Florida Fishing License Guide

Florida residents and visitors who fish in Florida need an FWC freshwater or saltwater fishing license unless an exemption applies, and FWC counts casting a line or catch and release as fishing (FWC, do I need a license).

FWC reads the requirement broadly. A license is required to attempt to take fish, and anyone who helps, such as baiting hooks, needs a license and the right permits too (FWC). A saltwater license is required to attempt to take marine organisms such as crabs, lobsters and marine plants (FWC), and FWC says a Florida license is required to land saltwater species in Florida whether they were caught in state or federal waters (FWC saltwater licenses). Being listed on the National Saltwater Angler Registry does not replace a Florida recreational license.

Florida splits fishing into two licenses: freshwater, for native or nonnative freshwater fish, and saltwater, for marine species (FWC freshwater licenses). An angler who fishes a lake one weekend and the coast the next needs both, or a combination license that bundles them. Saltwater regulations are the subject of the separate Digital Towns guide to Florida saltwater fishing; this page covers which license to buy, what it costs and who is exempt.

A Florida resident annual freshwater or saltwater fishing license costs $17.00 and a nonresident annual license $47.00 at FWC's posted prices, with 3-day and 7-day nonresident licenses at $17.00 and $30.00 (FWC freshwater prices).

The freshwater and saltwater pages post the same base license prices (FWC freshwater; FWC saltwater). FWC says its posted prices include an issuance fee allowed by Florida Statute, and a license vendor may add another 50 cents; all sales are final and fees are nonrefundable.

Section 379.354, Florida Statutes, lists lower base amounts: $15.50 for a resident annual freshwater or saltwater license, $77.50 for a five-year license, $45.50 for a nonresident annual license, and $15.50 and $28.50 for nonresident 3-day and 7-day saltwater licenses (Florida Statutes 379.354). FWC's pages state that their posted prices include an issuance fee allowed by Florida Statute; both sets of figures are given here as each source states them.

Florida residents who fish salt water only from land can use the no-cost Saltwater Shoreline-Only license, and FWC offers residents combination and Sportsman's licenses that bundle fishing and hunting licenses (FWC saltwater licenses).

FWC limits the shoreline license to fishing from the shoreline or a structure affixed to shore; it is not valid from a vessel, on a shoreline reached by vessel, or when fishing by swimming or diving (FWC). Section 379.354 adds that the shoreline license is issued without a fee to any Florida resident and is not needed by a resident who already holds another license that allows taking saltwater fish (Florida Statutes 379.354).

The Sportsman's licenses bundle freshwater fishing with hunting and several permits. The annual Resident Sportsman's License costs $80.50 and does not include the saltwater license, snook or lobster permits; the Silver Sportsman's 64+ license, for Florida residents 64 or older, costs $13.50 a year or $61.50 for five years with the same limits (FWC freshwater licenses). The Gold Sportsman's License adds saltwater fishing plus snook and lobster permits, and the Military Gold Sportsman's License, for Florida residents who are active duty or retired military, costs $20.00 a year through online verification or at a Florida tax collector's office with proof of residency and a military ID.

Youth licenses are optional: Florida children under 16 are exempt, but FWC sells a $17.00 resident youth freshwater or saltwater license for ages 8 to 15, valid until the 17th birthday (FWC).

Florida exempts youth under 16 and residents 65 or older with proof of age or residency, as FWC words it, from fishing licenses, along with a set of narrower freshwater and saltwater exemptions listed by FWC under section 379.353, Florida Statutes (FWC exemptions).

For seniors, proof can be a valid Florida driver license or ID card, or the optional Resident 65+ Hunt/Fish Certificate, which is free online at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or at county tax collectors' offices (FWC). The statute says a resident 65 or older with proof of age and residency needs no license, and that the no-cost license may be obtained from any tax collector's office (Florida Statutes 379.353). Other statewide exemptions cover freshwater fishing on one's own homestead in the county of residence, Florida residents certified as totally and permanently disabled who hold the Florida Resident Disabled Person's Hunting and Fishing License, and Florida residents in the Armed Forces stationed outside Florida who are home on leave for 30 days or less, with orders.

Freshwater only: FWC exempts anglers in a private fish pond of 20 acres or less, anglers with a valid Georgia license on the St. Mary's River or Lake Seminole, anglers on free freshwater fishing days, and Florida residents fishing in their home county with live or natural bait on poles or lines without a line-retrieval mechanism (FWC exemptions). The same cane-pole style exemption applies to residents saltwater fishing in their home county, and neither covers fish management areas.

Saltwater only: no individual license is needed on a for-hire guide, charter or party boat with a valid charter license, on a vessel whose operator holds a recreational saltwater vessel license, on a pier with a saltwater pier license, or on a free saltwater fishing day (FWC). Florida residents eligible for food stamps, temporary cash assistance or Medicaid through the Department of Children and Families may fish salt water from land with their benefit card and ID, but not from a vessel or while swimming or diving.

A Florida saltwater license alone does not cover snook, spiny lobster, tarpon, reef fish from a private boat, sharks from shore or crab traps; each needs its own permit, tag or registration from FWC (FWC saltwater permits).

FWC lists the snook permit at $10.00 a year, or $50.00 for five years for residents only, required even for shoreline fishing, and warns that the permit is not refunded if the area's snook season is closed (FWC). The spiny lobster permit is $5.00 a year, or $25.00 for five years for residents only. A tarpon tag, required to land a tarpon with no exemptions, costs $51.50 a year and is sold at tax collector's offices only.

Several Florida add-ons are free but still required. The State Reef Fish Angler designation, for anglers 16 and older fishing certain reef fish from a private vessel, costs $0.00 and has no exemptions; the shore-based shark fishing permit, required since July 1, 2019 for shark fishing from shore, jetties, bridges and piers, is free after an FWC online course; and blue crab and stone crab trap registrations, for recreational harvesters 16 or older using those traps, are free and available at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com only (FWC saltwater permits). FWC notes that the shark permit applies even to anglers exempt from the license itself.

FWC sells Florida fishing licenses four ways: online at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com, in person at a license agent or county tax collector's office, by phone at 888-FISH-FLORIDA (888-347-4356), and through the Fish|Hunt FL app (FWC, how to order).

FWC names Go Outdoors Florida as the approved and authorized provider of online fishing and hunting licenses for Florida, and adds handling charges on remote sales: for online orders, $2.25, or $1.75 plus a 2.95 percent surcharge of the total sale, as FWC words it; for phone orders, $6.25 plus a 2.95 percent surcharge per person (FWC). All sales are final and fees are nonrefundable.

The Fish|Hunt FL app can be used to buy, renew and store licenses and permits, and FWC says it keeps anglers from being without their licenses; FWC also sells a plastic hard card that holds up to seven licenses or permits for an added fee (FWC; FWC freshwater). Section 379.354 requires a positive form of identification when using a free license, a lifetime license or a five-year license (Florida Statutes 379.354).

Yes: Florida law lets FWC designate by rule up to 6 free freshwater fishing days and up to 6 free saltwater fishing days each year, when anyone may fish for noncommercial purposes without a license (Florida Statutes 379.354(15)).

FWC's exemption list confirms both kinds of day: anglers freshwater fishing during free freshwater fishing days and anglers saltwater fishing during a free saltwater fishing day are exempt from the matching Florida license (FWC exemptions). The statute allows the days to be consecutive or nonconsecutive.

The FWC free fishing days page that lists the current dates could not be read on October 21, 2026, so no dates are given here; the FWC license pages link to it under Free Fishing Days (FWC freshwater licenses). Section 379.354(15) says a person may take fish for noncommercial purposes on those days without obtaining or possessing a license or permit or paying a fee set forth in that section (Florida Statutes 379.354), while FWC lists the shore-based shark permit, the tarpon tag and the State Reef Fish Angler designation with no exemptions (FWC saltwater permits). Last verified: October 21, 2026, by re-reading the FWC freshwater, saltwater, exemption and ordering pages and sections 379.353 and 379.354 of the Florida Statutes.