North Dakota Non-Resident Hunting License 2026: Waterfowl, Pheasant, Deer

Why Non-Residents Hunt North Dakota

North Dakota is a strong nonresident destination for waterfowl, pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, and deer, but the checkout path changes by species. The common mistake is reading one fee row and missing the annual prerequisites, waterfowl zone rules, lottery rules, or PLOTS restrictions.

The June 12 GSC export shows this page has 407 impressions, 0 clicks, 0% CTR, and average position 11.94. The adjacent 9 North Dakota query rows add 20 impressions, 0 clicks, and weighted average position 33.10. The visible query layer is small but compliance-heavy: North Dakota waterfowl license, nonresident license price, pheasant license, bow hunting license, online buying, and nonresident waterfowl season.

GSC North Dakota Nonresident Intent Map

2026 Official-Source Check

NDGF official-source check on June 13, 2026: use these NDGF pages before buying:

• NDGF Nonresident Licenses and Requirements — fee rows, prerequisites, waterfowl zone periods, HIP, stamps, and nonresident first-week land restriction.
• NDGF Hunting Licenses — hunter education, lottery list, paper/electronic license rules, and purchase options.
• NDGF Buy and Apply — purchase nonlottery licenses, apply for lotteries, print/download licenses, and manage My Account.
• NDGF Waterfowl — nonresident waterfowl zones and species pages.
• NDGF PLOTS Guide — walk-in PLOTS access rules and the nonresident first-seven-days restriction.
• NDGF Deer — deer lottery, nonresident bow land restriction, season dates, and application windows.

The NDGF nonresident page is the owner for fee prerequisites, HIP, Federal Waterfowl Stamp proof, and waterfowl zone selection. The NDGF Deer page is the owner for the 2026 deer gun season, the June 3 lottery deadline, nonresident deer bow timing, and the private/public-land split. The NDGF PLOTS Guide is the owner for walk-in access, PLOTS maps, and the first-seven-days pheasant-season nonresident restriction.

Non-Resident License Costs 2026

NDGF lists prerequisite items in addition to the species license. For an adult nonresident, do not treat a single row as the whole checkout.

The official cart is the source of truth. Agency, mailing, stamp, lottery, and application details can change, and youth rows differ from adult rows.

Purchase and apply through NDGF Buy and Apply or NDGF My Account.

Waterfowl: License Stack, Zones, And HIP

For the full waterfowl-only path, use the North Dakota waterfowl license support page. This broad nonresident guide keeps the handoff visible because waterfowl is only one North Dakota trip type.

NDGF's nonresident page separates regular nonresident waterfowl from small game. For regular nonresident waterfowl, check these items:

1. Zone-restricted nonresident waterfowl license
2. Fishing, Hunting, Furbearer Certificate
3. General Game and Habitat License
4. Waterfowl Restoration Stamp
5. HIP registration
6. Federal Waterfowl Stamp proof for hunters age 16+ when hunting ducks, geese, swans, mergansers, brant, or coot, unless an official exception applies

NDGF says nonresidents may hunt waterfowl for two 7-day periods per year. There are six nonresident waterfowl hunting zones. A hunter choosing two periods may select two different zones, one per 7-day period, and the same zone may not be selected for both periods. If only hunting one 7-day period, NDGF says the hunter may select two zones for that time.

HIP Registration

NDGF's HIP page says all migratory game bird hunters must register annually with HIP in each state they hunt before hunting ducks, geese, swans, mergansers, coots, cranes, snipe, doves, and woodcock. The HIP number must be recorded on the fishing, hunting, and furbearer certificate.

Pheasant and Sharp-Tailed Grouse

For adult nonresident pheasant, start with the small-game license path, then add the annual prerequisite rows. NDGF says nonresident small-game hunters age 16+ choose either a 14-consecutive-day license period or two 7-consecutive-day periods and may purchase more than one license per year.

PLOTS And First-Week Restriction

PLOTS is useful, but the first-week rule is the nonresident trap. NDGF says nonresidents may not hunt any game during the first seven days of pheasant season on lands owned or leased by the Department, including state wildlife management areas and Private Land Open To Sportsmen areas. The pheasant page notes a narrow exception for nonresidents hunting on PLOTS land they own.

That restriction does not apply to every acre in North Dakota. NDGF's nonresident page says it does not apply to lands owned or managed by other state agencies that may be open to hunting, federal lands that may be open to hunting such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service waterfowl production areas, or private lands not enrolled in Game and Fish PLOTS. Confirm the tract before entering.

2026 Season-Date Caution

NDGF's pheasant page lists the 2026-27 pheasant opener as October 10, 2026 and marks the date tentative until proclamation. Sharp-tailed grouse is listed with a September 12, 2026 tentative opener. Recheck the NDGF season page before locking dates.

The PLOTS Program

Private Land Open To Sportsmen (PLOTS) is North Dakota's walk-in public hunting access program on enrolled private land.

• PLOTS is private land enrolled for public walk-in hunting access
• PLOTS access is for hunting within legal hunting seasons or as signed
• Annual PLOTS guide/map available from NDGF online
• Areas vary year to year — download current maps before your trip
• Nonresident first-seven-days restriction applies to Conservation PLOTS areas during the opening week of pheasant season

PLOTS areas are scattered across the state and include pheasant, waterfowl, and deer habitat. Confirm the current map, signs, posted land status, and species restrictions before entering.

Deer Hunting for Non-Residents

Draw Required

Nonresident deer is a lottery path, not the same purchase path as pheasant. NDGF lists deer gun, any deer bow, bighorn sheep, tundra swan, and other licenses as lottery-allocated.

• Deer gun first-lottery row: $355 including NDGF's listed nonrefundable application fee, plus certificate and General Game and Habitat rows
• White-tailed deer bow row: $350 plus certificate and General Game and Habitat rows
• 2026 deer gun season: NDGF lists November 6-22, 2026 as finalized, with a June 3, 2026 lottery application deadline
• Nonresident bow land restriction: NDGF says nonresidents may hunt only on private land, excluding PLOTS, during the first 9 1/2 days of deer bow season; starting September 14, nonresidents can hunt both private and public lands

Why This Matters

If your search was "North Dakota bow hunting license," do not buy a small-game license and assume deer bow is covered. Start on the NDGF deer page and lottery page, then confirm unit, land access, season opening time, and tag availability.

Hunter Education

NDGF says hunters born after December 31, 1961 must have passed a certified state or provincial hunter education course to purchase a North Dakota hunting license. Apprentice hunter validation may be available for certain hunters age 12 and older, but it is not a substitute for checking the current NDGF license path.