New Hampshire fishing license: cost, who needs one and how to buy

What will it cost? Calculator

Pick your trip and we'll work out the cheapest licenses to buy, including any required stamps.

Prices for 2026. Listed prices include a $1 agent fee and a $1 Fisheries Habitat Fee. A $2 transaction fee is added per license form ($2.75 online).

Where these prices come from: Freshwater prices from the 2026 New Hampshire Freshwater Fishing Digest (eRegulations); saltwater price from NH Fish and Game. Resident lifetime license prices weren't published online (call 603-271-3422).

How long annual licenses last: Licenses are valid January 1 to December 31 (except short-term licenses). Secondary source: New Hampshire Fishing Digest 2026 (eRegulations)

Non-residents (visitors)

Residents

• Anyone under 16, resident or non-resident

  FreshSalt Everyone Official source2

• Anglers fishing on a licensed charter or party boat (salt water)

  Salt Everyone · check this applies to you Official source

• Residents who qualify for a disabled veteran, paraplegic, blind or developmentally disabled license (free or permanent)

  Fresh Residents · check this applies to you Secondary source: New Hampshire Fishing Digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Active-duty New Hampshire residents stationed outside the state (free temporary license)

  Fresh Residents · check this applies to you Secondary source: New Hampshire Fishing Digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Anyone, on New Hampshire's two free fishing days (not tournament anglers)

  FreshSalt Everyone Official source

Fishing licenses from other states aren't valid in New Hampshire, except under the border-water agreements below.

The rule: Third Saturday in January; First Saturday in June.

Residents and non-residents may fish fresh and salt water without a license. Seasons, limits and all other rules apply; tournament anglers still need a license.

Official source2

Who counts as a resident

To buy at resident rates you must show a valid New Hampshire driver's license or non-driver photo ID (under 18s: a resident parent's or guardian's).

Military

Non-resident military permanently stationed in New Hampshire may buy at resident rates (not online or at Walmart). Active-duty residents stationed outside the state get free temporary licenses.

Students

Full-time students (12+ credits a semester) at New Hampshire schools may buy at resident rates, in person or by mail at Concord, with school ID and course registration.

Secondary source: New Hampshire Fishing Digest 2026 (eRegulations)2

Sold online, at license agents statewide and at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord. Lifetime licenses only from Concord.

Online

New Hampshire Fish and Game Department license sales ($2.75 fee)

Phone

(603) 271-3421

License on your phone

Accepted

ID needed

Photo ID; residents show a New Hampshire driver's license or non-driver ID.

A PDF or image of your license on a phone is accepted if an officer can read it and you show photo ID. The $2.75 online transaction fee is per license form.

Secondary source: New Hampshire Fishing Digest 2026 (eRegulations)2

Fresh and salt water need separate licenses. Tidal waters (for example below the Lamprey River dam) need the saltwater license.

Resident lifetime freshwater licenses are sold only at Concord headquarters; prices depend on age.

Usually not: the boat's license covers its passengers.

In salt water, you don't need your own license while fishing on a licensed charter or party boat. Shore and pier anglers 16 or over need the saltwater license. Freshwater guided anglers need their own license.

Official source

Border waters

• Massachusetts and Maine coastal waters

  A New Hampshire saltwater license lets you fish all coastal and estuarine waters of Massachusetts and Maine. New Hampshire residents can't fish New Hampshire salt water with a Maine or Massachusetts license. Official source

• Connecticut River (Vermont)

  New Hampshire and Vermont resident licenses are valid on the river. Non-residents with a New Hampshire license may fish only east of the Vermont low-water mark. Secondary source: New Hampshire Fishing Digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Maine border lakes (Umbagog, Great East Lake, Province Lake, Salmon Falls River and others)

  New Hampshire and Maine fishing licenses are both valid. Secondary source: New Hampshire Fishing Digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Massachusetts border ponds (Lake Monomonac, Long Pond, Tuxbury Pond and others)

  New Hampshire and Massachusetts fishing licenses are both valid. Secondary source: New Hampshire Fishing Digest 2026 (eRegulations)

General freshwater rules for lakes and ponds and for rivers and streams, and state-water saltwater rules. Many waters have special rules; federal waters may differ. Limits shown are daily limits.

Compare New Hampshire with other states

Neighboring states, side by side: prices, age rules, free days and shared waters.

• New Hampshire vs Maine
• New Hampshire vs Massachusetts
• New Hampshire vs Vermont

Questions

Sources and checks

Every fact on this page comes from New Hampshire Fish and Game Department unless it's marked secondary. We use a secondary source only when the official site doesn't show something, and we name it.

Licenses and prices

Checked Nov 5, 2026 (prices for 2026)

Free fishing days

Checked Nov 5, 2026

Seasons and limits

Checked Nov 5, 2026

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