Montana Hunting License: Cost, Requirements & How to Buy

A Montana hunting license costs $10 for a resident adult and $50 for a non-resident adult (fees verified 2026-11-06).

Montana's $10 base hunting license looks like a bargain until you add the conservation license every hunter also has to buy, then the deer or elk license on top of that. Non-resident big game is a different market entirely, with limited licenses and application fees that dwarf the base hunting license.

What a Montana hunting license costs

The base hunting license is $10 resident / $50 non-resident. A Conservation License is also required ($8 resident / $10 non-resident). General deer and elk licenses, plus any drawing species (antelope, sheep, goat, moose, bison), are additional. Drawing applications carry a nonrefundable $5 fee ($10 for moose, sheep, goat and bison). Sportsman bundles that include deer, elk, fishing and upland bird exist for residents at a higher flat price.

Hunter education

Montana requires hunter education for anyone born after January 1, 1985. First-time black bear license buyers must also complete the Black Bear Identification Test before FWP will sell the bear license.

How to buy your Montana hunting license

FWP's buy-and-apply pages (fwp.mt.gov/buyandapply/hunting-licenses) handle over-the-counter licenses and draw applications. Licenses are also sold at FWP offices and authorized agents. Non-resident big-game applicants should treat the application deadline as mandatory, not optional.

Hunting in Montana: what to expect

The elk and mule deer hunt on national forest and BLM in the western mountains is the image of Montana hunting, and it is also where non-resident limited licenses concentrate. Eastern Montana is prairie, more private land, and a different game (antelope, whitetail in the river bottoms, sage grouse where open). Block management (FWP's private-land access program) is how a lot of eastern hunting actually happens for people without a ranch relationship.

Public land and block management

Western Montana has an enormous public-land base; eastern Montana does not, which is why Block Management enrollees matter. Hunting district numbers, not county names, are how seasons and quotas are written. Read the district you will hunt, not a statewide summary.

Conservation License, tags and why $50 is not the hunt

Montana's $10 resident or $50 non-resident hunting license is the base only. A Conservation License ($8 resident / $10 non-resident) is a separate required purchase, and deer, elk and most other species take additional licenses or tags. The $50 non-resident base is famous in comparison tables because it looks cheap; the elk or deer tag on top is the real number, and many of those tags are limited and drawn.

Hunter education is required for hunters born after January 1, 1985. Bring the card. Non-residents who skip the Conservation License at checkout and only pay the $50 line are not legal, even if the hunting license printed. Fish, Wildlife and Parks sells the bundle in one sitting if you let the system add the required lines instead of unchecking them.

Block Management and the public-land map

Block Management opens private ranches to hunting under FWP agreements, with sign-in boxes and hunter limits. It is one of the better walk-in systems in the West, and it is how a non-resident without a guide finds a place to park that is not a Forest Service cattle guard. Read the regional Block Management booklet for the year you are hunting; properties drop on and off the list.

National forest and BLM in the western half of the state look endless and still concentrate people on the first mile of a two-track. Eastern Montana is prairie, CRP and Block Management more than timber. A GPS layer named "public" will lie to you around inholdings. Carry the current FWP hunt map for the region, and hunt the sign-in sheet instead of a rumor about a gate that used to be open.

Buy the Conservation License, the base hunting license, and the species tag in one FWP sitting so you do not uncheck a required line. Non-resident deer and elk tags are the expensive part and often the limited part. If you did not draw, leftover or OTC lists are the backup, not a promise. Hunter education cards born-after-1985 hunters must carry. Block Management sign-in boxes are paper; bring a pen, not just a phone.

How to renew a Montana hunting license

There is no separate renewal process in Montana. A hunting license is not extended in place; when it expires you buy a new one for the next license year through the same system you used the first time, and your customer profile, hunter or angler ID and any saved payment details carry over so the second purchase takes a couple of minutes.

The fastest route is the official Montana online licensing portal, which also lets you print or download the new license and add any stamps, tags or endorsements in one transaction. In-person license agents (sporting goods stores, bait shops and, in many states, county clerks) sell the same license at the same price, so use whichever is closer. Buying before the old license lapses is not required, but it avoids an accidental gap if a season opens before you get round to it.

Planning more than one? See the Montana fishing license page too, see how much a hunting license costs in every state, compare non-resident hunting fees across states, browse every state, or use the state license finder.