Oregon Shellfish License Requirements and Fees

Anyone 12 or older needs an Oregon shellfish license from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) before digging clams, setting crab pots, or gathering mussels along the coast. A resident annual license is $13. You can buy one online, through the MyODFW app, or from an authorized retail agent.1Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. Oregon Shellfish Regulations

Who Needs a License

The requirement starts at age 12. Children under 12 can harvest without a license, but every other rule still applies to them: bag limits, size minimums, closed areas, the works.1Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. Oregon Shellfish Regulations

Whether you pay the resident or nonresident price depends on how long you have lived in Oregon. You qualify as a resident if you have physically lived in the state for at least six consecutive months immediately before applying.2Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 497.002 – Resident and Nonresident Defined To prove it at the counter, bring an Oregon driver’s license, an Oregon non-driver ID, or three pieces of identification that together show your name, current address, and six months of Oregon residency.3Oregon Secretary of State. Combination Hunter/Angler Annual License – Resident Only You will also be asked for your Social Security number during the application.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement

License Types and 2026 Fees

All shellfish licenses run on the calendar year, January 1 through December 31, no matter when you buy.

  • Resident annual shellfish: $13.00
  • Nonresident annual shellfish: $37.00
  • Nonresident three-day shellfish: $25.00

There is no standalone one-day shellfish license. ODFW does sell a one-day combined angling and shellfish license for $29.00 if you want to fish and clam on the same day.5eRegulations. Oregon Fishing License, Tag and Permit Fees For a short coastal trip focused only on clamming or crabbing, the nonresident three-day option is usually the better value.

How to Buy Your License

The quickest route is ODFW’s online licensing portal. You enter your information, pay by credit or debit card, and receive a confirmation email that also serves as a backup record. You can also buy in person at an ODFW office that sells licenses, or from any of the hundreds of authorized retail agents statewide, including sporting goods stores and bait shops.6Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. How to Buy a License or Tag

When you set up your account, you choose between a paper license and an electronic one displayed through the MyODFW app. Both are legally valid in the field. If you go electronic, keeping your phone charged is on you, because Oregon State Police can ask to see the license on the spot.7Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. ODFWs Electronic Licensing System (ELS)

Free Fishing Days

A handful of weekends each year, no license is needed to fish, crab, or clam anywhere in Oregon. In 2026 the dates are February 14–15 (Presidents’ Day weekend), June 6–7, and November 27–28 (Thanksgiving weekend).8Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. 2026 Free Fishing Days and Events The license waiver is the only thing that changes. Closures, bag limits, and every other harvest rule still apply.

What the License Covers and the Daily Limits

One license covers the full range of marine invertebrates you can harvest along the open coast and in coastal bays and estuaries. The limits that follow are per person, per day.1Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. Oregon Shellfish Regulations

Crab

  • Dungeness crab: 12 per day, males only, minimum 5¾ inches measured across the back of the shell (not including the points).
  • Red rock crab: 24 per day, any size or sex.
  • European green crab: 35 per day, any size or sex.

The Dungeness size-and-sex rule is the biggest source of citations on the coast. Carry a crab gauge and measure before you keep.

Clams

  • Razor clams: the first 15 you dig. You must keep every clam you dig, in the order you dig them. No sorting for size. No throwing broken ones back. Every clam pulled from the sand counts toward the 15, even if the shell breaks.
  • Bay clams (butter, littleneck, gaper, cockle): 20 total, no more than 12 gapers.
  • Purple varnish clams: 72 per day.
  • Other clams (softshell, piddock, and others): 36 total.

Other Species

  • Mussels: 72 per day.
  • Edible shrimp: 20 pounds in the shell.
  • Scallops: 24 per day. Only the adductor muscle is safe to eat.
  • Octopus: 1 per day.
  • Red sea urchins, snails, shore crabs, and other unlisted invertebrates: 10 total.
  • Purple sea urchins: 35 per day.
  • Squid, sand crabs, mole crabs, kelp worms, mud shrimp, ghost shrimp: no limit.

Crabbing Gear Rules

You can crab with rings, baited lines, or pots, but you are limited to three total in any combination. Hand-catching, dip nets, and rakes are also allowed. Holding devices and live boxes may be used only in bays and estuaries, and they cannot hold more than two daily limits at any time.1Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. Oregon Shellfish Regulations

Every floating buoy attached to a pot or ring must be permanently marked with your first and last name, plus at least one of the following: home address, phone number, ODFW ID number, or vessel ID number. This does not apply when you are crabbing from a beach, jetty, or pier. Pop-up style buoys are prohibited.

Check Biotoxin Closures Before Every Trip

A valid license does not mean an area is safe to harvest. Harmful algal blooms along Oregon’s coast produce toxins such as domoic acid and paralytic shellfish poison, which accumulate in shellfish tissue and cannot be cooked, frozen, or cleaned out. Contaminated shellfish can cause serious illness or death.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) monitors toxin levels and closes specific species in specific zones when levels exceed safe thresholds. Closures shift week to week and are often partial. Razor clams south of Cape Blanco might be closed while bay clams statewide stay open.9Oregon Department of Agriculture. Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures

Before every trip, call the ODA Shellfish Biotoxin Hotline at 1-800-448-2474 or check the ODA closure page online. The hotline is updated as soon as toxin levels reach the closure threshold, and you can sign up for email alerts. Oregon also asks harvesters to check the ODA safety page for clams and mussels before heading out.10Oregon Department of Agriculture. Before You Harvest Clams or Mussels

A few species-specific safety points:

  • Crab: remove the guts (the “butter”) before cooking. When whole crab are boiled, domoic acid can leach from the guts into the meat through the cooking liquid. Discard the liquid; do not use it for soup, sauce, or stock.
  • Scallops: ODA does not currently sample scallops for biotoxins. Eat only the adductor muscle, never the whole scallop.
  • Softshell clams: the Oregon Health Authority has a standing advisory for softshell clams along the entire coast due to naturally occurring arsenic levels.