Nebraska · Fishing permit · Age
What age do you need a fishing permit in Nebraska?
From 16 on, with no upper limit.
The ages that matter
Under 16
No permit needed
Children can fish without one. Everything else still applies though — limits, sizes and seasons do not change with age.
16 and up
Permit required
Carry it with you while fishing.
65 and up
Only on conditions
There is no standalone senior discount on the regular fishing permit. Instead, resident veterans 64 and older and resident seniors 69 and older qualify for a $5 Combination Hunt & Fish & Furharvest & All State Stamps permit — a fraction of the $39-plus-stamp a younger resident pays just to fish.
How NGPC words it
Neb. Rev. Stat. §37-411: unlawful "for any person who is sixteen years of age or older to take any kind of fish, bullfrog, snapping turtle, tiger salamander, or mussel" without a permit. Residents under 16 need nothing at all; the statute only requires that "all nonresident anglers under sixteen years of age shall be accompanied by a person who has a valid fishing permit."
Quoted rather than paraphrased. With rules that carry a fine, the exact wording is the point.
Optional permits for children
- Lifetime Fishing Permit, ages 0 to 15 (Lifetime Aquatic Habitat Stamp required) — $313. With the matching $300 lifetime stamp, $613 at checkout.
Other ways to be exempt
Age is one route. NGPC lists these as well.
- Resident veterans 64 and older and resident seniors 69 and older, via the $5 all-in Combination Hunt & Fish & Furharvest & All State Stamps permit
- Nebraska residents deployed out of state with the U.S. military, via a $5 Deployed Military permit
- Resident disabled veterans, whose Fish/Hunt/Furharvest lifetime permit is issued fee-exempt
- Everyone, resident or visitor, on the annual Free Fishing and Park Entry Day
