Just as I seem to have finally shaken the dust off most of my fishing tackle, it is time to start prepping for hunting this fall. Hunting licenses for 2026-27 go on sale at 8 a.m. this Monday, June 23, along with the first round of antlerless deer (doe) licenses.

This will be the fourth year that doe licenses can be purchased directly through the electronic licensing system rather than the cumbersome process of mailing applications in special pink envelopes to a county treasurer’s office. Thank goodness for that bit of modernization.

Some folks might remember in 2023, the first year of the new system, there was a bit of a crunch on the first day of license sales. Hordes of hunters rushed to be among the first applicants to get their licenses, and that initial wave of buyers overwhelmed the electronic licensing system, resulting in long delays in processing individual applications. Despite the backlog, no Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) sold out of their antlerless allocations on that fateful first day, and all who stayed in the queue eventually were able to purchase a license for the WMU of their choice. The rest of the antlerless licensing process went on without further problems.

For 2024, the Game Commission made a few tweaks to prevent overwhelming the electronic licensing system with a rush of license buyers early on. Only hunters seeking a doe license for WMU 1B, 2G or 3A could apply during the first three days of the first round. Those three WMUs are typically the first ones to sell out most years.

From the fourth day of the first round until the start of nonresident sales, residents were guaranteed a doe license for any other WMU they desired. That process seemed to work well. Last year, the process was even simpler and more equitable with all Pennsylvania residents being guaranteed doe license for the WMU of their choice if they bought their first antlerless license during the first three weeks of the first round before antlerless license sales open to nonresidents.

For 2026, the antlerless license sales process will be fundamentally the same as last year with each Pennsylvania resident hunter being guaranteed one antlerless deer license in the Wildlife Management Unit of their choice, if they buy the license anytime between 8 a.m. on June 22 and 7 a.m. on July 13, when sales to nonresidents begin.

With a window of three full weeks to purchase a guaranteed doe license, there is no need to be in line on Monday morning, unless you happen to enjoy waiting in line. After the guaranteed period ends, all antlerless licenses are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, for any WMU that still has licenses remaining during four rounds of sales.

Hunters are permitted to purchase one doe license in each of the first three rounds. The second round of antlerless sales begins on Monday, July 27 at 8 a.m. The third round begins at 8 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 10. Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permits also go on sale during the third round. During the fourth round, which begins Monday, Aug. 25 at 8 a.m., a hunter may purchase multiple licenses for any WMU where licenses are still available up to their personal limit of six antlerless licenses.

And for those hunters desiring to obtain multiple doe licenses, the total allocation statewide for 2026-27 is 1,469,000, which is an increase of 157,000 from the 1,312,000 licenses allocated for 2025-26.

Of the 22 WMUs in Pennsylvania, 12 WMUs received an increased allocation from last year, and 10 WMUs received the same allocation as last year. In our region, WMU 2C was allocated 117,000 licenses, up 24,000 from last year; WMU 2E was allocated 63,000 licenses, up 12,000 from last year; WMU 4A was allocated 64,000 licenses, the same as last year; and WMU 4D was allocated 120,000 licenses, up 37,000 licenses from last year and the biggest increase of any WMU in the state.

As we progress through the various rounds of license sales, hunters will be able to keep track of the number of antlerless licenses remaining in any WMU in real time at HuntFish.PA.gov by clicking on the Antlerless Deer tab, then Antlerless Deer Quota.