How the Draw Works

Now that you know when to apply, how to apply, what a hunt code is, and what preference points are, you are ready to enter the draw. But once you apply, how does the process work?

First, everyone who applied for the same first-choice license is listed in order on the basis of preference points. We’ll again use our example license of D-M-002-O1-A. The quota for this license is 7.

As you can see in the chart, more than 64 people applied for this license as their first choice, so not everyone who applied will get it. The people at the front of the line have 15 preference points, and everyone is ordered behind them all the way down to those who have no preference points. In this example, 23 people had 3 preference points or more. Since there were 7 licenses to start, residents with 4 preference points or more will get this license. Since only a certain number of licenses per hunt code can go to nonresidents, only the nonresident with 15 preference points will get this license. Now, there is only one license left and 5 residents with 3 preference points. This is where the draw becomes a truly randomized lottery. Since all 5 people are at the same level (3 preference points), they are randomized, and the system pulled 1 person out of that randomization for those last licenses. We say this license drew out at 3 preference points, meaning the very last person to get their first choice had 3 preference points.