What to know about group applications

Group applications allow you and your friends and family to apply together. A group application makes it possible for every member of the group to obtain a permit. If the application is not successful, however, then no one in the group will obtain a permit. For more information about group applications, read Utah Admin. Rule R657-62-7 and R657-62-19

• To apply as a group, every member of the group must be entered in the same application session. You can't add people to a group once you submit your application. You may, however, withdraw individuals from a group application after it has been submitted. (You can find the withdrawal deadline for a particular drawing in its guidebook.)
• To determine how many points a group has in the drawing, group members have their points averaged and then rounded down. For example: Suppose two hunters are applying as a group and one member has 7 bonus points and the other member has 2. Their points will be averaged, 4.5, and then rounded down to 4.
• There are some rare circumstances where a group may be altered automatically if one member draws a limited-entry or once-in-a-lifetime permit during a different phase of the drawing.
• If you obtain a permit with a group, please be aware that there are special restrictions about returning (surrendering) your permit if you aren't going to use it. Please read Administrative Rule R657-42

Groups with nonresidents

Residents and nonresidents can apply together in a group. However, some hunts may not have enough nonresident permits for your group size which could make your group unsuccessful in the drawing. Consider the following examples:

1. Your group is made up of 1 resident and 2 nonresidents. If there is only 1 nonresident permit available, your group can't draw the permit unless there are leftover resident permits. That circumstance is extremely rare.
2. Your group is made up of 1 resident and 1 nonresident. There are lots of resident permits and 1 nonresident permit. Because of the drawing process, the 1 nonresident permit will be issued randomly after the bonus point round. This means that there is almost no chance of this group drawing the permit. Look for a hunt that has at least 2 nonresident permits.

Youth-only groups

The drawing issues up to 20% of the general season deer permits specifically to youth aged 18 or younger. Up to four youth can apply in youth-only groups and be considered for the reserved 20%. It is possible for an adult to apply with youth in a group. Any group that contains members over age 18, however, would not qualify as a youth-only group and would not be eligible to draw permits from the 20% issued specifically to youth.