West Virginia · Fishing license
Do I need a fishing license in West Virginia?
Yes — anyone 15 or older needs one.
A year costs $19 if you live here and $37 if you don't. Just passing through? One day fishing (Class LL) (conservation stamp extra) costs $3. West Virginia sells no fishing licence on its own: with the conservation stamp every licensed angler needs, a resident year comes to $24 and a visitor’s to $50.
What it costs
If you live in West Virginia
| license | Price |
|---|---|
| Fishing (Class B), annual (conservation stamp extra)With the $5 Class CS conservation stamp that this licence requires, $24 in total. | $19 |
| Five-day fishing (Class L) (conservation stamp extra)The conservation stamp is required with this one too, so $13 all in — the annual is worth it from the second trip. | $8 |
| Sportsman hunting, fishing and trapping (Class X), ages 18 to 64Only worth it if you hunt as well. | $35 |
| Sportsman Plus (Class XP), annualThe Sportsman licence with the trout stamp built in — $10 more, which is exactly what the stamp costs separately. | $45 |
| Sportsman, three years (Class X3) | $105 |
| Sportsman Plus, three years (Class XP3)Three years including the trout stamp. | $135 |
| Junior sportsman (Class XJ), ages 15 to 17The first licence a West Virginian needs — under 15 nobody does. | $16 |
| Senior hunting, fishing and trapping (Class XS), age 65 and overFor residents who reached 65 on or after 1 January 2012. It includes the trout stamp privilege. Residents who turned 65 before that date need no licence at all. | $25 |
If you're visiting
| license | Price |
|---|---|
| Fishing (Class F), annual (conservation stamp extra)With the $13 Class CS/LE conservation and law enforcement stamp, $50 in total. | $37 |
| One day fishing (Class LL) (conservation stamp extra)The licence is $3, the compulsory stamp $13 — so the first day costs $16 and every further day is free once you hold the stamp for the year. | $3 |
| Junior sportsman (Class XXJ), ages 8 to 17WVDNR notes it is "not required for fishing under age 15". | $16 |
| Lifetime fishing (Class F-L)Bought for a child it costs less: $460 under age 1, rising to $1,035 for ages 10 to under 15. | $1150 |
West Virginia charges in parts, and the stamp is not optional: a resident year is $19 plus the $5 conservation stamp, so $24. A visitor pays $37 plus $13, so $50 — and a single visitor day is $3 plus that same $13, so $16. On top come the issuing fees: $3 for a first purchase and $1 for later ones at the 160-plus retail agents and designated county clerks, or $2 per transaction online at WVfish.com and by phone.
How long it lasts
WVDNR: "Fishing and Hunting Licenses are good for the calendar year. You must purchase new licenses at the beginning of each year." Buy in December and it expires days later.
Who doesn't need one
- Non-residents and residents under 15
- Residents who turned 65 before 1 January 2012, those born before 1 January 1947 — a West Virginia driving licence or DMV photo ID must be carried while fishing
- Residents who are totally blind, carrying a physician’s statement — and no trout stamp is needed either
- Residents on active duty in the US armed forces while on military leave, carrying the leave number
- Resident landowners and their resident children, resident parents or bona fide resident tenants, fishing their own land in open season
- Residents honourably discharged with total permanent service-connected disability benefits, former prisoners of war, and resident disabled veterans exempted from motor vehicle registration fees — carrying a card issued by the DNR
- Residents or in-patients of a state mental hospital, health or benevolent institution, under proper supervision and carrying a statement signed by the superintendent
- Developmentally disabled residents, carrying a DDFL card issued by the DNR — no trout stamp needed either
- Anyone with a life-threatening condition aged 20 or under, through the free Class DT licence, which needs no further licences or stamps
WVDNR words the age rule this way: WVDNR lists "nonresidents or residents under 15 years of age" among those for whom a fishing licence is not required, and its first junior licence starts at 15. The senior rule turns on a date rather than an age: residents who turned 65 before 1 January 2012 — that is, born before 1 January 1947 — need no licence and no trout stamp, carrying a West Virginia driving licence or photo ID instead. Everyone who reached 65 since then buys the $25 Class XS senior licence once, which carries the trout stamp privilege with it.
Where to buy it
- At more than 160 retail agents and designated county clerk offices — $3 issuing fee for a first purchase, $1 for later ones
- Online at WVfish.com — $2 per transaction
- By phone from the Hunting and Fishing License Unit on 304-558-2758 — $2 per transaction
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
