Kentucky · Fishing license · Age
What age do you need a fishing license in Kentucky?
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
There is no standalone senior fishing licence. A resident 65 or older instead buys into the Senior Sportsman's bundle at $12.68 — cheaper than the $24.31 annual fishing licence alone, even though it includes far more than fishing.
How KDFWR words it
fw.ky.gov: "Resident and nonresident children under the age of 16 may fish without a license." A separate, lower threshold applies only to hunting and trapping licences, not fishing: residents and nonresidents under 12 are exempt from those.
Quoted rather than paraphrased. With rules that carry a fine, the exact wording is the point.
Optional licenses for children
- Youth Sportsman's Licence, ages 12 to 15 — $31.71. Same bundle as the standard resident Sportsman's Licence, except it does not include the trout permit.
Other ways to be exempt
Age is one route. KDFWR lists these as well.
- Resident farmland owners, their spouse and dependent children, fishing on land they own
- Tenants who both live and work on the farm, plus their spouse and dependents, fishing on that farm
- Resident military personnel on furlough for more than 3 days, carrying identification and papers showing furlough status
- Anyone fishing within the boundaries of Mammoth Cave National Park
- Residents or nonresidents participating in a department-authorized field trial, as long as no game is taken
- Everyone, resident or visitor, on the two Free Fishing Weekend days each June
