What are the License Requirements?
When applying for a hunt, you must have alicense valid through deadline day of that
draw. If drawn for a hunt permit-tag, you
must also have a valid license at the time
of the hunt. These may not be the same
license. Please contact customer service
if you have any questions.
You get 2 application periods for Elk if you buy it on the last day of the app period. Elk then Deer, then Elk.
If you apply for Deer and Elk, you shift the license purchase timeframe and you will get 3 Elk app periods with 2 licenses, then 3 Deer app periods; Elk/Deer/Elk, then Deer/Elk/Deer, then back to Elk/Deer/Elk.
The one caveat, the app and season dates shift back in 2023 so a license used for 2022 Elk won't be valid for the 2023 Elk app period. You'll want to start fresh with a 2023 license purchased/start date on the last day of the Elk app period, Feb 14 I believe.
AZ lets you choose the start date of the license, so you can buy it anytime prior and choose the last day of the app period as the start date. Once that's done, you can then immediately go in and apply; just tick the box that confirms you have a license, and then input the license number in the available field. I do that every year.
Also I think the reason app and season dates shift as pointed out by Wapiti is due to Leap Year.