Do I Need a Florida Fishing License?
Visitor or resident, your age, saltwater or fresh, from shore, a pier, a charter or a boat: whether you need a Florida fishing license, which one, what it costs, and the permits on top.
Yes: a Florida non-resident saltwater fishing license — a 3-day, $17, covers your 3 daysA vendor may add a 50¢ issuance fee; licenses are not refundable. The next license-free saltwater day: November 28, 2026.
The rule that decided it, in FWC’s words
- Saltwater: non-resident license, $17 for 3 days, $30 for 7 days, $47 a year.
- “Required to take or attempt to take saltwater fish, crabs, clams, marine plants or other saltwater organisms (other than non-living seashells and lionfish with certain gear).”
- “Non-residents are not eligible for this license and must purchase a 3-day, 7-day or annual non-resident saltwater fishing license when saltwater fishing in Florida unless covered by a charter or pier license .”
- “A license is required to attempt to take fish. If you cast a line or catch and release, you need a fishing license.”
- FWC: Do I need a license? (read 2026-10-04)
- FWC: saltwater licenses and permits
- FWC: freshwater licenses
- Buy a license: GoOutdoorsFlorida.com
License-free fishing days
- Saltwater, 2026: June 6, June 7, September 5, November 28
- Freshwater, 2026: April 4, April 5, June 13, June 14
Every rule and price from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC): Do I Need a License, the saltwater and freshwater license pages, the shoreline FAQ, the pier and vessel licenses and the license-free days (read 2026-10-04). The license-free days are FWC’s rules worked out for each year. A license does not change seasons, bag or size limits: check them for your fish.
Quick answer: Yes, unless an exemption covers you. A visitor needs a non-resident license ($17 for 3 days, $30 for 7, $47 a year), even fishing from shore. No license for anyone under 16, Florida residents 65 or older, or anyone on a licensed charter or pier. Residents fishing saltwater from shore need the free shoreline license.
How to use it
Say who you are (a visitor, a Florida resident, or a resident in the armed forces home on leave), your age, the water, where you will fish from and what you are after; for a visitor, how many days. The answer says whether you need a license, which one and what it costs. For a visitor it picks the cheapest set of 3-day, 7-day and annual licenses for your days. Below it: the permits on top, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) own words for the rule that decided it, and that year’s license-free days. Open “The first day, a cane pole” to check a date or the home-county cane pole exemption.
Who needs one, and who does not
FWC is plain: “If you cast a line or catch and release, you need a fishing license”, and helping counts too. The exemptions are in Florida Statute 379.353: “Youth under 16 years of age”; “Resident seniors age 65 or older” (a visitor of 70 still needs a license); Florida residents in the armed forces stationed outside the state and home on leave for 30 days or less; and, for saltwater, “Individuals saltwater fishing from a for-hire vessel (guide, charter, party boat) that has a valid charter license” and “Individuals saltwater fishing from a pier with a valid saltwater pier license”. A pier license “covers everyone saltwater fishing from that pier”, as a vessel license covers everyone aboard a recreational boat whose operator holds one. In freshwater, a private pond of 20 acres or less and a resident’s own homestead are exempt; and a resident with a cane pole or hand line, no reel and natural bait, in their home county, needs no license for either water. That cane pole exemption “does not include those who gather shellfish or other marine animals by hand”.
What it costs
| License | Florida resident | Visitor |
|---|---|---|
| Saltwater, a year | $17 | $47 |
| Saltwater, 7 days | — | $30 |
| Saltwater, 3 days | — | $17 |
| Saltwater shoreline only | $0 | — |
| Freshwater, a year | $17 | $47 |
| Freshwater, 7 days | — | $30 |
| Freshwater, 3 days | — | $17 |
| Saltwater and freshwater, a year | $32.50 | — |
A resident can also buy five years at once ($79 for either water). For a visitor, 1 to 3 days cost $17, 4 to 7 days $30, and from 8 days the annual license, $47, is cheapest; fishing both waters doubles it, as visitors have no combination license. A vendor “may also charge an issuance fee of 50¢”, and licenses are not refundable.
The permits on top
Some catches need a permit as well as the license. Snook: $10 a year, “including shoreline fishing”. Spiny lobster: $5 a year. Both are waived for anyone exempt from the license. Three have “No exemptions”: the tarpon tag, $51.50, “when landing tarpon” (releasing one needs none), sold only at a county tax collector’s office; the shore-based shark fishing permit, free after an online course, for anglers 16 and older taking sharks “from shore, including jetties, bridges and piers”; and the blue or stone crab trap registration, free, for harvesters 16 and older. Fishing for snapper, grouper, hogfish, amberjack or gray triggerfish from a private boat needs the free State Reef Fish Angler designation, even for seniors and others exempt from the license.
License-free fishing days
“On these days, the fishing license requirement is waived for all recreational anglers, including both residents and non-residents”, and the snook and lobster permits too; seasons and limits still apply. Saltwater: the first Saturday and Sunday in June, the first Saturday in September and the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Freshwater: the first Saturday and Sunday in April and the second Saturday and Sunday in June.
| Year | Saltwater | Freshwater |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | June 6, June 7, September 5, November 28 | April 4, April 5, June 13, June 14 |
| 2027 | June 5, June 6, September 4, November 27 | April 3, April 4, June 12, June 13 |
| 2028 | June 3, June 4, September 2, November 25 | April 1, April 2, June 10, June 11 |
Worked examples
A visitor fishing from the beach for 5 days. A non-resident saltwater license: the 7-day, $30, covers the 5 days.
Their 12-year-old. No license: under 16.
A visitor of 70 for a week. The 7-day, $30: only Florida residents of 65 or older are exempt.
A Florida resident after snook from a jetty. The no-cost shoreline license, plus the snook permit: $10 in all.
A resident with a boat on lakes and the Gulf. The saltwater and freshwater combination, $32.50 a year.
A visitor on a charter who keeps a tarpon. No license (the charter’s covers it), but the $51.50 tarpon tag.
Common mistakes
- Thinking catch and release needs no license. Casting a line needs one.
- A visitor buying the shoreline license. It is for Florida residents only.
- A resident taking a boat out to an island to fish “from shore”. Arriving by boat needs the regular license.
- Assuming every pier is covered. Only a pier with a saltwater pier license covers you; ask at the pier.
- Forgetting the snook permit with a shoreline license. It is needed “including shoreline fishing”.
- Bringing a charter’s exemption to freshwater. The charter exemption is for saltwater only.
Plan the rest of the trip
Read our guides to kayak fishing in the Florida Keys, where to launch a kayak in Key West, Marathon or Islamorada, eating the fish from Lake Okeechobee, the fish in the St. Johns River and things to do in Panama City Beach. Diving for lobster? The Florida Lobster Season checker has the dates and limits, the Florida Scallop Season checker the Gulf’s scallops, and Florida Tide Times the tides.
FAQ
Do you have to have a fishing license in Florida?
Yes, residents and visitors, even to catch and release, unless an exemption covers you: under 16, a Florida resident 65 or older, a licensed charter or pier, a license-free day, and a few more FWC lists.
How much is a Florida fishing license for non-residents?
$17 for 3 days, $30 for 7 days or $47 for a year, for saltwater or for freshwater; both waters need two licenses. A vendor may add 50¢.
How much does a Florida fishing license cost for residents?
$17 a year for saltwater or freshwater, $79 for five years, $32.50 a year for both, and nothing for the saltwater shoreline license.
What is the Florida shoreline fishing license?
A no-cost license for Florida residents who saltwater fish only from land or a structure fixed to land, wading included. It is not valid from a boat, on a shore reached by boat, or for swimming or diving, and visitors cannot get it.
Do I need a Florida saltwater fishing license on a charter?
No, if the boat (a charter, guide or party boat) has a valid charter license: it covers everyone fishing from it, snook and lobster permits included. A tarpon you keep still needs a tag.
Do kids need a fishing license in Florida?
No: “Youth under 16 years of age” are exempt, residents and visitors alike. The shark, crab trap and reef fish sign-ups start at 16 too, but the tarpon tag has no exemptions.
Can you fish without a license in Florida?
On the license-free days, yes: saltwater on the first Saturday and Sunday in June, the first Saturday in September and the Saturday after Thanksgiving; freshwater on the first Saturday and Sunday in April and the second in June.