Mt. Whitney 2019 Permit ~ expect last minutes cancellation....

From the visitor center in Lone Pine

Availability after May 1st

People who won the lottery need to complete its reservation by April 30.
After that, starting May 1, all dates which is not reserved will be available everybody who wants to get the permit.

I have often checked the availability after May 1, only dates I saw was early season which is May and June and late season which is after late September.  I did not see any other available dates so far.

For day use permit, there are many open dates in weekdays in summer time.  However they had been booked and it is almost full now.

The only way to get the permit is the last minutes cancellation.  Or you may want to get an exit permit like I plan this summer.  You can enter the Mt. Whitney Zone other than Mt. Whitney Trail from Whitney Portal.   But many of short hiking routes are booked and it is likely the last minutes cancellation.   It might be easier to get one than Mt. Whitney trail from Whitney Portal 

I am not sure if it is due to changing the reservation system or more people applied.  It is obviously getting hard to get the permit this year.

I think it is better to consider alternate route earlier to make sure you can get the permit.