Tennessee · Fishing license · Age
What age do you need a fishing license in Tennessee?
From 13 on, with no upper limit.
The ages that matter
Under 13
No license needed
Children can fish without one. Everything else still applies though — limits, sizes and seasons do not change with age.
13 and up
License required
Carry it with you while fishing.
65 and up
Cheaper, not free
Tennessee has the sharpest senior drop of any state here. A resident 65 or over pays $4 for an annual hunt, fish and trap licence, against $33 for the combination licence at 16 to 64 — or $49 for the all-inclusive senior sportsman licence, where the full-rate version costs $165.
How TWRA words it
TWRA sets the line at 13: ages 12 and under need no licence, and the resident licences are written for ages 13 and over. The junior licence covers 13 to 15, the ordinary rates run 16 to 64, and from 65 a resident pays $4 for a hunt, fish and trap licence. Non-resident fishing licences are written for age 16 and over.
Quoted rather than paraphrased. With rules that carry a fine, the exact wording is the point.
Optional licenses for children
- Junior hunt, fish and trap, ages 13 to 15 — $9. Valid for hunting, trapping and sport fishing.
Other ways to be exempt
Age is one route. TWRA lists these as well.
- Anyone 12 or younger
- Youth 15 and younger for the whole week that begins on Free Fishing Day
