Michigan · Fishing license · Cost
How much is a fishing license in Michigan?
$26 a year if you live here, $76 if you don't.
Just passing through? All-species, 24 hours costs $10 — the annual pays for itself from about 8 of those.
Every license price
| License | Who | Price |
|---|---|---|
| All-species, annual Covers every species on any Michigan lake or stream, inland water and Great Lakes alike. The DNR mentions a $1 surcharge on top — see the note on fees. | Resident | $26 |
| All-species, annual, 65 and up or legally blind Michigan residents only. | Resident | $11 |
| All-species, 24 hours You pick the start time when you buy. | Resident | $10 |
| All-species, under 17 (optional) Voluntary — under-17s may fish without any license. | Resident | $2 |
| Underwater spearfishing No cost. A DNR Sportcard may be needed. | Resident | Free |
| All-species, annual There is no senior rate for visitors at any age. | Visitor | $76 |
| All-species, 24 hours Michigan charges visitors the same as residents for a day. | Visitor | $10 |
| All-species, under 17 (optional) Voluntary, open to visiting children too. | Visitor | $2 |
| Underwater spearfishing No cost, visitors included. | Visitor | Free |
Fees inside the price
The DNR's March 2026 announcement says the annual licenses carry an additional $1 surcharge, but the fee list repeats the same headline figures without breaking it out — so expect up to a dollar more at checkout on the annual products. A DNR Sportcard costs $1 and may be needed if the state has no driving licence on file for you. Replacing a lost license costs $3. Michigan needs no trout or salmon stamp; the all-species license covers them. The Recreation Passport is a separate matter: it is not needed to fish, only to park a vehicle at a state park or boating access site, and it is waived during free fishing weekends.
How long your money lasts
The annual license runs from March 1 through March 31 of the following year. The 2026 license is valid through March 31, 2027, and the new regulation season started on April 1, 2026.
What we could not pin down
Rather than fill these in from somewhere else, they stay open until DNR states them plainly.
- The DNR announces a $1 surcharge on the annual licenses, but its own fee list shows the same headline figures without it. Whether $26, $76 and $11 are before or after that dollar could not be confirmed without going through checkout.
- No validity period is stated for the free underwater spearfishing license; it is grouped with the annual products, which is the only reason it appears as annual here.
- The DNR Sportcard is listed at $1 but the pages do not say exactly who must have one.
- No trout or salmon stamp appears in the DNR's full 156-item product catalogue or its fee list. That is an absence rather than an explicit statement that none exists.
- michigan.gov blocks automated retrieval; this data was read from the rendered live pages.
