Skip to main content
nd.gov - The Official Portal for North Dakota State Government

Lotteries

Lotteries are held to distribute licenses for the following species: deer, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, tundra swan and wild turkey. Information on lotteries (dates, species information, bonus points calculations, FAQs, etc.) can be found on the lottery guide page.

Applying for a Lottery | Applying for Remaining Licenses | Viewing Bonus Points

NOTES:

  • Most functionality in the online services application requires a user account (exceptions: magazine subscriptions, calendar and book purchases).
  • During the purchase/application process, do not use your browser's back button to navigate to previous pages. Always use the buttons provided within the webpage itself.
  • You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser in order to use the online services system.

Applying for a Lottery

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Lottery Guide

Screenshot of a portion of the lottery guide page

Before applying for a lottery, consider reviewing our lottery guide for information on the lottery process and tips on unit selection.

My Account

Screenshot of My Account page apply link

To apply for a lottery, first create or access your NDGF account.

On your My Account page, click on "Apply for a Lottery/Gratis".

Applicant Selection

Screenshot of customer selection page

Select the customer for whom you wish to apply.

Note: You may apply for family or friends if you have their account information. Learn more.

If you are applying for a party, select the 'party leader' here. Other party members will be added later in the process.

Residency Confirmation

Screenshot of residency confirmation page

Confirm your residency and address information.

If you are not a US citizen, you will be asked for your passport number.

If you are not a North Dakota resident, you will be asked a couple of questions to determine if you qualify to apply for resident licenses. If you do not qualify, you can still purchase nonresident licenses. Note that some lotteries are resident only.

Select Lottery

Example lottery selection list

Select the lottery for which you'd like to apply. Only currently available lotteries will be listed here.

Application Details

Screenshot of lottery unit selection page

Select the unit and species/type. To increase your odds of being drawn, make a second unit choice in addition to your primary choice.

PLOTS Donation - If you are unsuccessful in the lottery drawing, you can choose to have your application fee refunded to you or you can choose to donate it to the Department's Private Land Open to Sportsmen program.

If the applicant's data is not complete in the system, you will be prompted to add any necessary information.

Party Applications: If this is a party application, you add members on this page. Be aware that the lowest bonus points for any member will be the bonus points used for all members in a party application. So if, for example, 3 of your members have 4 bonus points and one has 1 bonus point, 1 bonus point will be used for the entire party for the application.

Bonus Point Purchase

Screenshot of lottery unit selection page with bonus point selection highlighted

An applicant unsuccessful in drawing his or her first choice permit in the first lottery this year receives a bonus point for next year's lottery.

If you would like to skip hunting this year but want to increase your bonus points, you can purchase a bonus point without entering the lottery by checking the "Bonus Point Purchase" box on the Lottery Details page during the lottery application process.

If you do not purchase a bonus point or apply for the lottery, you will not lose your existing bonus points, but you will also not add a point for the year.

Note: You can view your existing bonus points by going to your "My Account" page and scrolling down to the Current Lottery Bonus Points section. To see your bonus points history, click on the View Bonus Point Details. This will popup a list of your bonus points by year.

Verify Your Application

Screenshot of application information verification page

Verify that your unit choices and other information is correct.

PLOTS Donation Request

Screenshot of PLOTS donation form

At this point, you will be asked if you'd like to donate to our Private Lands Open To Sportsmen program.

PLOTS Program Information.

Enter Credit Card

Screenshot of credit card entry page

Enter your payment information and click "Submit".

Receipt

Screenshot of receipt page

You can view, print and download your application receipt by clicking on the "View" link.

You can also access this information from your My Account page at any time.

Lottery Results

Screenshot of lottery links on My Account page

After a lottery has been run, you will be able to view the results from your My Account page. Note: applications will remain in a pending status until after the lottery has been run.

Leftover (FCFS Licenses)

Screenshot of purchase a remaining license link on My Account

After a lottery has been run there may be remaining licenses available for purchase (i.e. when there were more licenses in a hunting unit than there were applicants). To see if there are licenses left over after a lottery has been run, go to the License Availability page and select the species you are interested in.

You can apply for a leftover license by clicking on the "Purchase FCFS Licenses" link on your My Account page.

If you still have questions about or problems with applying for a lottery after reviewing this tutorial, please contact the Department online or call 701-328-6335.