We're updating our hunting licence application process effective April 1, 2026. This includes changes to the types of accepted identification and application processing times.
Permit Hunt Authorization (PHA) applications for the 2026-27 season are closed. The deadline was Thursday, May 14 at 4 pm.
You can apply for the PHA lottery if you:
Yukon hunting licences are available online or at any Department of Environment office. New hunters need to apply in person at any Department of Environment office and provide proper documentation.
Seals are available for purchase at any Environment office or registered vendors. To purchase paper seals from these vendors, you'll be required to have a print out of your electronic licence with you.
You must submit an application and fee for each species and area you're interested in.
To apply online, you need:
Apply for a PHA online by logging in or creating an eServices account
Applicants can review their history and number of years applied online by logging into their client profile. You will need to verify your previous applications before you can apply.
To apply in person at any Department of Environment office, you need:
If you don’t want a permit this year but want to increase your chance of success in future draws, you should use the option to apply for weighting only.
Your number of years applied will stay the same if you choose not to apply.
If you need to make a change to an application, you can choose to withdraw the application and re-submit with corrected information.
Withdrawn applications are deleted and removed from the pool of active applications considered in the lottery. There is no refund for a withdrawn application.
You'll then be able to submit a new application for that species if you wish to do so. You'll need to pay for the 2nd application again.
You can not withdraw applications after the application deadline has passed. No applications or changes will be accepted beyond the deadline.
After the application deadline has passed, the Yukon Bureau of Statistics executes the lottery. This process takes approximately two weeks.
Once complete, successful applicants are emailed at the email address listed on their environment client account.
Successful applicants have 14 days from the date of notification to return a permit they do not wish to hunt. Returned permits will be treated as if the individual had never applied. Their weighting will neither increase nor decrease for that year.
Permits cannot be returned after the 14 day deadline communicated in the success email.
At the end of the permit return period, the Department of Environment will attempt to re-issue returned Permit Hunt Authorizations.
Next drawn hunters will be contacted by email with an offer of a returned permit. They will have 48 hours to accept the permit before it will be offered to the next hunter.
Re-issuance attempts will continue until all permits are re-issued or by July 31, whichever comes first.
Reply before the deadline indicated in the offer email, clearly indicating your acceptance of the permit.
Email your acceptances to [email protected].
Permit hunts help responsibly manage overall species populations and improve hunt quality. In some areas of the Yukon, you need a permit to hunt moose, caribou, sheep, goat, deer or elk. We hold a unique permit lottery for each species.
The number of permits is limited. You must submit an application and be successful in the weighted lottery in order to hunt for one of these species in these areas.
To distribute permits fairly, the Government of Yukon uses a weighted, computerized lottery system that randomly selects applicants. Lottery draws are based on species and areas. The Yukon Bureau of Statistics conducts the draw.
When you enter the draw for the first time, your name is entered into the draw once.
For each year that you enter the draw and are unsuccessful, your chances increase. Specifically, your name is entered the number of years you have been unsuccessful in that draw, multiplied by itself seven times.
If you apply for a permit for the fifth time, not having been successfully drawn on four earlier occasions, your name is entered into the draw 5x5x5x5x5x5x5=78,125 times.
Your weighting will increase until you're successful in a draw and accept the permit.
Once that happens, the next time you apply your weighting will reset to one.
Many applicants may have the same weighting as you and there are no guarantees for being drawn. Success depends on:
Each species is a different draw. Your success in one species will not affect your weighting for a different species.
For example: you apply for moose and sheep. You are successful for moose, but not sheep. Next year, you apply for moose and sheep again. Your weighting for moose will be reset to one, but your weighting for sheep will increase.
*You must be 14 or 15 years of age or older to be issued a deer permit and seal as a youth hunter. Youth hunters who are 12 and 13 may apply for weighting purposes only.
Download a data sheet with the number of permits by hunt code.
Some permit areas include First Nations Settlement Lands. Written permission from the First Nation is required prior to hunting any big or small game species on Category A Settlement Lands. Larger blocks of Category A Settlement Land boundaries are identified on the Overview map of Game Management Subzones and special area restrictions included with the Yukon hunting regulations summary.
Smaller blocks, and all other First Nations Settlement Lands, are marked on detailed maps which can be viewed at the local First Nation's office or viewed online.
Your weighting does not change. You do not have to apply each year to have your name remain weighted.
Plan ahead and apply for the PHA based on your interest and ability to accept a permit. Accepted returns will result in applicants’ weighting remaining the same, not increasing.
If you cannot accept a permit this year, take advantage of the option to apply for weighting only. By selecting "weighting only" on the application, you'll increase your chance of success in future draws.
If you are drawn for a permit but miss the return deadline or do not hunt in the PHA area, you'll still be considered successful in the draw. The weighting of your name is reset to 1 for the next time you apply.
The Department of Environment screens applications for eligibility requirements including residency, age restrictions, hunting suspensions and past harvest of Kluane sheep.
We verify the online application process to ensure only eligible applications enter the draw. Disqualified applicants are notified by email.
These verification steps follow recommendations from a third-party review of the lottery completed in 2019.
The department makes every attempt to reissue returned permits. The 14-day deadline for returns is to facilitate reissuance and allow next-drawn hunters a chance to be notified of available opportunities in a timely manner.
Licences and applications are non-refundable unless there's administrative error caused by Government of Yukon.
The appeal process is a tool available to the public should they disagree with lottery-administration decisions of the Government of Yukon.
Appeals must be submitted in writing (either mailed or electronic) and sent by:
The Kluane First Nation Final Agreement allows two sheep permits to be issued each year in the Kluane Wildlife Sanctuary, at the discretion of the Minister of Environment and the First Nation.
One permit goes to a Yukon resident hunter through the permit hunt process and another can be auctioned to a non-resident by the First Nation.
A successful hunt in Kluane is intended as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity:
To apply for a Kluane Sheep permit, applicants must:
Successful applicants were notified through their online account on June 2.
A list of permit holders is no longer posted online.
View 2026 statistics for each species including distribution of permits by years applied and the number of applications for each hunt code. These statistics are gathered before the return and reissuance of permits.
You must complete the harvest reporting requirements for the species you hunt.
See harvest reporting information
For most species, Permit Hunt Authorization holders are required to report their kill no later than 15 days after the end of the month in which the animal was taken.
Elk and deer permits have specific reporting requirements. Season closures may differ between permit areas. Read and follow the instructions that come with your permit.
For questions about Permit Hunt Authorizations, email [email protected] or phone 867-667-5221 or toll free in the Yukon 1-800-661-0408, extension 5221.
