It’s time to apply for alligator tags

Application period ends July 15

One of the biggest events for outdoorsmen in the Carolinas this month begins June 1. It’s time to apply for alligator tags for the 2026 season.

Applications will be accepted through July 15. Hunters can apply by downloading the GoOutdoorsSC app, or by visiting GoOutdoorsSC.com and clicking the “Apply for Lottery Hunts” tab.

The alligator season doesn’t begin until the 2nd Saturday of September, but you can’t hunt without a tag, and you can’t get a tag without applying between now and July 15. Tags are issued through a lottery, with applicants earning preference points every year they apply but don’t get selected. The more preference points you have, the better your chance of being drawn for a tag.

Last season, the majority of hunters drawn for a tag had four preference points, followed by hunters with three preference points. The rest had betwen five and 13 preference points.

The non-refundable application fee is $10, and those drawn for the tag then pay $100 for the tag.

In 2025, a total of 12,243 hunters applied for a tag, with 86 percent of those being South Carolina residents.

South Carolina is broken into four alligator hunt units: Southern Coastal, Middle Coastal, Midlands, and Pee Dee. A total of 1400 tags are awarded, with 350 in each of the four hunt units.

Stats

During the 2025 season, hunters saw a 33.4-percent success rate. Of the 1400 hunters who were drawn for a tag, 1129 paid for the permit. Of that 1129, a total of 643 tag-holders reported going hunting, and of that number, 467 successfully killed an alligator.

Of those 467, most gators (128) came from the Middle Coastal Unit, followed by the Pee Dee Unit with 119, the Midlands Unit with 114, and the Southern Coastal with 106.

The largest tagged gator of the 2025 season was 13 feet, 8 inches long, and was killed in the Middle Coastal Unit.

A total of 116 alligators killed last season measured 10 feet or longer, 68 were 6 feet and smaller, and the overall average length of all alligators harvested was 8.2 feet. ■