Texas 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 2026-27. Listed prices are TPWD fees. A $5 administrative fee is added to online purchases.

How long annual licenses last: Annual licenses run from purchase to August 31, whatever the purchase date. The new year's licenses go on sale August 15. Official source

Non-residents (visitors)

Residents

• Freshwater fishing endorsement

  $5

  Fishing public fresh water with a license that doesn't already include it (for example, a saltwater package)

  Everyone · fresh water Official source

• Saltwater fishing endorsement

  $10

  Fishing public salt water with a license that doesn't already include it (for example, a freshwater package). Comes with a red drum tag and a spotted seatrout tag.

  Everyone · salt water Official source

• Bonus red drum tag

  $3

  Keeping a second red drum over 28" in a license year. One per angler per year.

  Everyone · salt water Official source

• Exempt angler red drum tag

  $3

  Anglers exempt from a license (such as under 17) who want to keep a red drum over 28"

  Everyone · salt water Official source

• Exempt angler spotted seatrout tag

  $3

  Anglers exempt from a license who want to keep a spotted seatrout over 28"

  Everyone · salt water Official source

• Saltwater trotline tag

  $5

  Each 300 feet (or part) of a non-commercial trotline or sail line in coastal waters

  Everyone · salt water · TPWD coastal law enforcement offices only Official source

• Individual bait-shrimp trawl tag

  $37

  Using a trawl to take shrimp under a recreational license

  Everyone · salt water · TPWD coastal law enforcement offices only Official source

• Limited public use permit

  $12

  Fishing on TPWD public hunting land areas

  Everyone Official source

• Anyone under 17

  FreshSalt Everyone Official source

• Texas residents born before January 1, 1931

  FreshSalt Residents · check this applies to you Official source

• Texas residents with an intellectual disability fishing as part of medically approved therapy under approved supervision, or under the direct supervision of a licensed family member or someone with the family's permission

  FreshSalt Residents · check this applies to you · Proof: An authorization or ID card naming the sponsoring entity, or a doctor's note confirming the diagnosis Official source

• Louisiana residents aged 65 or over who hold a valid Louisiana recreational fishing license (including the Senior Fish/Hunt license)

  FreshSalt Non-residents · check this applies to you Official source

• Oklahoma residents aged 65 or over

  FreshSalt Non-residents · check this applies to you Official source

• Anyone fishing on state park property or in waters completely enclosed by a state park (park entry fees still apply; pole and line only, two poles each, on piers and docks)

  FreshSalt Everyone Official source

• Anyone fishing waters completely enclosed within private property

  Fresh Everyone Official source

• Anyone, on Texas Free Fishing Day

  FreshSalt Everyone Official source

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

The rule: First Saturday in June.

No license or endorsement needed that day. Bag and length limits still apply.

Official source

Who counts as a resident

Lived in Texas continuously for more than six months immediately before buying the license. Proof is a Texas driver license or ID card first issued by Texas DPS at least six months before purchase (or other listed documents). Members of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe also count as residents.

Military

Members of the US armed forces on active duty anywhere, and their dependents, count as Texas residents.

Official source2

Sold online, at about 1,700 license retailers and at TPWD offices. Some items (guide licenses, sport oyster boat licenses, trotline and bait-shrimp trawl tags, lifetime licenses) are sold only at TPWD law enforcement offices or headquarters.

Online

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department license sales ($5 fee)

App

Outdoor Annual

License on your phone

Accepted

ID needed

Social Security number required for anyone 14 or over (an affidavit is available if you don't have to have one). From August 3, 2026, buyers aged 17 or over must be present and show valid ID, such as an unexpired REAL ID.

Buy online, at about 1,700 retailers, TPWD offices and state parks. Your phone can show the license for fishing that doesn't need tags or physical stamps; digital licenses must be bought online. The Outdoor Annual app shows your licenses. TPWD doesn't list a phone sales line; license questions go to (800) 792-1112.

Official source2

Yes: everyone who fishes needs their own license.

Texas has no license that covers a charter's customers: everyone aged 17 or over who fishes on a guided trip or charter needs their own license (with a saltwater endorsement in salt water). Guides need a TPWD guide license of their own. There is no license-free pier rule outside Texas State Parks, where fishing from banks and piers needs no license.

Official source2

Border waters

• Toledo Bend, Caddo Lake and the Sabine River (Texas–Louisiana)

  Texas and Louisiana residents licensed in their own state (or exempt because of age), and holders of a non-resident license from either state, may fish any part of the lakes and rivers on the Texas–Louisiana boundary, inland from Sabine Pass. Fish landed in Texas must meet Texas limits. Official source2

• Lake Texoma (Texas–Oklahoma)

  You need the license of the state whose waters you fish, or a Lake Texoma license ($12), which covers both the Texas and Oklahoma waters of the lake but nothing else. A Texas license is needed to fish from the Texas bank between Denison Dam and Shawnee Creek. Official source2

• Red River (Arkansas and Oklahoma waters)

  In the Arkansas or Oklahoma waters of the Red River, that state's license and rules apply. Secondary source: Texas fishing regulations (eRegulations)

• Rio Grande (Mexican waters)

  Fishing in Mexican waters needs a Mexican recreational fishing permit (Permiso de Pesca Deportiva, from CONAPESCA), sold for a day, week, month or year. A Texas license doesn't cover it. Secondary source: Texas fishing regulations (eRegulations)

Statewide general rules for the 2026-27 license year (Sep 1, 2026 to Aug 31, 2027). Many lakes and rivers have their own exceptions, and federal waters beyond 9 nautical miles can differ. Possession limit is twice the daily bag unless stated (flounder: possession equals the daily bag). Saltwater species caught in fresh or brackish water follow saltwater limits.

Compare Texas with other states

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

• Texas vs Arkansas
• Texas vs Louisiana
• Texas vs New Mexico
• Texas vs Oklahoma

Questions

Sources and checks

Every fact on this page comes from Texas Parks and Wildlife 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 4, 2026 (prices for 2026-27)

Free fishing days

Checked Nov 4, 2026

Seasons and limits

Checked Nov 4, 2026

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