BC fishing licence, 2026-27

Which licence do you need?

It comes down to which side of the tidal boundary you are standing on, not what you are fishing for.

Federal · Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Tidal waters (saltwater) licence

Required to fish for any finfish or harvest any shellfish in tidal waters, and you must have it on you while fishing and while transporting your catch. One licence covers everything: salmon, halibut, groundfish, crab, prawns, bivalves and octopus. There is no separate crab or shellfish licence in BC.

What it costs

How to buy one

1. 1
   Go to the National Recreational Licensing System (NRLS) and create an account, or sign in if you have fished before. Retail vendors (tackle shops, marinas) sell the same licence as Independent Access Providers if you would rather do it in person.
2. 2
   Choose your residency and term. Residency is where you live, not your citizenship: a Canadian citizen living abroad pays the non-resident rate.
3. 3
   Add the Salmon Conservation Stamp ($7.39) if there is any chance you will keep a salmon. You cannot add it after the fact from the water.
4. 4
   Pay, then save or print the licence. Keep the paper copy if you plan to retain chinook, halibut or lingcod. See catch recording below.

One niche exception worth knowing: non-residents fishing halibut in Areas 121, 23 and 123 must buy from an in-Canada Independent Access Provider rather than online.

Provincial · Province of British Columbia

Freshwater licence

Required from age 16. BC residents under 16 need no licence at all; non-residents under 16 may fish unlicensed only while accompanied by someone 16 or over who holds one.

What it costs

Conservation surcharges

A basic licence does not cover the province’s flagship species. These are bought on top of it, and each is valid for the same licence year.

• Steelhead

  Resident

  $28.57

  Non-resident

  $68.57

  Fishing for steelhead anywhere in BC, required whether you keep or release. All wild steelhead must be released; the province-wide hatchery quota is 10.

• Non-tidal salmon

  Resident

  $17.14

  Non-resident

  $34.29

  Keeping salmon from fresh water. Not needed if you release.

• Kootenay Lake rainbow trout

  Resident

  $11.43

  Non-resident

  $22.86

  Keeping rainbow trout over 50 cm from the main lake. Not needed if you release.

• Shuswap Lake rainbow trout

  Resident

  $11.43

  Non-resident

  $22.86

  Keeping rainbow trout over 50 cm. Not needed if you release.

• Shuswap Lake char

  Resident

  $11.43

  Non-resident

  $22.86

  Keeping char over 60 cm. Not needed if you release.

• White sturgeon conservation licence

  Resident

  $28.57

  Non-resident

  $68.58

  Fishing for white sturgeon. Catch-and-release only, there is no retention. Short-term versions are sold at $9.14/$17.14 (1-day) and $17.14/$34.29 (8-day).

Full conditions and the classified-waters schedule are on the province’s surcharge page.

How to buy one

1. 1
   Register for a Fish and Wildlife ID. It is free and required first. A Basic BCeID is the quickest route; a BC Services Card Account is slower to set up but verifies your identity and residency automatically, which saves proving BC residency later.
2. 2
   Sign in to WILD with that ID.
3. 3
   Buy the basic licence for your residency and term, then add any conservation surcharges you need. Remember the steelhead surcharge is required even for catch-and-release.
4. 4
   Carry your FWID and photo ID when you fish. A licence copy is no longer required for basic angling.

Prefer to do it in person? FrontCounter BC, Service BC and participating vendors can register your FWID and sell you the licence over the counter.

What the licence obliges you to do

A tidal licence is not just a receipt. It carries conditions that sit outside the regulations most anglers read, which is why they are so often discovered during a check.

Record these the moment you keep one

“Immediately and permanently” is the legal standard, on your paper licence, your NRLS catch log, or in the FishingBC app. After the trip is too late, and out of cell range the app will not save you, so carry paper.

• Chinook salmon

  Annual quota

  10 coastwide

  Any management area. Record head-on length.

• Halibut

  Annual quota

  10 coastwide

  Any management area. Record head-on length.

• Lingcod

  Annual quota

  10 inside waters

  Inside waters only: Areas 12-19 (except Sub-area 12-14), Sub-areas 20-5 to 20-7, and 29-5.

The iREC survey is mandatory

Every tidal licence holder is enrolled in DFO’s Internet Recreational Effort and Catch survey and will be selected for one month of their licence’s validity. Report at irecreport.ca using the access ID on your licence, before the 19th of the following month. You must file even if you did not fish that month. A nil report is still a report. Juvenile licence holders are exempt.

Full reporting rules: DFO: report your effort and catch.

What a licence does not give you

A licence is permission to participate. It says nothing about what is open today, and that is where almost every recreational violation in BC comes from. On top of a perfectly valid licence sit:

• Openings and closures. Salmon retention windows open and close by management area, sometimes mid-season and sometimes with days of notice.

• Rockfish Conservation Areas. Roughly 160 closed areas along the coast where groundfish fishing is prohibited outright. They are not marked on the water.

• Size and daily limits. Vary by species and area, and are separate from the annual quotas above.

• Shellfish biotoxin closures. Bivalve areas close for paralytic shellfish poisoning and sanitary contamination. Always current-check before harvesting.

• Gear restrictions. Barbless hooks, single hooks, bait bans and trap limits differ by water.

Check the current rules for your area with DFO Pacific Region before every trip, and browse fishing spots across British Columbia to see conditions and forecasts for where you are headed.

This page is a plain-language reference, not legal advice, and fees and rules change. DFO and the Province are the authorities. Every figure here links back to the page it came from. Verified 10 August 2026.

Common questions

• Do I need a licence to fish in the ocean in BC?

  Yes. Everyone fishing in tidal waters needs a Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence from DFO, at any age, including children under 16, whose licence is free but still mandatory. This catches people out because the freshwater rule is the opposite: under-16s need no freshwater licence at all.
• Does one licence cover both saltwater and freshwater?

  No. They are issued by two different governments (tidal by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, freshwater by the Province of BC) and neither is valid where the other applies. If you fish the ocean and lakes in the same year, you buy both.
• Do I need a separate licence for crab or prawns?

  No. The tidal waters licence covers shellfish as well as finfish, including crab, prawns, bivalves like clams and oysters, and octopus. What you do need to check is whether the area is open: bivalve harvesting is closed in many places for biotoxin or sanitary reasons, and eating shellfish from a closed area is both illegal and genuinely dangerous.
• Do I need the Salmon Conservation Stamp?

  Only if you intend to keep a salmon in tidal waters. The stamp is $7.39 and attaches to your licence. Releasing salmon does not require it, but if you land one you would like to keep and have no stamp, you cannot buy it retroactively, so most people just add it.
• How long is a BC fishing licence valid?

  Both the tidal and freshwater annual licences run the same licence year: 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. It is not twelve months from purchase. A licence bought in February expires at the end of March, which makes short-term licences better value late in the year.
• What is a Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID) and do I need one?

  It is a free provincial ID number, and you need one before you can buy a freshwater licence. The province moved freshwater licensing into the WILD system for the 2026-27 season, and WILD is keyed on your FWID. It has no bearing on tidal licences, which are federal. Register through a Basic BCeID or BC Services Card Account, or in person at Service BC or FrontCounter BC.
• Can I keep my licence on my phone?

  For tidal, yes, an electronic copy is fine as long as you can display it on screen on demand. The catch is catch recording: if you retain chinook, halibut or lingcod you must record it immediately, so out of cell range you need a paper licence or the FishingBC app to write it on. For freshwater, from 1 April 2026 you no longer need to carry a licence copy at all; your FWID and photo ID are the proof.
• Is there free fishing in BC?

  Once a year. During BC's Family Fishing Weekend (the third weekend in June plus the Friday before) anyone who has lived in Canada for the past 12 months can fish fresh water without a basic licence. Conservation surcharges still apply, and it does not cover tidal waters: you still need a DFO licence to fish the ocean that weekend.
• Does having a licence mean I can fish anywhere for anything?

  No, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in BC fishing. A licence is permission to participate; it says nothing about what is open today. Closures, size limits, daily quotas and gear restrictions change constantly and vary by management area. Rockfish Conservation Areas, salmon non-retention windows, and shellfish biotoxin closures all sit on top of a perfectly valid licence.