Washington fishing license, 2026-27

Which license do you need?

Required from age 16. Pick by what you intend to catch, not where you launch.

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

What it costs

Annual licenses

Short-term licenses

Endorsements

An endorsement is a permission bolted onto a license you already hold. Without the right one your license is valid and you still aren’t allowed to do the thing.

• Puget Sound Dungeness crab

  Annual

  $11.89

  Temporary

  $5.05

  Required on top of a shellfish/seaweed or combination license to crab anywhere in Puget Sound. Same price for residents and non-residents. You also need a Puget Sound Dungeness crab catch record card, which is a separate document from the fish card.

• Two-pole

  Standard

  $20.23

  Senior 70+

  $8.09

  Required from age 16 to fish two poles at once. Valid on most freshwater lakes and ponds and a handful of river sections and marine areas, but NOT in saltwater generally, and not in rivers, streams or beaver ponds unless that water is specifically listed. Check the regulations for the water you are on before rigging a second rod.

• Columbia River salmon & steelhead

  Standard

  $8.75

  Youth / senior

  $7.10

  Required to fish for salmon or steelhead in the Columbia River and its Washington tributaries. Reinstated from 1 January 2026, so a license bought before that date may predate the requirement.

Washington residents who want all three should compare the total against the Fish Washington package ($101.88), which bundles them with a combination license. WDFW: endorsements.

Catch record cards

Required for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut and Puget Sound Dungeness crab. Two rules do most of the damage: you record a fish before you carry on fishing, not at the end of the day. and for crab, before you redeploy your gear.

• Salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut

  Deadline

  Return by 30 April

  One fish card covers all four. Record each retained fish before you carry on fishing. A card endorsed for halibut costs $7.59; without halibut it is free.

• Puget Sound Dungeness crab, summer

  Deadline

  Return by 1 October

  A separate card from the fish card, and it needs the crab endorsement alongside it. Record each crab before you redeploy your gear.

• Puget Sound Dungeness crab, winter

  Deadline

  Return by 1 February

  The winter season carries its own card and its own deadline. Missing a crab report attracts a $10 penalty on your next license purchase.

You must return every card by its deadline even if you caught nothing, and even if you never went out. Miss a crab report and a $10 penalty is added to your next license purchase.

Parking: the pass you also need

A license lets you fish. It does not, on its own, let you leave the car anywhere, and a ticket at a boat ramp is the most avoidable cost in Washington fishing.

• Vehicle Access Pass: free with most annual licenses. Covers WDFW wildlife areas and water access sites, and works on two vehicles. It comes with any annual fishing license EXCEPT an annual razor clam or shellfish/seaweed license. Buy only one of those two and you get no pass at all.

• Discover Pass: $51.50 a year, $11.50 a day. Covers the WDFW sites plus Washington State Parks and DNR land. Both prices include the processing fee. Worth it if you park anywhere beyond WDFW's own sites, or if your license type doesn't include the free pass.

WDFW: parking and access passes.

How to buy one

1. 1
   Go to fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov and sign in, or buy through the MyWDFW app. Hundreds of dealers around the state sell the same licenses over the counter, and WDFW takes phone orders on 360-902-2464.
2. 2
   Pick your license, combination unless you are certain you only want one water type. Residency is where you live; there is no senior or youth discount for non-residents.
3. 3
   Add any endorsements you need. Puget Sound crab is the one people forget, and a shellfish license without it does not let you set a pot.
4. 4
   Add your catch record cards if you will fish salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut or Puget Sound crab, including cards for any under-16s fishing with you.
5. 5
   Buying online or by phone can take 10-15 days for the license to arrive in the mail, so do not leave it to the night before. Temporary licenses are emailed immediately if your account has an address on file.

What a license does not give you

A license is permission to participate. It says nothing about what is open today. Sitting on top of a perfectly valid license:

• Marine Area rules. Washington's 13 Marine Areas each run their own salmon seasons and limits, and adjacent areas often differ. Area 9 and Area 10 are not interchangeable.

• Emergency rule changes. WDFW opens and closes fisheries in-season, sometimes within days. The printed pamphlet is a starting point, not the current state.

• Size and daily limits. Vary by species, area and season, and hatchery-marked fish are frequently treated differently from wild ones.

• Shellfish safety closures. Beaches close for biotoxins and pollution independently of season. These are health closures issued by the Department of Health, and a valid shellfish license means nothing against them.

• Tribal and treaty waters. Some areas carry co-management arrangements that affect what is open to recreational harvest.

Check current rules with WDFW regulations, check beaches with the Department of Health before harvesting shellfish, and browse fishing spots across Washington 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. WDFW is the authority. Every figure here links back to the page it came from. Verified 10 August 2026.

Common questions

• Do I need a license to fish in Washington?

  From age 16, yes. Anglers 15 and younger need no license at all, but they do still need a catch record card for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut or Puget Sound Dungeness crab, and that trips up a lot of families.
• Does a saltwater license cover crab and clams?

  No, and this is the most expensive assumption in Washington. Finfish and shellfish are sold as separate licenses: a saltwater license covers salmon, halibut and bottomfish, while crab, clams, oysters and seaweed need a shellfish/seaweed license. A combination license covers both. If you also want to crab in Puget Sound you need a third thing on top: the Puget Sound Dungeness crab endorsement.
• Which license should I buy if I do a bit of everything?

  The combination, at $74.37 for a resident. Freshwater, saltwater and shellfish/seaweed bought separately come to $102.24, so the combination saves $27.87 and removes any risk of being on the water with the wrong one. Washington residents who also want all three endorsements should look at the Fish Washington package at $101.88.
• How long is a Washington fishing license valid?

  The license year runs 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, not twelve months from purchase. It is the same license year British Columbia uses, so if you fish both sides of the border, both licenses expire on the same night.
• What is a catch record card and do I need one?

  It is a harvest record you must carry and fill in for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut and Puget Sound Dungeness crab. You record each fish or crab before you carry on fishing or redeploy your gear, not at the end of the day. You must also return the card by its deadline even if you caught nothing, or never went out at all.
• Can I use my phone instead of a paper catch record card?

  Yes. Electronic catch record cards are available through the MyWDFW and Fish Washington apps. They work without cell service and report themselves when you submit, so there is nothing to mail. Paper cards remain valid if you prefer them.
• Do I need a Discover Pass to go fishing?

  You need something to park on WDFW land. Most annual licenses include a free Vehicle Access Pass covering WDFW wildlife areas and water access sites, but an annual razor clam or shellfish/seaweed license does not include one. A Discover Pass ($51.50 a year, $11.50 a day) covers those sites plus state parks and DNR land.
• Is there free fishing in Washington?

  One weekend each June, June 6-7 in 2026. The catch is how much it excludes: you still need a license for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut and all shellfish, and catch record cards are still required. It genuinely covers trout, bass, perch and most bottomfish. Every other rule still applies: seasons, size limits, bag limits, closures.
• I have a BC licence. Does it work in Washington?

  No. They are different countries with different agencies, and neither recognises the other. The marine boundary in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juans is not signposted on the water, so if you fish near it, know which side you are on and carry the licence for it.