Iowa · Fishing license · Age
What age do you need a fishing license in Iowa?
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
Iowa has no age exemption. Residents get a reduced rate instead: Fishing, lifetime, age 65 and over at $61.50.
How Iowa DNR words it
Iowa DNR: "Residents under sixteen (16) years of age can fish without a license, but may need to purchase a trout fee." The same sentence appears for nonresidents: "Nonresidents under sixteen (16) years of age can fish without a license, but may need to purchase a trout fee." Iowa sets no age at which the license stops being needed — from 65 it sells a lifetime license at $61.50 instead.
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. Iowa DNR lists these as well.
- Minor pupils of the State School for the Blind and the State School for the Deaf
- Minor residents of state institutions under an administrator or a division of the department of human services, residents of county care facilities, and people receiving supplementary assistance
- Iowa residents on active duty with the US armed forces, stationed outside Iowa and on authorised leave — carry your leave papers and a current earnings statement showing an Iowa income tax deduction
- Resident veterans and disabled residents qualify for free or reduced licenses on application — the DNR publishes the forms and takes questions on 515-725-8200
