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 demonstrated opportunity that would not otherwise exist and a contract limited to two per WDFW district and one per landowner statewide - there are only four cooperators in the whole state. Permits are nontransferable and valid only inside the LHP boundary; the sanctioned way to monetise is the landowner raffle.
Checked against Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife rules, October 20, 2026. Where the rule is silent or its sources disagree, the line says so.
Landowner Hunting Permit
contiguous, deeded and other tests apply
same as any hunter
Hunting Your Own Land
A landowner in Washington needs the same license and tag as any other hunter to take big game on their own property. The programs below change who gets a limited tag, not whether one is needed.
Landowner Hunting Permit
Landowner Hunting Permit (LHP), WAC 220-412-100
contiguous and deeded tests below
At least 50 percent of antlerless and 25 percent of...
not addressed in the rule
Who Qualifies
| Species | Deer, Elk |
|---|---|
| Acreage test | 1,000 acres of minimum huntable acreage per LHP, where contiguous lands may span GMU boundaries and non-contiguous lands must all lie within one GMU, delivering opportunity that otherwise would not exist and/or resolving documented chronic crop damage; a maximum of two LHP contracts per WDFW district and one LHP per landowner statewide; no fences that alter wildlife movement.1 |
| Land test | ✗ Contiguous✗ Agricultural use within the property |
| Nonresident owner | Not addressed in the rulesNot addressed in the rule. WAC 220-412-100 sets the acceptance guidelines, the 1,000 huntable acres, the two-contracts-per-district and one-LHP-per-landowner caps and never mentions the landowner's residency; RCW 77.32.320 only requires the correct licences and tags of the hunter. |
| Who may hunt it | Not enumerated in rule. The SOP scoring gives family, friends or a private sale 0 points, a public auction 15 and a public raffle 30. Every hunter needs their own licence, transport tag and that permit. |
| When to apply | Apply to the Private Lands Section Manager by Aug 15 before each three-year cycle; a biologist consultation and field tour are mandatory; Commission adoption in April. |
What You Get
| The tag | A named block of permits written into rule, valid only inside the LHP boundary. Commission Policy C-6002 sets the minimums: at least 50 percent of antlerless and at least 25 percent of buck or bull permits must go to the public, with equivalent opportunity or the contract is void. |
|---|---|
| Set-aside | At least 50 percent of antlerless and 25 percent of buck/bull permits to the public |
| Transfer or sale | No. Permits, raffle tickets and multi-season tags are all nontransferable (RCW 77.32.250). Access may be sold, but the landowner then waives wildlife-damage claims and loses recreational-use immunity; the landowner raffle is the sanctioned monetisation. |
| Enrolled properties | Agency listNot addressed in the rule. LHP properties are not in WDFW's searchable private-lands list or GIS download, which cover the other access programs, so the four cooperators are named in rule rather than listed as data. |
Only four cooperators exist statewide (Buckrun, Silver Dollar, Blackrock and Centralia Mine/TransAlta). Each named cooperator's permit terms, contacts and hunt conditions are written into WAC 220-412-100 itself. There is no landowner tag in Washington.
New for 2025–26: WSR 25-21-023 cut Buckrun's deer permits 20 percent after it sold 7,880 acres and dissolved CPWMA, dropping LHP cooperators from 5 to 4.
General Season or Limited Draw?
Washington has extensive general over-the-counter deer and elk hunting in three parallel weapon tracks (modern firearm, archery, muzzleloader), bear OTC Aug 1 - Nov 15 and cougar OTC Sep 1 - Mar 31 or until the CHMU cap; moose, bighorn and mountain goat are draw-only. For nonresidents there is no difference in access, only in price - a verified negative across WAC 220-415 and 220-412, with no nonresident quota or cap anywhere and anyone may apply for special permits.
New for 2025–26: The season package is 2024-2026 (WAC ch. 220-415), not 2025-2027.
Check a parcel on the map →
Click the ground or paste a listing's coordinates: the unit for every species (300 Washington units mapped), and whether the acreage clears the floor.
Washington draw odds →
Every species, unit and hunt code, with the odds at each point level, fees and deadlines.
Things That Trip People Up
- No landowner tag exists in Washington: the LHP is a permit block inside a contracted boundary.
- LHP properties are NOT in the WDFW private-lands searchable list or GIS download, so enrolment cannot be checked there.
- The general-season answer is weapon-dependent - one weapon type per licence year, and the three tracks open different GMU sets on different dates - and for elk it is also area-tag-dependent (Eastern 100/200/300 GMUs or Western 400/500/600).
- Selling access costs the landowner their wildlife-damage claims and recreational-use immunity.
- RCW 77.36.030 damage killing is licence-free except the one-deer-or-elk crop-damage kill, which needs a licence and tag.
Sources
- 1. Washington State Legislature · WAC 220-412-100, landowner hunting permits · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 2. Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission · Commission Policy C-6002, private lands access · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 3. Washington State Legislature · RCW 77.32.320, required licences and tags · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 4. Washington State Legislature · RCW 77.32.250, transfer of licences and permits · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 5. Washington State Legislature · RCW 77.32.010, licences required · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 6. Washington State Legislature · RCW 77.36.030, killing wildlife causing damage · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 7. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife · WDFW private lands access searchable list · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 8. Washington State Legislature · WAC chapter 220-415, 2024-2026 season package · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 9. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife · 2026 Big Game Hunting Pamphlet · retrieved 2026-10-20
- 10. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife · 2026 Big Game Pamphlet corrections (Apr 22, 2026) · 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.