Massachusetts · Fishing license · Age
What age do you need a fishing license in Massachusetts?
From 15 on, with no upper limit.
The ages that matter
Under 15
No license needed
Children can fish without one. Everything else still applies though — limits, sizes and seasons do not change with age.
15 and up
License required
Carry it with you while fishing.
65 and up
Free, still required
Massachusetts thins the fee out in two steps instead of exempting anyone. Residents aged 65 to 69 pay $20, half the full rate. From 70 the freshwater license costs nothing — but it stays a license you have to hold. In salt water the free band starts at 60, and there too the permit itself is required.
How MassWildlife words it
Massachusetts uses two different ages. For fresh water, MassWildlife: "If you are 15 years of age or older, you need a license to fish." For salt water, the Division of Marine Fisheries: "If you’re 16 or older, you need a recreational saltwater fishing permit." So a 15-year-old needs a freshwater license — free for residents — but no saltwater permit. Residents aged 15 to 17 and 70 and over fish fresh water free; saltwater anglers 60 and over pay nothing but must still hold the permit.
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. MassWildlife lists these as well.
- Residents who are blind, have an intellectual disability or have paraplegia — a free license, with a certificate or a doctor’s form posted to MassWildlife the first time
- Saltwater anglers fishing from a permitted for-hire vessel, such as a head boat or charter boat
- Saltwater anglers who meet the definition of a disabled person in M.G.L. c. 19C
- Visitors holding a valid Connecticut, New Hampshire or Rhode Island recreational saltwater permit — Massachusetts accepts it, with conditions on your home state
