License & Permit Fees

Be a Responsible Angler

• Be considerate of anglers with special physical needs when fishing universally accessible facilities.
• Clean up any litter you bring with you and pick up trash, even if you didn’t leave it.
• Recycle used fishing line and bait containers.
• Do not spill gas, oil or other pollutants on land or into the water.
• Take precautions not to spread invasive plants or animals.
• Report fishing and boating violations at 1-800-532-2020.
• Obey all fishing regulations.
• Be courteous and respectful to all anglers and boaters.
• Sinkers, including split shots, are now made from steel, tin, bismuth and tungsten for anglers concerned about using lead tackle.

License and Permit Requirements

You can take fish, mussels, turtles, frogs and bait with a sport fishing license according to the regulations listed in this booklet. You cannot buy or sell, dead or live, a fish, mussel, turtle, frog or bait with a sport fishing license.

Who Needs a Fishing License

Iowa residents and nonresidents 16 years and older must have a valid fishing license on their person while fishing, and have paid all applicable fees.

License Exceptions: You do not need a

fishing license if...

• You are a resident or nonresident under 16 years old.
• You are a minor pupil of the state school for the deaf, or minor inmate of other state institutions under the Department of Human Services (not including inmates in state penal institutions).
• You are a patient of a substance abuse facility and supervised by an employee of the facility while fishing, and the facility has been issued a permit from the DNR. A person supervising a group may fish with the group and is not required to have a fishing license.
• You are on active duty with the Armed Forces of the U.S., on authorized leave from a duty station outside of Iowa and qualify as an Iowa resident. You must carry your leave papers and a copy of your current earnings statement showing a tax deduction for Iowa income taxes while fishing. In lieu of the earnings statement, you may claim residency by being registered to vote in Iowa.
• You are a resident or nonresident landowner or tenant fishing on your land. Your children under age 18 can also fish without a license on your land.

Buying a License

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is required to collect social security numbers from anyone getting a hunting, fishing or other recreational license under section 252J.8 of the Code of Iowa and 42 U.S. Code 666(a)(13). Your social security number is your principal identification number to determine if you are eligible for licenses. It will be provided to enforcement agencies to establish, modify and enforce child support and tax obligations. It WILL NOT appear on your hunting or fishing license.

Logan’s Law, named after Logan Luft, was enacted in 2019. You can now register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor when you buy your Iowa fishing and hunting licenses, similar to when you get or renew your driver’s license. For more information, visit www.iowadnr.gov/loganslaw.

Requirements to Buy Resident Licenses

A nonresident does not live in Iowa. NOTE: Iowa residents who have previously hunted, fished and/or trapped as nonresidents should plan ahead to get license privileges as soon as possible. The electronic licensing system for hunting, fishing and trapping automatically identifies people who have previously bought licenses as nonresidents. This law change was made to identify a growing problem in Iowa of nonresidents falsifying records to illegally get (invalid) resident licenses. If you previously bought a nonresident Iowa license, but are now eligible for resident licenses, you must fill out and return a form available at www.iowadnr.gov/fishing. License vendors CANNOT make this change at the point of sale and it cannot be done over the phone. Contact the local conservation officer for more information

A resident must meet one of the following criteria.

1. Iowa has been your principal and main residence or domicile for at least 90 consecutive days immediately before you apply for or buy a resident license and you have an Iowa driver’s license or non-operator’s ID. Factors to determine your domicile include, but are not limited to, place of employment, mailing (street) address, utility records, real estate records, vehicle registrations and addresses listed on your state and federal income tax records. You are not considered a resident under this paragraph if you live in Iowa only for a special or temporary purpose including, but not limited to, hunting, fishing or trapping.
2. You are a full-time student at an accredited educational institution in Iowa and live in Iowa while attending the educational institution, or are a full- time student under 25 years of age at an accredited educational institution outside the state as long as at least one parent or legal guardian maintains a principal and main residence in Iowa.
3. You are a student who qualifies as a resident pursuant to the above paragraph only to buy any resident license specified in section 483A.1 or 484A.2.
4. You are a nonresident under 18 years of age with a parent who is a legal resident of Iowa.
5. You are a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is serving on active duty, claims residency in Iowa, and has filed a state individual income tax return for the preceding year, or is stationed in Iowa.

Dual Residency Not Permitted: Unless you qualify under 2, 3, 4 or 5 in the previous section, you cannot buy or apply for any resident license or permit if you have claimed residency in any other state or country.

Special Licenses for Residents

Iowa offers annual fishing and hunting licenses and veteran lifetime fishing and hunting licenses to qualifying residents. Learn more on the DNR webpage at www.iowadnr.gov/fishing/fishing- licenses-laws/license-applications.

Applications for and help with these special licenses are available at the DNR central office by calling 515-725-8200, or DNR offices that sell fishing and hunting licenses.

Trout Fee

Iowa residents and nonresidents who are required to have a fishing license must pay the Trout Fee to fish for or possess trout. Exception: Iowa residents and nonresidents under 16 years old may possess or fish for trout without having paid the Trout Fee if they fish with a properly licensed adult who has paid the Trout Fee and together they limit their catch to the one person daily limit of five trout. Children under 16 can buy their own trout privilege, which lets them fish without a properly licensed adult and keep their own daily limit (5).

Littering Public Waters

You cannot throw or deposit cans, bottles, garbage, rubbish or other debris, onto or in any Iowa waters, ice or land.