Licensing Information

• Licenses are valid from December 1 to December 31 of the year following, inclusive.

• You qualify for a RESIDENT fishing license if you are a bona fide resident of Pennsylvania. You must show positive proof of permanent residency. Senior Resident and Lifetime licenses are available to those persons at anytime during the year in which they will become age 65.
• Act 11 of 2006 - This Act provides the opportunity for former POWs to obtain a Senior Resident Lifetime or Resident fishing license at the low cost of $1.97, plus $1.00 issuing agent fee, and requires the purchase of appropriate stamps and/or permits.
• Certain active military personnel are now exempt from Pennsylvania's fishing license requirements

To be eligible for the military waiver, an angler must be a bona fide Pennsylvania resident, be on active duty, be stationed outside Pennsylvania and be here on authorized leave. While in the act of fishing, the military personnel must carry proof of each of these requirements, such as a Pennsylvania driver's license, his or her military ID, and valid military orders showing his or her place of assignment and leave status.

Under the law, a qualifying soldier, sailor, airman or marine does not receive a free Pennsylvania fishing license, instead eligible active duty military personnel can legally fish without a license under the limited circumstances outlined in the law. The commission recommends anyone taking advantage of this provision display their military ID while in the act of fishing in much the same way they would a conventional fishing license.

Fees