Minnesota · Fishing license
Do I need a fishing license in Minnesota?
Yes — anyone 16 or older needs one.
A year costs $25 if you live here and $51 if you don't.
What it costs
If you live in Minnesota
| license | Price |
|---|---|
| Angling, annual (age 18 and over) | $25 |
| Angling, annual, combined license for a married coupleCheaper than two individual licenses. | $40 |
| Angling, three years | $71 |
| Angling, 72 consecutive hoursYou pick the period. | $14 |
| Angling, 24 hoursYou pick the period. The cheapest legal day of fishing in Minnesota for a resident. | $12 |
| Angling, ages 16 and 17 | $5 |
| Angling, annual, disabled veteranUnder Minn. Stat. 97A.465, subd. 9. A resident veteran with a 100 percent service-connected disability gets a permanent angling license free instead — see the exemptions. | $5 |
If you're visiting
| license | Price |
|---|---|
| Angling, annual (age 18 and over)The statutory fee is $46 plus the $5 nonresident surcharge that Minn. Stat. 97A.475, subd. 7(b) adds to every nonresident fishing license except the 24-hour and the 16-to-17 youth license. | $51 |
| Angling, seven consecutive days$38 plus the $5 surcharge. | $43 |
| Angling, 72 consecutive hours$31 plus the $5 surcharge. | $36 |
| Angling, 24 hoursNo surcharge on this one. The cheapest legal day of fishing in Minnesota for a visitor. | $14 |
| Angling, annual, family$63 plus the $5 surcharge. Covers one or both parents and dependent children under 16. | $68 |
| Angling, married couple, 14 consecutive days$49 plus the $5 surcharge. One of the two licensees picks the period. | $54 |
| Angling, ages 16 and 17No surcharge. A nonresident aged 16 or 17 must buy this to angle. | $5 |
An issuing fee of $1 comes on top of each fishing license (Minn. Stat. 97A.485, subd. 6). The seller keeps it as commission. A stamp validation bought at the same time as a license carries no issuing fee; bought on its own it can carry 50 cents. So the checkout total is a dollar or two above the figures in the table.
How long it lasts
A license year begins on the first day of March and ends on the last day of February (Minn. Stat. 97A.411, subd. 1). A three-year angling license is valid for the license year you buy it in and the two that follow.
Who doesn't need one
- Residents under 16
- Nonresidents under 16, if a parent or guardian holds a fishing license — otherwise a youth or family license, which also gives the child their own limit
- Residents who are blind, receive SSI, Social Security disability, workers’ compensation for total permanent disability or Railroad Retirement disability, or are permanently disabled — a free license from any license agent
- Residents 16 or older with a developmental disability — a free permanent angling license
- Resident veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability — a free permanent angling license
- Anyone helping a disabled angler who holds one of those free licenses needs no license of their own
- Foreign exchange students attending school in Minnesota
- Residents fishing from shore or wading on state-owned land inside a state park, and residents fishing from a boat or through the ice on waters that lie entirely within a state park boundary
- Residents of state hospitals, VA hospitals, state correctional facilities, licensed nursing or boarding care homes, and people under 20 in a drug or alcohol treatment programme — with the superintendent’s written consent
DNR words the age rule this way: Minn. Stat. 97A.451, subd. 2: "A resident under the age of 16 years may take fish without a license." Nonresidents under 16 have three ways to fish legally under subd. 5(a): without a license if a parent or guardian holds a fishing license, with their own youth license, or covered by a nonresident family license — the last two also give the child their own limit. A nonresident aged 16 or 17 must buy the youth license. Minnesota sets no upper age at which the license stops being required; the free licenses go by disability and veteran status instead.
Where to buy it
- Online through the DNR’s electronic licensing system
- From license agents the commissioner appoints across the state
- One-day paper fishing licenses from fishing guides operating charter boats
Wondering about the big retailers? A shop like Walmart sells the state's license at the state's price — it sets none of its own.
Days you can fish without one
DNR publishes this as a recurring rule rather than a fixed date. Check the exact days on their free fishing page before you plan around it.
DNR publishes this as a recurring rule rather than a fixed date. Check the exact days on their free fishing page before you plan around it.
DNR publishes this as a recurring rule rather than a fixed date. Check the exact days on their free fishing page before you plan around it.
Where to use it today
Waters we read every morning in Minnesota.
- 9 On fire Lake Minnetonka
- 8 Good Rainy Lake