Do I Need A Fishing License?


officer checking fishing license compliance

For most people, yes, you will need a fishing license. The most important thing to remember is that each US state has control of licensing in their freshwater and nearshore saltwater fishing. So the rules around fishing licenses vary by each state.

There are some general trends, however:

  • Often young people (below 16) do not need a license.
  • Often paid fishing piers or fishing boats have a blanket license that covers their customers.
  • Often farmers do not need a license to fish on their own property.
  • Often free fishing days are special days where fishing licenses are not required.

When fishing offshore outside of state control, the federally required National Saltwater Angler Registry still applies. For most people, this will be included with their state issued fishing license. If you are an edge case that's not automatically covered, you will need to register with NOAA.

To find out the license requirements for the state you want to fish in, you can check out the controlling state agency's website. The names vary by state (Fish & Game, Department of Natural Resources, etc). You can also check out Take Me Fishing which is a non-profit that has licensing overview for each state.

Fishing Fundamentals