Georgia · Fishing license · Age
What age do you need a fishing license in Georgia?
From 16 on, with no upper limit.
The ages that matter
Under 16
No license needed
Children can fish without one. Everything else still applies though — limits, sizes and seasons do not change with age.
16 and up
License required
Carry it with you while fishing.
65 and up
Cheaper, not free
Georgia has no age exemption. Residents get a reduced rate instead: Senior lifetime fishing (65+) at $35.
How Georgia DNR words it
Georgia DNR: "Anglers age 16 and older must have a current Georgia fishing license in their possession while fishing in fresh or salt water in Georgia." There is no free pass by age at the top — residents 65 and over buy a 35-dollar senior lifetime licence, and only those born on or before 30 June 1952 fish free.
Quoted rather than paraphrased. With rules that carry a fine, the exact wording is the point.
Other ways to be exempt
Age is one route. Georgia DNR lists these as well.
- Fishing a private pond — but not one owned by a city, county, state or federal body
- Georgia residents and their immediate family fishing on their own land
- Georgia residents born on or before 30 June 1952, who hold a free Lifetime Sportsman's Licence
