Georgia Fishing License: Fees, Exemptions, and Add-Ons

Anyone 16 or older needs a Georgia fishing license to fish in the state’s public fresh or salt waters. Resident annual licenses start at $15 and nonresident annual licenses at $50, sold through the Go Outdoors Georgia system run by the Department of Natural Resources.¹ A basic license covers most freshwater fishing, but trout waters, saltwater, and some public land require add-on permits.

Who Needs a License

Two things decide what you pay: your age and your residency. Every person 16 or older must carry a valid fishing license while fishing in any Georgia public water.² A printed copy, a saved PDF, or the license stored in the Go Outdoors GA app all count as carrying it.

Under O.C.G.A. § 27-1-2, a resident is a U.S. citizen who has been domiciled in Georgia for at least three consecutive months. Active-duty military and their dependents qualify for resident pricing, though the same three-month domicile rule applies for lifetime licenses and certain discounted types.³ If you don’t meet the domicile test, you’ll pay the nonresident rate on every product.

Who Fishes Free or at a Discount

Children Under 16

No license or permit is required for anyone under 16 to fish public waters.¹ The one wrinkle: the free Saltwater Information Program permit is required of every saltwater angler regardless of age.⁴

Seniors

Residents born before July 1, 1952, qualify for a free lifetime sportsman’s license covering fishing, hunting, and trout.¹ Seniors born on or after that date pay reduced fees instead: $4 per year for a senior fishing license, $35 for a senior lifetime fishing license, and $70 for a senior lifetime sportsman’s license.⁵

Landowners

Georgia residents can fish without a license on land they own or land owned by their immediate family. The exemption reaches further than most people know: no license is required to fish, with the owner’s permission, on any noncommercial property not open to the public, including private docks and foreshores.⁶

Disabled Residents and Veterans

Residents with qualifying disabilities pay $3 per year (or $9 for three years) for a disability fishing license, plus a $3 transaction fee. A disability sportsman’s license bundling fishing, hunting, and trout runs $5 per year or $15 for three years. Residents who are totally blind with no light perception qualify for a free lifetime fishing license with a physician’s certification.⁷

Georgia resident veterans who served at least 90 days on active federal duty and were honorably discharged on or after July 1, 2005, can claim a one-time free hunting and fishing license. Bring a DD Form 214 and a Georgia driver’s license or state ID.⁷

Free Fishing Days

Georgia designates two free fishing days each year during National Fishing and Boating Week. On those days, residents can fish public waters without a fishing license, trout license, or Lands Pass.⁸ Creel and size limits still apply.

Current License Prices

Every price below is before the $3 transaction fee added at checkout.

Resident

Fishing License: $15 annual, or $5 for one day plus $1 per additional day (up to 11 consecutive days)
Combo Hunting and Fishing: $30 annual, or $5 for one day plus $1 per additional day
Sportsman’s License: $65 annual, or $25 for one day plus $3 per additional day. Includes fishing, trout, hunting, big game, and the Georgia Migratory Bird Stamp.
Youth Sportsman’s License (under 17): $15, valid until the youth’s 17th birthday
Optional Youth Fishing License (under 17): $10, includes trout privileges, valid until the youth’s 17th birthday

Nonresident

Fishing License: $50 annual, or $10 for one day plus $3.50 per additional day
Combo Hunting and Fishing: $150 annual, or $30 for one day plus $10 per additional day
Sportsman’s License: $400 annual, or $170 for one day plus $20 per additional day
Youth Sportsman’s License (15 and under): $50 annual

Lifetime Sportsman’s

Lifetime licenses cover fishing, hunting, trout, and other privileges for life, with the price set by the buyer’s age.

Infant (1 or younger): $500
Youth (2–15): $600
Adult (16–49): $750
Older Adult (50–59): $375
Senior Discount (60–64): $315
Senior (65+): $70 sportsman’s, $35 fishing only, $35 hunting only
Military and Veterans: $600

⁵

Nonresident grandchildren (ages 2–15) of a Georgia resident holding a free senior lifetime license can buy a nonresident grandchild lifetime sportsman’s license for $1,500.⁵

Add-Ons the Basic License Doesn’t Cover

Trout License

A trout license is required in addition to a basic fishing license for anyone 16 or older fishing for or possessing mountain trout.¹ Catch a trout without one and you must release it immediately.⁹ Residents pay $10 annually or $5 for one day; nonresidents pay $25 annually or $10 for one day.⁵ The Sportsman’s License and the Youth Fishing License already include trout privileges, so check before paying twice.

Saltwater Information Program (SIP) Permit

Every saltwater angler needs a free SIP Permit on top of the fishing license.⁴ It costs nothing but must be renewed every 365 days from the date of issue, even if you hold a multi-year or lifetime license.

Lands Pass

Anyone 16 or older entering a Wildlife Management Area or Public Fishing Area needs either a valid Georgia hunting or fishing license or a separate Lands Pass.¹⁰ A fishing license satisfies the requirement on its own. The Lands Pass mainly exists for people who want WMA or PFA access for activities other than fishing or hunting.

How to Buy One

You’ll need your Social Security number for any application, a Georgia driver’s license or state ID number if you’re a resident, and a valid mailing address. Short-term licenses require you to pick a start date at checkout because the permit is active only for the days you select.¹¹

Three ways to buy:

Online at gooutdoorsgeorgia.com, which takes credit or debit and generates an immediate PDF
The Go Outdoors GA mobile app, which stores the license on your phone (this counts as carrying it during an inspection)
Authorized retailers, including sporting goods stores and hardware shops, which print the license on the spot

A $3 transaction fee applies to online and retail purchases; buying by phone costs $5. A mailed hard-card copy is another $6. Renewing certain licenses before they expire waives the $3 transaction fee.¹²

Fishing Border Waters

Georgia has reciprocal agreements with South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida on specific shared waterways. Each is limited to freshwater sport fishing on named waters, and tributaries are generally excluded, so a step off the main channel can put you on the wrong side of the rule.

Georgia–South Carolina

Either state’s freshwater license covers the Savannah River from its mouth to the confluence of the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers, the Tugaloo River, the Chattooga River up to the North Carolina line, and the impoundments of Clark Hill Dam, Hartwell Dam, Yonah Lake, Tugaloo Lake, Stevens Creek, and New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam.¹³ Tributary streams are not covered.

Georgia–Alabama

The Chattahoochee River and its impoundments along the Georgia–Alabama border fall under reciprocity, except the portion of West Point Reservoir upstream of the Georgia Highway 109 bridge. Tributaries are excluded. Shared-water creel limits apply, including 10 black bass, 30 crappie, and 15 striped bass per day (only 2 of which can be 22 inches or longer).¹⁴

Georgia–Florida

The St. Marys River (not its tributaries) is covered for freshwater sport fishing with either state’s license. Two limits worth knowing: Georgia’s Honorary Disability License is not recognized by Florida on these waters, and anyone targeting saltwater species on the Florida side still needs a Florida saltwater license.¹⁵

Penalties for Fishing Without a License

Under O.C.G.A. § 27-1-38, violating Georgia’s game and fish code is a misdemeanor unless the statute says otherwise, and fishing without a license falls under that general rule.¹⁶ Georgia misdemeanors can carry fines up to $1,000 and jail up to 12 months, though a first licensing offense typically draws far less. Conservation officers can ask to see your license anytime you’re fishing, and failing to produce it is itself a violation under O.C.G.A. § 27-2-1.⁶

Commercial violations are a different world. Operating a commercial fishing boat without a valid license starts at a $2,500 mandatory minimum fine for a first offense and $5,000 for a second, with a five-year fishing ban. Courts cannot suspend or probate these sentences.¹⁷ If you ever sell your catch, the recreational license you keep in your wallet is not the license the state expects you to hold.

1
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. What License Do I Need
2
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Fishing in Georgia
3
Justia Law. Georgia Code 27-1-2 – Definitions
4
Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division. Saltwater Information Program (SIP) Permit
5
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. License Prices
6
Justia Law. Georgia Code 27-2-1 – Hunting, Trapping, or Fishing Without License
7
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Disability Hunting and Fishing Licenses
8
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Time To Celebrate! National Fishing and Boating Week
9
eRegulations. Georgia Fishing – Trout Fishing
10
GA DNR Law Enforcement. 2025-2026 Georgia Hunting and Fishing Regulations
11
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. License FAQs
12
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Licenses and Permits
13
Legal Information Institute. South Carolina Code Regs 123-124 – Reciprocal Agreement Between the State of Georgia and the State of South Carolina
14
Alabama Administrative Code. Georgia Reciprocal Fishing Agreement Regulation
15
eRegulations. Agreements with Bordering States – Georgia Fishing
16
Justia Law. Georgia Code 27-1-38 – Penalty for Violations of Title
17
Justia Law. Georgia Code 27-4-138 – Penalties for Offenses Pertaining to Commercial Fishing