Kansas Landowner Tags
Kansas Hunt-Own-Land permits need 80 acres of Kansas farm or ranch land in agricultural use, and they are unlimited, guaranteed and valid in all units and all three seasons - but only on land the holder owns or operates. Nonresident landowners and nonresident tenants qualify, which is the state's big differentiator. The trap is tenure: KDWP states that land deeded to a trust, LLC or other entity does not qualify, the opposite of North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Checked against Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks rules, October 20, 2026. Where the rule is silent or its sources disagree, the line says so.
Hunt-Own-Land permits
contiguous, deeded and other tests apply
with an exemption
Hunting Your Own Land
K.S.A. 32-919(b)(1) does not require a hunting licence on your own or ag-leased land, and the clause says a person rather than a resident - but the permit or tag is ALWAYS required (source: ks_ksa_32_919).
Hunt-Own-Land permits
Resident Hunt-Own-Land, Special Resident Hunt-Own-Land and Nonresident Hunt-Own-Land permits (K.S.A. 32-937(g), (h), (k); K.A.R. 115-4-13(c))
contiguous and deeded tests below
A separate 50 percent landowner set-aside of limited...
out-of-state owners qualify
Who Qualifies
| Species | Deer, Elk (Turkey has landowner and tenant permits plus a 50 percent set-aside but no HOL product, and no pronghorn HOL appears in the statute or the regulation.)Not addressed in the rule. Neither 32-937 nor 115-4-13 creates a pronghorn Hunt-Own-Land permit, and KDWP's own pages (ksoutdoors.gov) 403 non-browser clients, so there is no agency statement either way. |
|---|---|
| Acreage test | 80 acres of Kansas farm or ranch land in agricultural use. KDWP states land deeded to a trust, LLC or other entity does not qualify. No contiguity requirement appears in the statute or the regulation.1 |
| Land test | ✓ Deeded✓ Agricultural use within the property Not addressed in the rule. K.S.A. 32-937 and K.A.R. 115-4-13(c) set an 80-acre test and never say the acres must be contiguous. |
| Who may hunt it | A resident landowner with 80+ acres; a tenant, resident or nonresident, who actively farms; immediate family domiciled with them; and special HOL relatives. Employees are not eligible. |
| When to apply | HOL deer applications are accepted through Dec 30 and elk HOL through Mar 14. There is no draw. |
What You Get
| The tag | An unlimited, guaranteed permit with no draw, valid in all units and all three seasons (K.A.R. 115-25-9(b)) but only on land the holder owns or operates. One permit per 80 acres for the landowner or tenant and immediate family combined. |
|---|---|
| Set-aside | A separate 50 percent landowner set-aside of limited regular-season permits, but only in units where HOL has not been authorised (K.S.A. 32-937(i)) |
| Transfer or sale | No. K.A.R. 115-4-2(b)(1) bars transfer. Relatives get their own Special HOL permits instead - siblings, lineal ascendants and descendants and their spouses, resident or not. K.S.A. 32-968's transferable landowner permits expired Jan 1, 2008 and must not be cited. |
Nonresident landowner deer permits under 32-937(k) are restricted to their own land, and turkey landowner permits are resident-only.
Sources conflict: KDWP shows the Hunt-Own-Land permit at $85.00 versus KDWP shows the same permit at $87.50
New for 2025–26: KS SB 80, which would have abolished nonresident landowner permits, died and is expected to return.
General Season or Limited Draw?
Unlimited or over the counter: all three HOL types, up to ten antlerless whitetail permits (unit-tiered), the Any-Season White-tailed permit and the archery and muzzleloader either-species permits. Drawn: the resident either-species, either-sex firearm permit (May 12 - Jun 12, 2026). Turkey is OTC in units 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, and unit 4 is a draw. For nonresidents everything but HOL is drawn - the whitetail permit is $477.50, applications run Apr 1-24, 2026, and the applicant picks one unit plus one adjoining unit and one season; the mule deer stamp is a separate limited draw in units 1, 2, 17 and 18. The geography is 19 numbered deer management units plus subunits 4a, 8a and 10a.
Check a parcel on the map →
Click the ground or paste a listing's coordinates: the unit for every species (24 Kansas units mapped), and whether the acreage clears the floor.
Kansas draw odds →
Every species, unit and hunt code, with the odds at each point level, fees and deadlines.
Things That Trip People Up
- HOL is misleading in both directions: valid in ALL units but only on the holder's own land.
- Land deeded to a trust, LLC or other entity does not qualify - the opposite of ND, NE and SD.
- The 50 percent landowner set-aside exists only in units where HOL has not been authorised, so landowner preference is unit-conditional and unreadable from a map.
- The licence falls away on your own or ag-leased land, but the permit or tag never does.
- K.S.A. 32-968's transferable landowner permits expired Jan 1, 2008 - do not cite them.
- ksoutdoors.gov hard-403s non-browser clients; ksrevisor.gov, the Kansas Register and Cornell LII are the usable sources.
Sources
- 1. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes · K.S.A. 32-937, deer permits (subsections (g), (h), (i), (k)) · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 2. Cornell Legal Information Institute · K.A.R. 115-4-13, deer permit types (via Cornell LII) · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 3. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes · K.S.A. 32-919, licence exemptions · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 4. Cornell Legal Information Institute · K.A.R. 115-4-6, deer management unit boundaries · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 5. Kansas Secretary of State · K.A.R. 115-25-9 / 115-25-9a as published in the Kansas Register (Vol. 44 Issue 35) · retrieved 2026-10-20
This page summarizes agency rules for orientation. The statute, commission rule and the current year's application booklet govern; check them before buying land or applying.