New Jersey 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 are the license fees shown in the 2026 digest; any agent or online processing charge is not included. An optional durable license card costs $2.

Where these prices come from: Prices from NJ Fish & Wildlife's 2026 freshwater digest as published on eRegulations; the official license page does not list fees.

How long annual licenses last: All New Jersey fishing licenses and trout stamps run from purchase to December 31. Saltwater registrations also end each calendar year. Official source2

Non-residents (visitors)

Residents

• Resident trout stamp

  $10.50

  Needed with a license to fish for or keep trout or salmon (residents 16 to 69).

  Residents Secondary source: NJ Fish & Wildlife freshwater fishing digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Non-resident trout stamp

  $20

  Needed with a license to fish for or keep trout or salmon (non-residents 16 and over).

  Non-residents Secondary source: NJ Fish & Wildlife freshwater fishing digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Anyone under 16

  FreshSalt Everyone Official source2

• New Jersey residents 70 and over (fresh water; a driver license or other proof of age serves as the license, and no trout stamp is needed). Saltwater anglers still register free

  Fresh Residents · Proof: Driver license or other proof of age and residency Secondary source: NJ Fish & Wildlife freshwater fishing digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Farmers and their immediate family living on the farm, fishing on that farm

  Fresh Residents · check this applies to you Secondary source: NJ Fish & Wildlife freshwater fishing digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Resident veterans with a service-connected disability (free license, stamps and permits; apply to NJ Fish & Wildlife)

  Fresh Residents · check this applies to you Official source

• Eligible New Jersey National Guard members (free licenses, stamps and permits)

  Fresh Everyone · check this applies to you Official source

• Residents who are totally blind (free license on application)

  Fresh Residents · check this applies to you Secondary source: NJ Fish & Wildlife freshwater fishing digest 2026 (eRegulations)

• Saltwater anglers: New Jersey has no saltwater fishing license, only a free annual registration (shellfish licenses are separate)

  Salt Everyone Official source

• Customers fishing from a state-licensed or federally permitted for-hire boat do not need to register in the saltwater registry

  Salt Everyone Secondary source: New Jersey P.L. 2011, c.159 (Rutgers law library copy)

• Residents on New Jersey's two Free Fishing Days (no license or trout stamp)

  Fresh Residents Secondary source: The Fisherman magazine

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

State law (N.J.S.A. 23:3-1b) has NJ Fish & Wildlife pick two free days each year, on which residents may fish public fresh waters without a license or trout stamp. The Fisherman reported the 2026 days as open to non-residents too; NJ Fish & Wildlife's own page says residents. 2027 dates not yet announced. Size and catch limits still apply.

Secondary source: The Fisherman magazine23

Who counts as a resident

You must have lived in New Jersey (principal residence) for the six months immediately before buying a resident license.

Military

Active-duty US armed forces members may buy a resident license, with proof of active duty shown at an agent.

Official source

Freshwater licenses and trout stamps are sold online and at license agents (sporting goods and bait and tackle shops). The free saltwater registration is done at saltwaterregistry.nj.gov.

Online

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish & Wildlife license sales

Phone

(609) 292-2965 (information)

ID needed

A customer account and Conservation ID (CID) number; residents buying online need a New Jersey driver license. Buyers complete a child support certification each calendar year.

Licenses can be printed at home or bought from an agent. Processing fees and whether a license on a phone is accepted are not stated on the official page.

Official source2

New Jersey has no saltwater fishing license. Anglers 16 and over fishing tidal waters must register free each year in the Saltwater Recreational Registry. A separate shellfish license is needed to harvest clams, oysters, bay scallops and mussels.

A freshwater license is needed on privately owned lakes and other waters too.

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

No saltwater license exists. Customers on a state-licensed or federally permitted for-hire (party or charter) boat do not need to register; the boat is registered. Shore and pier anglers 16 and over must register free.

Secondary source: New Jersey P.L. 2011, c.159 (Rutgers law library copy)

Border waters

• Greenwood Lake (New Jersey and New York)

  New York and New Jersey fishing licenses are both recognized anywhere on the lake and along its shoreline (N.J.S.A. 23:9-126, on a reciprocal basis). Secondary source: NJ Fish & Wildlife freshwater fishing digest 2026 (eRegulations)2

• Delaware River (New Jersey and Pennsylvania)

  A New Jersey or Pennsylvania license is accepted from a boat or either shoreline on the main stem of the Delaware River between the two states. Tributaries are not covered. Secondary source: NJ Fish & Wildlife freshwater fishing digest 2026 (eRegulations)

Statewide general freshwater rules (2026 digest) and 2026 marine size and possession limits. Many lakes, trout waters and boundary waters have their own rules. Freshwater figures are daily creel limits; marine figures are possession limits per person.

Compare New Jersey with other states

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

• New Jersey vs Delaware
• New Jersey vs New York
• New Jersey vs Pennsylvania

Questions

Sources and checks

Every fact on this page comes from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish & Wildlife 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 4, 2026 (prices for 2026)

Free fishing days

Checked Nov 4, 2026

Seasons and limits

Checked Nov 4, 2026

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