Landowner Tags by State
What each state gives a landowner for big game: the program, the acreage it takes, whether the tag can be sold or handed to a guest, and whether a nonresident owner qualifies. Every line cites the statute, rule or agency page it came from.
Checking a specific parcel? The unit finder places a point on the map, names its hunt units and tests the acreage against the floor.
of 21 covered
Iowa
states
| State | Program | Species | Acreage Floor | Sellable | NR Owner | License on Own Land |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | None | — | — | — | — | Yes |
| Arizona | None | — | — | — | — | Yes |
| California | Private Lands Management | Deer, Elk, Antelope (Pronghorn), Black Bear, Turkey, Small Game | per ranch plan | Yes | — | Yes, with an exemption |
| Colorado | Landowner Preference Program | Deer, Elk, Antelope (Pronghorn) | 160 ac | Transfer only, not for sale | — | Yes |
| Idaho | Landowner Appreciation Program | Deer, Elk, Antelope (Pronghorn), Black Bear, Turkey | 320 ac / 640 | No, unlawful since July 2026 | Yes | Yes |
| Iowa | Landowner/tenant (LOT) licences | Deer, Turkey | 2 ac | No | No | Not always |
| Kansas | Hunt-Own-Land permits | Deer, Elk | 80 ac | No | Yes | Not always |
| Kentucky | Landowner Cooperator elk permitVoucher Cooperator elk permitElk Restoration permit | Elk | 5,000 ac100 acno floor | YesYesYes | ——— | Not always |
| Montana | Landowner Preference (the 15 percent)Landowner Sponsor454 Elk Hunting Access AgreementNonresident B-10 landowner pool | Deer, Antelope (Pronghorn), Elk | 160 ac / 640640 acper ranch plan2,500 ac | NoNoNoNo | Yes——Yes | Yes |
| Nebraska | Landowner limited permitsFree-earned elk permit | Deer, Antelope (Pronghorn), Turkey, Elk, Mountain Lion | 80 ac / 32080 ac | NoNo | YesYes | Yes, with an exemption |
| Nevada | Landowner Compensation TagsSpecial Incentive Elk TagsAntlerless Elk Landowner Hunts | Deer, Antelope (Pronghorn), Elk | no floorno floorno floor | YesYesYes | YesYesYes | Yes |
| New Mexico | EPLUS (Elk Private Lands Use System) | Elk | no floor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| North Dakota | Gratis licences | Deer, Antelope (Pronghorn), Elk, Moose | 150 ac | No | Yes | Yes, with an exemption |
| Oregon | Landowner Preference Program | Deer, Elk, Antelope (Pronghorn) | 40 ac / 160 | Transfer only, not for sale | — | Yes, with an exemption |
| Pennsylvania | Deer Management Assistance ProgramLandowner antlerless licence | Deer | no floor50 ac | NoNo | —— | Yes, with an exemption |
| South Dakota | Landowner PreferenceLandowner-on-own-land licences | Deer, Antelope (Pronghorn), Turkey, Elk | 160 ac / 240160 ac / 640 | NoNo | NoYes | Yes, with an exemption |
| Tennessee | None | — | — | — | — | Not always |
| Texas | MLDP Harvest OptionMLDP Conservation Option | Deer | no floorper ranch plan | NoNo | YesYes | Yes, with an exemption |
| Utah | Cooperative Wildlife Management UnitLandowner Permits | Deer, Elk, Antelope (Pronghorn), Moose, Turkey | per ranch plan640 ac / 100 | Varies by ranchYes | —— | Yes |
| Washington | Landowner Hunting Permit | Deer, Elk | 1,000 ac | No | — | Yes |
| Wyoming | Landowner Licenses | Antelope (Pronghorn), Deer, Elk, Turkey | 160 ac | No | Yes | Yes |
Where a program lists two floors, the second is the higher species (elk) or nonresident figure. "Per ranch plan" programs (cooperative units, managed-lands permits) qualify a property on its management plan, not an acreage.
Do You Need a License to Hunt Your Own Land?
In every state here a landowner buys the same license and tag as anyone else to hunt big game on their own ground, with narrow exceptions in California, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas. Landowner programs change who gets a limited tag and when, not whether a tag is needed.
Alaska Landowner Tags →
Alaska has no landowner program of any kind - no preference, tag, voucher or private-land permit for any big game. Allocation is by General Season...
Arizona Landowner Tags →
Arizona has no landowner tag program - a confirmed negative. The whole tag inventory is hunt permit-tags (draw), nonpermit-tags (over the counter)...
California Landowner Tags →
California's Private Lands Management programme has no acreage floor - enrolled properties run from 375 to 270,000 acres - because qualification is...
Colorado Landowner Tags →
Colorado's Landowner Preference Program hands out applications, not licenses - a landowner still goes through the draw, with one application at...
Idaho Landowner Tags →
Idaho's Landowner Appreciation Program gives controlled-hunt tags to landowners with 320 deeded acres in one game management unit, but 320-639...
Iowa Landowner Tags →
Iowa's landowner/tenant (LOT) licences are the lowest-threshold program of the 21 states: two or more contiguous acres per tract, with all parcels...
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...
Kentucky Landowner Tags →
Three of Kentucky's five elk permit types are landowner-based: Landowner Cooperator (5,000 acres in the elk restoration zone with at least five...
Montana Landowner Tags →
Montana reserves 15 percent of each hunting district's quota for qualifying landowners, with 160 agricultural acres for deer and pronghorn and 640...
Nebraska Landowner Tags →
Nebraska landowner limited permits scale with acreage and residency: 80 acres for a resident owner and 320 for a nonresident owner for deer,...
Nevada Landowner Tags →
Nevada has no acreage requirement in any landowner program. Mule deer and pronghorn tags are damage-based - notify NDOW within 10 days and enter a...
New Mexico Landowner Tags →
EPLUS, the Elk Private Lands Use System, has no acreage floor at all - the 2026-27 Primary Management Zone list includes a six-acre ranch holding...
North Dakota Landowner Tags →
North Dakota gratis licences take a flat 150 acres for all four species, and owners face no agricultural-use test at all - bare land qualifies -...
Oregon Landowner Tags →
Oregon's Landowner Preference Program gives tags that are valid only on the registered property, never unit-wide and never on public land. Forty...
Pennsylvania Landowner Tags →
Pennsylvania's DMAP has no acreage minimum, but acreage drives the allocation: one permit per 5 acres of documented crop, fruit or vegetable damage...
South Dakota Landowner Tags →
South Dakota has two separate things that both get called landowner licences. Landowner Preference is a draw advantage - 50 percent of the limited...
Tennessee Landowner Tags →
Tennessee has no landowner tags or permits of any kind - no landowner elk permit, no preference, no PLM, DMAP or MLDP analogue and no landowner...
Texas Landowner Tags →
The Managed Lands Deer Program has no acreage minimum. The Harvest Option needs no plan, no data and no habitat practices; the Conservation Option...
Utah Landowner Tags →
Utah runs two mutually exclusive landowner routes per species and per parcel: a CWMU, which needs 10,000 contiguous acres for elk or moose and...
Washington Landowner Tags →
Washington has no landowner tag. The only landowner allocation is the Landowner Hunting Permit, which needs 1,000 acres of huntable land, a...
Wyoming Landowner Tags →
Wyoming gives qualifying landowners an ordinary limited-quota hunt-area license, drawn first against the normal quota rather than out of a reserved...