The California Fish and Game Code is the state’s master rulebook for hunting, fishing, and protecting wildlife and habitat. It tells you when you need a license, how you’re allowed to take fish and game, which species you can’t touch at all, and what you owe the state (or a federal court) if you break the rules. Penalties start at $100 infractions and climb to $50,000 fines and jail time for commercial poaching, with equipment forfeiture possible when federal law gets involved.
Below is what the Code actually requires of the people most likely to run into it: anglers, hunters, landowners, and anyone planning work near a stream or wetland.
Licenses You Need Before You Hunt or Fish
Anyone 16 or older needs a valid sport fishing license before taking any fish, shellfish, reptile, or amphibian in California.1CA.gov. Get a Fishing or Hunting License Hunting requires a separate license, and most hunters also need tags for specific species like deer or elk. Both are sold online through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), at CDFW offices, and through authorized vendors.2California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Online License Sales and Services
Hunter Education
You cannot buy a hunting license until proof of hunter education is on your CDFW customer profile. Acceptable proof includes a California Hunter Education Certificate, a hunter education certificate from any state or province, or a California hunting license from any prior year.3California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Hunting Licenses: Hunter Education Requirements A current hunting license from another state issued within the previous two years also works. First-time hunters have to complete an approved course first.
Endorsements and Stamps
Several activities need something beyond the base license. Anglers fishing for steelhead in anadromous waters must carry a Steelhead Report and Restoration Card.4California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Steelhead Report and Restoration Card Waterfowl hunters need a California Duck Validation on top of their hunting license.5California Department of Fish and Wildlife. California Duck Stamp Art Program Federal law separately requires waterfowl hunters 16 and older to buy a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (the “duck stamp”), which costs $25 plus a processing fee. Commercial fishing adds another layer: vessel registration and species-specific licenses.
2026 Fees
For the 2026 license year, a resident annual sport fishing license costs $64.54 and a nonresident license costs $174.14.6California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Sport Fishing Licenses and Report Cards Resident hunting licenses are $62.90; nonresident hunting licenses are $219.81.7California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Hunting License Items and Fees Reduced-fee licenses are available for disabled veterans and low-income seniors.
Lifetime hunting license packages for 2026 range from $709 (age 0–9 or 62 and older) to $1,160.25 (age 10–39), with separate lifetime privilege packages for bird hunting ($411.50) and big game hunting ($863.25).7California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Hunting License Items and Fees
Two free fishing days each year require no sport fishing license. In 2026, those fall on July 4 and September 5. Every other fishing regulation still applies.
How You’re Allowed to Take Fish and Game
Fishing Gear and Methods
The default rule: one closely attended rod and line (or one hand line), with no more than three hooks or three artificial lures. Anglers with a two-rod stamp can use two rods in inland waters where angling is permitted, but not in waters restricted to artificial lures or barbless hooks.8Legal Information Institute. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, 2.00 – Fishing Methods-General Anglers under 16 may use two rods without the stamp.
Barbless hooks are mandatory for ocean salmon fishing north of Point Conception. When fishing with bait (other than trolling) between the 40°10′ line near Cape Mendocino and Point Conception, you must use barbless circle hooks with no more than five inches between them.9California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Ocean Salmon Fishery Information Using explosives in waters inhabited by fish is illegal except under a CDFW permit or during genuine emergencies with accidental obstructions. Spearfishing is allowed but restricted by species, and gill nets and other mass-harvest gear are largely off-limits for recreational use.
Hunting Methods and the Safety Zone
California has required nonlead ammunition for all hunting statewide since July 1, 2019, making it the first state with a blanket lead ammunition ban.10California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Nonlead Ammunition in California That means every bullet, slug, and shot pellet used while hunting must be nonlead.
Firearms cannot be discharged within 150 yards of an occupied dwelling, residence, barn, or connected outbuilding without the express permission of the owner or person in possession. The Fish and Game Code calls this 150-yard perimeter a “safety zone.”11California Legislative Information. California Code FGC 3004
Waterfowl Baiting
Federal law layers an important rule on top of state waterfowl rules: you cannot hunt over a baited area, and you’re liable if you knew or reasonably should have known bait was present. An area stays off-limits for 10 days after all grain, salt, or feed is completely removed.12U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Waterfowl Hunting and Baiting Standing crops and fields that have gone through a normal harvest are generally fine; manipulated crops and freshly planted food plots are not. Hunters get into trouble here often because the line between “normal agricultural practice” and illegal manipulation is technical.
Species You Cannot Touch
California has two separate frameworks for protecting vulnerable species, and the difference matters.
California Endangered Species Act
The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) protects plants and animals at risk of extinction, with roughly 250 species currently listed. Once a species is listed as threatened or endangered, it cannot be imported, exported, taken, possessed, purchased, or sold without CDFW authorization.13California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Threatened and Endangered Species CESA also protects candidate species while CDFW reviews a listing petition. The federal Endangered Species Act runs alongside CESA, so federally listed species are off-limits too.
Fully Protected Species
A stricter category exists under Fish and Game Code Sections 3511, 4700, 5050, and 5515: “fully protected” species, which cannot be taken or possessed under nearly any circumstance, with narrow exceptions for scientific research. The lists cover birds (including the California condor and golden eagle), mammals (including the southern sea otter and certain bighorn sheep populations), reptiles and amphibians (including the blunt-nosed leopard lizard), and fish (including the Colorado pikeminnow).14California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Fully Protected Animals CESA allows incidental take permits in some circumstances; fully protected status generally does not.
Separately, Marine Protected Areas established under the Marine Life Protection Act restrict or prohibit fishing and other extractive activities within their boundaries.15California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Marine Life Protection Act Check the specific MPA regulations before fishing anywhere along the coast.
When Your Project Affects a Stream, Lake, or Wetland
The Code reaches well beyond hunters and anglers. Landowners, builders, and anyone doing work near water can trigger notification and permit requirements.
Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreements
Any activity that would substantially divert or obstruct the natural flow of a river, stream, or lake, or change or remove material from its bed, channel, or bank, triggers a notification requirement under Fish and Game Code Section 1602. You must notify CDFW with a project description, maps, construction plans, and copies of any environmental documents or permits already obtained. CDFW then decides whether the activity could harm fish or wildlife and, if so, issues a Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement imposing conditions such as erosion control, habitat restoration, or construction timing restrictions. If CDFW does not issue a draft agreement within 60 days of a complete notification, the project may proceed as described.
Wetlands
California’s wetlands policy, set by Executive Order W-59-93, aims for no overall net loss of wetland acreage, quality, and values. Projects that destroy wetland habitat must offset the loss by creating or restoring wetlands elsewhere.16State Water Resources Control Board. Executive Order W-59-93 – California Wetlands Conservation Policy Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act separately requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before discharging dredged or fill material into protected waters, including wetlands. California projects routinely need both.
CEQA Review
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires public agencies to evaluate the environmental consequences of discretionary projects before approving them, including development and infrastructure that could affect critical habitats.17Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. CEQA: The California Environmental Quality Act Review can produce required mitigation measures, project modifications, or denial if significant environmental harm cannot be avoided.
Hunting and Fishing on Federal Land in California
Much of California is federal land, and the rules shift depending on which agency manages it.
On National Forest land, the U.S. Forest Service requires you to follow California’s hunting seasons, dates, and licensing requirements. Individual forests and grasslands may close areas to hunting outright, so check with the local ranger district first.18US Forest Service. Hunting Forest Service rules also prohibit discharging firearms within 150 yards of a developed recreation site, residence, or place where people are likely to gather. Shooting across water or across Forest Service roads is prohibited, and only portable stands or blinds are allowed. Because private parcels are often mixed in with public land, you need written permission from the owner before stepping onto any private ground.
National Parks are different. Hunting is only permitted in park units where it is specifically mandated or authorized by the park’s enabling legislation. If no law authorizes it, hunting is prohibited. Fishing is generally allowed in most National Park units unless the park’s own regulations close it.19National Park Service. Hunting, Fishing, Trapping Activities Across the National Park Service Where hunting or fishing is allowed, NPS units generally enforce state wildlife regulations alongside any applicable federal rules.
Who Enforces the Code
CDFW wildlife officers (game wardens) have full law enforcement authority. They investigate, cite, and arrest. They patrol forests, waterways, and marine areas, and they can inspect licenses, permits, and harvested game in the field. They often work with federal and local agencies on poaching, wildlife trafficking, illegal water diversions, and unpermitted habitat destruction.
CDFW employment does not by itself give an officer the right to enter private land. That requires owner consent, a search warrant, or an inspection warrant, with exceptions for sworn peace officers acting in their law enforcement capacity and for genuine emergencies involving imminent danger to wildlife or habitat.
Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact
California belongs to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. Member states recognize and enforce each other’s wildlife citations, so a California suspension can mean a suspension in other member states as well.20CSG National Center for Interstate Compacts. Wildlife Violator Compact Crossing a state line will not get you back in the field.
Penalties if You Violate the Code
Penalties are tiered. Most wildlife violations are infractions or misdemeanors, not felonies.
Infractions and Standard Misdemeanors
Some lower-level violations, including certain fishing-without-a-license situations, are infractions punishable by a $100 to $1,000 fine with no jail. The same violations can alternatively be charged as misdemeanors at the prosecutor’s discretion.21California Legislative Information. California Code FGC 12000 – General Provisions Unless the Code says otherwise, any violation defaults to a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. Certain enumerated violations carry stiffer misdemeanor penalties of up to $2,000 and up to one year in jail.22California Legislative Information. California Code Fish and Game Code 12002 – General Provisions
Endangered and Fully Protected Species
Violating CESA or taking a fully protected species carries a fine of up to $5,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.23California Legislative Information. California Code Fish and Game Code 12008 CDFW can also impose civil penalties of $400 to $10,000 per animal for threatened, endangered, or fully protected species, with higher amounts for intentional conduct or repeat offenses.
Commercial Poaching and Repeat Offenses
Illegally taking wildlife for profit carries a fine between $5,000 and $40,000. A second or subsequent conviction raises the range to $10,000 to $50,000 and adds up to one year in county jail. After a conviction for commercial poaching or for taking more than three times the bag limit, CDFW can suspend or permanently revoke your hunting and fishing privileges. Courts may also order restitution for environmental damage.
Federal Charges and Equipment Forfeiture
Wildlife crimes can cross into federal territory. Under the Lacey Act, transporting, selling, or acquiring wildlife taken in violation of California law is a separate federal offense.24U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Lacey Act A federal felony conviction can trigger civil forfeiture of vessels, vehicles, aircraft, and other equipment used in the offense, as long as the owner consented or should have known the equipment would be used illegally.25Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 U.S. Code 3374 – Forfeiture Losing a boat or truck on top of criminal fines is what turns a wildlife case into a financially devastating one.