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The effects of search costs on habitat selection by dispersers are largely unknown. We explore how habitat selection behavior is affected by the risk of mortality en route and by deferred search costs (i.e., costs incurred during search that reduce fitness after arrival in the new habitat), using a model designed for long‐distance natal dispersers searching for scarce patches of suitable habitat embedded within a matrix of unsuitable habitat. In this situation, increases in the risk of mortality during search reduce disperser selectivity, where selectivity is reflected by the period during search when dispersers are only willing to accept a high‐quality habitat. However, the effects of deferred costs on selectivity depend on other factors with pronounced effects on selectivity, including encounter rates with high‐quality habitats, relative habitat quality, and total search time. Surprisingly, under some sets of conditions, increases in …