{"id":21514,"date":"2025-09-24T11:43:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?p=21514"},"modified":"2025-09-24T11:45:37","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:45:37","slug":"dont-wait-apply-now-for-2026-spring-hunts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/09\/24\/dont-wait-apply-now-for-2026-spring-hunts\/","title":{"rendered":"Don&#8217;t wait! Apply now for 2026 spring hunts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sept. 24, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PHOENIX \u2014 The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) urges hunters not to wait until the last minute to apply for 2026 spring hunts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deadline for the department to receive all applications for spring turkey, javelina, bison, and raptor capture, is <strong>11:59 p.m. (Arizona time) Tuesday, Oct. 7<\/strong>. AZGFD is available to assist all applicants. A customer service representative can be reached by calling 602-942-3000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/draw.azgfd.com\/\"><strong>https:\/\/draw.azgfd.com\/<\/strong><\/a> to apply. For an overview of the application service, including license requirements, applying for bonus points and payment information, see Page 6 of the \u201c2026 Spring Turkey, Javelina, Bison, Bear and Raptor Capture Hunt Draw Information\u201d booklet. The booklet is posted online at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/hunting\/regulations\/\"><strong>www.azgfd.com\/hunting\/regulations\/<\/strong><\/a>. Printed versions of the booklet should be available at all <a href=\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/02155534\/Dealer-Master-List-050224.pdf\"><strong>license dealers<\/strong><\/a> statewide (call in advance for availability).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few helpful reminders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Possession of a valid Arizona hunting license is required at the time of application entry and on the deadline day of the application period (Oct. 7).<\/strong> Only a hunting license, or a combination hunt and fish license, is valid. Short-term licenses are not valid. To purchase a license, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/license.azgfd.com\/\"><strong>license.azgfd.com<\/strong><\/a> or any AZGFD office statewide. When purchasing an Arizona hunting license, or combination hunt and fish license, online, the license number will appear at the bottom of the customer&#8217;s receipt. Don\u2019t throw it away! That license number will be required as part of the draw application process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Know your Customer ID. <\/strong>This is a must to submit an application. There are four ways to locate a Customer ID: 1) Log into your AZGFD portal account, and click on \u201cView Details\u201d under \u201cMy AZGFD Dashboard; 2) Check your hunting or combination hunt and fish license, if it was purchased online; 3) A Customer ID number can be retrieved by visiting <a href=\"https:\/\/customerlookup.azgfd.com\/\"><strong>customerlookup.azgfd.com<\/strong>\/<\/a>. If the account is located, AZGFD will send the Customer ID number to that email address; 4) Call AZGFD at 602-942-3000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Download Arizona E-Tag. <\/strong>Download this free mobile app from either the Apple or Google Play stores, and opt-in to receive an electronic hunt permit-tag in your AZGFD portal account (this is not an option selected through the draw). Be sure to update to the most recent version of the app, which is compatible with both Apple and android products. The Arizona E-Tag app provides real-time delivery of licenses and big game tags purchased or drawn after the app has been downloaded. The app also provides the ability to electronically tag a harvested animal and complete the hunter questionnaire. For more information, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.azgfd.gov\/etag\"><strong>www.azgfd.gov\/etag<\/strong><\/a>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.azgfd.gov\/hunting\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Plan to purchase a PointGuard product. <\/strong>Choosing PointGuard Plus, or the standard PointGuard, ensures that applicants can surrender their hunt permit-tag for any reason, and the accumulated bonus points that were expended to draw that hunt permit-tag will be reinstated. A portal account is no longer required to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/hunting\/hunt-draw-and-licenses\/big-game-draw\/point-guard\/\"><strong>purchase a PointGuard product<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sign up to receive a hunter questionnaire via text message<\/strong>. As part of the application process, a customer can now enter his or her phone number (ghost number format) to receive a hunter questionnaire via text message on their mobile device.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open an AZGFD portal account. <\/strong>Visit<a href=\"https:\/\/accounts.azgfd.com\/Account\/Register\"> <strong>accounts.azgfd.com\/Account\/Register<\/strong><\/a> and fill in the required information. The department encourages all customers to have an AZGFD portal account; that\u2019s the only place where draw results will be posted. Dependent account features are available with a portal account, so everyone \u2014 including youth \u2014 can view their draw results online as soon as they are available.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Check your AZGFD portal account<\/strong>. Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.azgfd.gov\"><strong>www.azgfd.gov<\/strong><\/a>, then click on \u201cAccount Login\u201d at the bottom of the homepage. Take this time to review personal data, including\u00a0 application history and total bonus points (bonus, loyalty, hunter education). Also, be sure to verify your mailing address to ensure proper delivery of hunt permit-tags (if successful). If something seems amiss, call AZGFD at 602-942-3000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The deadline to apply for spring turkey, javelina, bison, and raptor capture is Tuesday, Oct. 7. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":8770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-site"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Don&#039;t wait! 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