The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will conduct commercial alligator lottery harvests on 23 LDWF Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), 28 public lakes and one U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) property beginning on Aug. 26, 2026. Applications are now available and are due by June 15.
(Please note: This is the longstanding commercial alligator lottery harvest and not the recently adopted recreational alligator lottery, which will have a separate lottery application in the coming months.)
Commercial alligator lottery applications can be found on the LDWF lottery application webpage. To apply, click on the Lottery Applications tab, update or create customer details similar to purchasing a license and then submit the application. There is a $5 application fee and a $3.50 transaction fee.
Only one commercial alligator lottery application may be submitted per customer, but applicants can rank and submit up to three hunt area choices on their application. Applicants must be legal Louisiana residents and 16 years of age or older. If selected, you will be required to purchase an alligator hunter license ($25) and to submit payment of $40 for each alligator tag allocated.
To assist applicants in selecting specific WMAs/public lakes, LDWF has posted the percentage of commercial lottery alligator harvest applicants selected for their first choice in 2025 by WMA or public lake as well as a map showing the general location of each area and the appropriate area manager’s contact information on its website. Go to the 2026 Alligator Lottery Choices page to see this information.
For more information concerning commercial lottery alligator harvests on LDWF WMAs or public lakes, contact the appropriate LDWF Field Office or email LAalligatorprogram@wlf.la.gov.
