Alabama · Fishing license · Cost
How much is a fishing license in Alabama?
$17 a year if you live here, $66.25 if you don't.
Just passing through? Saltwater fishing, seven day trip, most states costs $35.65 — the annual pays for itself from about 2 of those.
Every license price
| License | Who | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freshwater fishing, annual The Wildlife Heritage Licence, $13.95 on its own, comes free with it. | Resident | $17 |
| Freshwater public fishing lakes, daily For Alabama’s State Public Fishing Lakes, which sit outside the ordinary licence. | Resident | $7.65 |
| Saltwater fishing, annual A separate licence from the freshwater one. | Resident | $30.05 |
| Saltwater fishing, seven day trip | Resident | $12.35 |
| Saltwater pier fishing Some piers charge their own fee on top and require their own permit. | Resident | $7.65 |
| Saltwater fishing, disabled resident Disabled veterans rated 20 percent pay $3.60. | Resident | $3.50 |
| Freshwater fishing, annual, most states Alabama prices visitors by where they come from. Residents of Louisiana pay $70.55 and residents of Mississippi $75.42. | Visitor | $66.25 |
| Freshwater fishing, seven day trip | Visitor | $37 |
| Freshwater fishing, family three day trip Same price as the single seven-day trip licence — for a family staying a long weekend this is the better buy. | Visitor | $37 |
| Freshwater fishing, college student aged 17 to 23 Non-resident college students pay the resident rate. | Visitor | $17 |
| Freshwater public fishing lakes, annual | Visitor | $15.80 |
| Saltwater fishing, annual, most states Florida residents pay $48.20 and Louisiana residents $129.20 — the widest spread of any licence Alabama sells. | Visitor | $64.90 |
| Saltwater fishing, seven day trip, most states Florida residents pay $30.20 and Louisiana residents $33.75. | Visitor | $35.65 |
What comes on top
These are separate from the base license. Buying the license alone is not always enough.
| Wildlife Heritage Licence Included at no charge with resident hunting and freshwater fishing licences. It is only a real cost if you buy it on its own. | $13.95 |
|---|---|
| Gulf reef fish endorsement On top of the saltwater licence for reef fish. A lifetime version costs $220. | $10 |
How long your money lasts
Alabama runs a licence year that ends in late summer: "Recreational licenses expire August 31 annually." A licence bought in July is worth weeks, not months.
What we could not pin down
Rather than fill these in from somewhere else, they stay open until ADCNR states them plainly.
- ADCNR does not say on the pages read whether the published prices already include the issuance and convenience fees it mentions elsewhere. The figures here are the ones the licence pages show.
- Alabama prices non-residents by their home state under reciprocal agreements. Only the widely applicable rates are placed in the table; the Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi variants are named in the notes rather than given rows of their own.
- Lifetime freshwater fishing licences exist and ADCNR states their prices rise every year on September 1. No current figure was read, so they are left out.
- Whether the free fishing day covers visitors as well as Alabama residents is not stated on ADCNR’s free fishing day page.
