Montana · Fishing license

Do I need a fishing license in Montana?

Yes — anyone 12 or older needs one.

A year costs $21 if you live here and $100 if you don't. Just passing through? Fishing licence, one day (conservation licence and AIS pass extra) costs $14. Montana sells no licence on its own: with the conservation licence and the AIS Prevention Pass that every angler must hold, a season comes to $31 for residents and $117.50 for visitors.

What it costs

If you live in Montana

license	Price
Fishing licence, full season, ages 18 to 61 (conservation licence and AIS pass extra)Nobody fishes on this alone. With the $8 conservation licence and the $2 AIS Prevention Pass that Montana requires of every angler, a resident season costs $31.	$21
Fishing licence, full season, ages 12 to 17 (conservation licence and AIS pass extra)With the $4 youth conservation licence and the $2 AIS pass, $16.50 in total.	$10.50
Fishing licence, full season, age 62 and over (conservation licence and AIS pass extra)Same half rate as the youth licence. With the $4 senior conservation licence and the $2 AIS pass, $16.50 in total.	$10.50
Fishing licence, two consecutive days (conservation licence and AIS pass extra)The same $5 for every resident age band. With an adult conservation licence and AIS pass, $15 in total — so the season licence pays for itself on the third outing.	$5
Fishing licence, resident with a disability (conservation licence and AIS pass extra)You must be permanently and substantially disabled. Applications are on the FWP site but can only be certified at a regional FWP office or by post.	$10.50
Lifetime fishing licence for the blindApplication on the FWP website.	$10

If you're visiting

license	Price
Fishing licence, full season (conservation licence and AIS pass extra)With the $10 nonresident conservation licence and the $7.50 nonresident AIS pass, $117.50 in total.	$100
Fishing licence, five consecutive days (conservation licence and AIS pass extra)With conservation licence and AIS pass, $73.50 — against $117.50 for the season.	$56
Fishing licence, one day (conservation licence and AIS pass extra)The base fee is cheap, the two compulsory extras are not: $31.50 for a single day.	$14

Montana charges in three parts and all three are compulsory: the fishing licence, the conservation licence and the AIS Prevention Pass. A resident season therefore comes to $31, a resident two-day to $15, a nonresident season to $117.50, a nonresident five-day to $73.50 and a single nonresident day to $31.50. Anglers 11 and under need none of the three.

The full price breakdown →

How long it lasts

FWP: "A valid fishing license enables you to fish from March 1 through the end of February of the following year." Buy in January and you get six weeks.

Who doesn't need one

Anyone 11 or younger — no fishing licence, no conservation licence, no AIS pass
Everyone, resident or visitor, on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekends — with paddlefish and bull trout excepted
Patients living at VA hospitals and residents of state institutions other than the state penitentiary — free permits are issued on site
Legion of Valor members, resident or not and at any age, fish on a conservation licence alone. Membership card required, available only at FWP offices
Residents awarded a Purple Heart, regardless of age
Residents of licensed long-term care, personal care and disability homes, when a manager arranges a supervised outing approved by the facility
Qualified educational events and fishing clinics, for a named date and place

FWP words the age rule this way: FWP: "A valid fishing license is required for all types of fishing on state waters for anyone 12 or older." And: "Anyone 11 years old or younger is not required to have a fishing license, including a Conservation or AIS Prevention Pass." Twelve is low by national standards — only Arizona, at 10, starts earlier among the states on this site. From 62 a resident pays the same half rate as a 12-to-17-year-old.

Where to buy it

Online through FWP’s licensing system
In the MyFWP app
From licence providers across the state, which FWP calls licence ambassadors
At FWP offices — the only route for the Purple Heart and Legion of Valor licences, with the nonresident Purple Heart licence issued only at headquarters in Helena

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

freshwater

May 9 and 10, and June 20 and 21, 2026

FWP: "By Montana law, each year on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekends any person (resident or nonresident) may fish for any fish within this state without obtaining a Fishing License as long as they abide by the seasons, restrictions, and bag limits listed in these Fishing Regulations." Paddlefish and bull trout are excepted and still require the conservation, fishing and AIS licences.

Where to use it today

Waters we read every morning in Montana.