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Season dates and fees:  See the season dates and fees page and the regulation brochure.

Hunting License: You must have a lion license and carry it when hunting. You can buy licenses online or by calling, 1-800-244-5613. Credit cards accepted for phone or internet purchases. Licenses also are sold at Colorado Parrks and Wildlife (CPW) offices and license agents.

Required Mountain Lion Education Certificate: It is illegal to obtain a mountain lion license or hunt lions without a mountain lion education certificate issued by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, attesting to successful completion of CPW’s Mountain Lion Education and Identification Course. Hunters must carry the certificate while hunting lions. The written portion of the course is available as a PDF file (1.5MB) or from CPW offices.

Important: To take this exam, you must have a Customer Identification Number (CID). (If you choose to take the "practice" version of the exam, you do not need a CID number.) You will be asked to enter your CID number on the "About You" screen. This is necessary for matching of your CID number with your lion education certification number—the number you will be given after passing this exam—in the licensing system so you can purchase a mountain lion license.

If you do not already have a CID number, or have lost track of it, please contact any Colorado Parks and Wildlife office, or call the main number, 303/297-1192, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. MST. (If you have purchased any license from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, your CID number is printed on it.)

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Hunters are required to call the 1-888-940-LION (5466) number for GMU closures prior to any hunting trip. You must check daily to make sure the unit you want to hunt is open. Units close when harvest limits are reached. Call no earlier than 5 p.m. the day before your hunting trip for a recording of closed units. If a unit is closed, you must pick a different unit. It is unlawful to hunt in a unit after it is closed.

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 Colorado Parks and Wildife is asking hunters to allow collection of a small tooth located just behind the lion’s upper canine. The tooth will be analyzed to determine the lion’s age. Hunters can help by making sure the jaw is propped open with a stick before rigor sets in and not having the carcass frozen during inspection. The animal’s age will be posted on the Web site 4-5 months after lion season ends. Lion tooth age results for the previous hunting season are typically posted in July. Ages will be posted by seal numbers, so hunters should write the number down to check the age of their animal. For privacy reasons, hunter's names are not posted. For results, see the Tooth-age Data page.

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Hunters must contact CPW within 48 hours of a lion kill and give their name, CID number, license number, date and unit of the kill, and sex of the lion. If you get voice mail, leave a message with the information. Within five days of harvest, hunters must personally present their lion to a CPW office or officer for inspection and seal. Hides cannot be frozen. Lions or parts cannot be taken out of Colorado unless inspected and sealed. Lion hides or heads without seals become state property. A mandatory check report must be completed during inspection. Inspections and seals are free. Seals must stay attached until hide is tanned.

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A recent study in North Dakota has raised concerns about the potential risk of exposure to lead associated with eating wild game harvested with lead bullets. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife provide recommendations to minimize exposure to lead in wild game. Read more information and recommendations .

More information

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For detailed information, see the Mountain Lion regulations brochure.  Although some of the specific information is catered to big game hunters, the Plan Your Hunt checklist page also has a plethora of good resources available for all hunters.