licenses that were available
And once again, below is older data I'm including so you can track trends, if that interests you. Below is the 2024 secondary draw list.
2023 Colorado Secondary Draw licenses that were available
And once again, below is older data I'm including so you can track trends, if that interests you. Below is the 2023 secondary draw list.
Note: The licenses that appear on these second draw lists were left over from the primary draw, or were not paid for, or were surrendered by individuals who drew. The secondary draw includes reissued licenses. This means that if the A License took four or fewer preference points for a resident to draw in the 2026 primary draw, it can be reissued. Reissued licenses include surrendered and fail-to-pay deer, elk, bear, and antelope licenses from the main draw.
In the Colorado Secondary draw, all youth applicants receive 100% preference over adult applicants. This means that youth applicants will draw all available tags before adult applicants are considered for a given hunt code. As an example, if 10 tags are available for a hunt code and eight youth applicants apply, there will be only two tags available for adult hunters. This can be an important factor to take into consideration when applying for the various hunts. If you are applying for a youth in your household, there are some great opportunities to be had here!
Once again, you can check out each link below to access that species 2026 Colorado leftover list.
In my opinion, Filtering is one of the best tools for figuring out what unit you might want to apply for during Colorado's secondary draw. Below are links to each species on Filtering. From there, you can jump into each Unit Profile and further break down the hunts.
Another tactic is to look at the overall tag numbers from the tag allocation graphs located in the Unit Profiles. These provide you a great glimpse into hunter numbers and also gives a number to bounce off of any over-the-counter hunts that might be going on in the unit at the same time.
A GOHUNT membership makes it easy to find hunting opportunities by state, species, probability of draw odds success, and much more! Whether you have 0 points, max points, or any number of points, GOHUNT gives you the information you need to plan a successful hunt. In addition to our research tools, all Insiders have access to our GOHUNT mobile app, where you can plan a hunt on GOHUNT Maps, as well as research tools on the app to help you find hunting opportunities. GOHUNT Maps is also available on the web. GOHUNT Insider is the only complete and total package of tools to help you find the hunt you want this upcoming year or to help plan for hunts in the future.
If you’re not familiar with Insider, check out the link below to learn more about everything we cover within our Insider membership to make your e-scouting, research, and hunting efforts more successful. Everything you need to have the best season ever can be found on Insider.
This article has been updated for 2026.
Annual Spring Turkey License
Annual Youth Spring Turkey License
Annual Fall Turkey License (valid for the secondary draw ONLY)
Annual Youth Fall Turkey License (valid for the secondary draw ONLY)
Annual Small Game License
Annual Youth Small Game License
Annual Resident Combination Small Game/Fishing License
Annual Resident Senior Combination Small Game/Fishing License
Resident Disabled Veteran Lifetime Combination Small Game/Fishing License
Resident Disabled First Responder Lifetime Combination Small Game/Fishing License
Annual Small-Game License for Resident Senior Lifetime Fishing License Holders
A qualifying license is required. If you already have one from the primary draw in 2026, you will be good to go in the Secondary Draw.
Click here to find out more information on qualifying licenses.
Application fee: You’ll still be charged a fee for applying, whether or not you draw a license. The $8.93 resident and $11.49 nonresident application fees apply per species for the secondary draw.
You did not need to have applied in the primary big game draw to apply in the secondary draw.
You cannot use or apply for a preference point in the secondary draw. This also means that you will not lose any preference points if you draw a tag in the secondary draw.
You cannot apply as a group in the secondary draw.
Youth applicants receive 100% preference for all hunt codes in the secondary draw.
If you already have a "List A" license for a specific species from the primary draw, you cannot draw another "List A" license for the same species. However, you can draw "List B" or "List C" licenses.
Application modifications can be made prior to the June 30 application deadline.
Any licenses remaining after the secondary draw (except for Ranching for Wildlife licenses) will be placed on the leftover list and available for purchase on leftover day, starting Aug. 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. MT.
Also, over-the-counter tags will go on sale Aug. 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. MT.
Keep checking the leftover list, which will be available in late July. A REISSUE PREVIEW LIST will be posted online every Tuesday at 11 a.m., and those hunt codes will be moved to the Leftover List and available for purchase every Wednesday starting at 11 a.m. All hunt codes will be released 11 a.m.–1 p.m. on Wednesday of every week, starting the week after leftover licenses go on sale. No new hunt codes will be added to the list after 1 p.m. each Wednesday.
