The statewide alligator hunt is a lottery. FWC says there are often more than 25,000 applicants for over 8,000 permits (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). You enter in spring, and the hunt runs from mid-August into early November.
The statewide season begins Aug. 15 and ends Nov. 1. The first four weeks are quota weeks, and each permit is assigned one of them (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026):
Permit holders who do not take both alligators in their week can hunt in the open period, Sept. 12 to Nov. 1. Each permit allows two non-hatchling alligators. On most areas hunting is allowed 24 hours a day, though on the stormwater treatment areas the hours are 5 p.m. to 10 a.m.
There is no cost to apply, but a credit card must be on the application and is pre-authorized. If you win, the card is charged automatically. FWC lists (retrieved Oct. 1, 2026):
All sales are final and refunds are not available. A hunting or fishing license is not required. Assistants need an Alligator Trapping Agent License, listed at $51.50, unless they are 15 or younger.
You must be 18 by Aug. 15 of the application year. Anyone convicted of illegally taking crocodilians is barred for five years, or ten if the crocodilian was endangered (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026).
For the 2026 hunt, FWC posted these windows (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026):
You can win one permit in Phases I to III. Phase IV is first-come, first-served, and FWC says up to 10 permits cumulatively. Those windows are closed. FWC has not posted 2027 dates on the pages I fetched, so I will not guess them. Check the limited entry page each spring.
FWC’s Alligator Super Hunt is a different draw: $5 per application, as many applications as you want in the period, one permit a year. The 2026 period ran May 8 to June 8 (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). Winners may hunt most legally accessible alligator management units from Aug. 15 to Dec. 31, with 17 units excluded.
FWC’s program page offers county map files for the hunt units, including a set that covers Collier and a set that covers Lee (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). FWC also describes countywide harvest units: most Florida counties are set up as units, and a permit holder can take two alligators from any area they can legally access in that county. The counties around Lee and Collier were not individually checked, and I did not read the unit descriptions or numbers. Confirm your unit on FWC’s alligator unit map before applying.
Countywide units exclude a long list of places, including privately owned waters unless the landowner grants access, state parks and preserves, wildlife management areas except as designated, and incorporated cities (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). That matters in Southwest Florida, where much of the water sits in cities, canals or private communities.
Gators are off limits in Big Cypress. NPS says alligator hunting is strictly prohibited within the national preserve (NPS, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026).
Firearms and baited hooks are prohibited. Legal methods include hand-held snares, harpoons, gigs, snatch hooks, manually operated spears and spearguns, crossbows, airbows and bows with a restraining line, and bang sticks only on alligators already attached to a restraining line. Harvests must be reported online within 24 hours. FWC also warns that crocodiles may inhabit coastal South Florida waters, and that killing or harassing them is illegal.
FWC offers a free Statewide Alligator Harvest Training and Orientation video course covering rules, equipment, safety and processing. Take it before your assigned week.