Alberta sportfishing licence. Read from Alberta on 2026-09-29.
An adult Alberta resident pays C$30.00 a year for a sportfishing licence, plus 5% GST, and there are no day licences for residents. Other Canadians pay C$62.00 a year, C$43.00 for seven days or C$27.00 for one; visitors from outside Canada C$87.00, C$57.00 or C$29.00. Every angler first needs a Wildlife Identification Number, C$10 online. Albertans 65 and over and everyone under 16 fish without a licence.
| Licence | Alberta resident | Non-resident Canadian | Non-resident outside Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual sportfishing licence, 16 to 64 | C$30.00 | C$62.00 | C$87.00 |
| Annual sportfishing licence, 65 and over | Free | C$62.00 | C$87.00 |
| Seven-day licence | β | C$43.00 | C$57.00 |
| One-day licence | β | C$27.00 | C$29.00 |
| CAF veterans sportfishing licence | Free | β | β |
| Special walleye harvest licence (two tags) | C$12.00 | β | β |
Prices in CAD as the agency publishes them; residency categories, and whether tax is included, vary by province and are noted below. Fees are in Canadian dollars and do not include the 5% federal GST. Alberta residents are sold only the annual licence; one-day and seven-day licences are for non-residents.
Pick your residency and how many days in a row you will fish. The cheapest combination of day, multi-day and annual licences comes first; stamps can be added.
Cheapest: Annual licence, C$30.00, before tax.
| Option | Licence | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual licence | C$30.00 | Every day until 31 March. |
Fees as Alberta publishes them for 2026, before 5% GST. Alberta residents can buy only the annual licence. Multi-day licences cover consecutive days.
| Days in a row | Alberta resident, 16 to 64 | Non-resident Canadian | Non-resident outside Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C$30.00 annual | C$27.00 1 Γ 1-day | C$29.00 1 Γ 1-day |
| 2 | C$30.00 annual | C$43.00 1 Γ 7-day | C$57.00 1 Γ 7-day |
| 3 | C$30.00 annual | C$43.00 1 Γ 7-day | C$57.00 1 Γ 7-day |
| 5 | C$30.00 annual | C$43.00 1 Γ 7-day | C$57.00 1 Γ 7-day |
| 7 | C$30.00 annual | C$43.00 1 Γ 7-day | C$57.00 1 Γ 7-day |
| 8 | C$30.00 annual | C$62.00 annual | C$86.00 1 Γ 7-day + 1 Γ 1-day |
| 9 | C$30.00 annual | C$62.00 annual | C$87.00 annual |
| 14 | C$30.00 annual | C$62.00 annual | C$87.00 annual |
On lakes where the standard limits would not be sustainable, Alberta residents keep walleye only with a Special Harvest Licence. For 2026 every class is sold first come, first served, from 28 April 2026 at 9:00 MT, until each lakeβs quota runs out; there is no longer a draw.
| Class | Walleye it covers | Price | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A | Over 50 cm | C$12.00 | Each licence carries two tags; up to six licences a season, twelve tags, in any mix of class and lake. |
| Class B | 43 to 50 cm | C$12.00 | Tag each fish at once with the paper tag and wire through the gill cavity and mouth. |
| Class C | Under 43 cm | C$12.00 | Have the pre-numbered paper tags in hand before buying online; they come from Fish & Wildlife offices, issuers or an order through AlbertaRELM. |
Anglers under 16, Alberta residents 65 and over and First Nations people, as defined under the federal Indian Act, need no sportfishing licence; they still follow the regulations. Alberta resident veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces get the licence free once their WiN profile shows approved veteran ID. Non-resident seniors pay the full price. On the two Family Fishing Weekends anyone may fish without a licence.
| Who fishes without buying one | What to carry, and the limits |
|---|---|
| Everyone under 16 | No licence, any residency; may use a supervising adultβs special walleye tags. |
| Alberta residents 65 and over | No licence; the regulations still apply. |
| Alberta resident CAF veterans | A free licence, after confirming status on the WiN profile with VSC, CAF 74, NDI 75 or CFOne βVβ ID; carry both. |
| First Nations people (Indian Act) | No sportfishing licence. |
| Non-residents 65 and over | Not exempt: the full non-resident price. |
| Everyone, on Family Fishing Weekends | No licence, 11β12 July 2026 and 13β15 February 2027; a special harvest licence still needs a sportfishing licence. |
Online at AlbertaRELM or through the AlbertaRELM app, or at more than 300 private licence issuers across the province. The AlbertaRELM help desk is at 1-888-944-5494.
A new system in 2027. Albertaβs licences run on AlbertaRELM, operated for the province by Active Network. Fish and Wildlife officers check licences against the central database in the field, including licences bought the same day.
Buy from the agency or its official portal, linked in the sources below. A site that adds a processing fee on top of the agency price is a reseller.
Alberta asks every angler for a Wildlife Identification Number before selling a licence, the same number hunters use. It costs C$12.00 plus GST at a store and C$2 less online, and it is a one-time fee: once activated it never expires. Anglers whose old card has expired pay the fee once more to renew it. The plastic card is optional now, at C$3.00, and the number itself is what matters.
An Albertan buys one product, the C$30.00 annual licence; there is no day licence for residents. Visitors choose between a day, seven days and the year. For another Canadian two days already cost more than the seven-day licence, and the annual licence wins from the eighth consecutive day; for a visitor from outside Canada the seven-day licence is cheaper from the second day by a dollar, and the annual from the ninth.
On lakes where walleye cannot sustain the standard limits, Alberta sells special harvest licences to residents: C$12.00 for two tags in one of three size classes, up to six licences and twelve tags a season. For 2026 the draw was dropped and the licences went on sale first come, first served on 28 April. With them an angler may possess up to 12 walleye; without them the possession limit is 3.
Alberta publishes the split of every licence dollar: 61 cents to the Alberta Conservation Association for fisheries work, 34 cents to run licensing, pay the issuers and monitor fish populations, and 5 cents to general revenue. An unpaid fishing or hunting fine suspends the right to buy a licence until it is paid.
Twice a year Alberta lets everyone fish without a licence: 11 and 12 July 2026, and 13 to 15 February 2027. The rest of the year children under 16, Albertans 65 and over and First Nations people need no licence, and resident veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces get theirs free.
C$30.00 a year for Alberta residents aged 16 to 64, C$62.00 for other Canadians and C$87.00 for visitors from outside Canada, plus 5% GST. Non-residents can also buy one-day (C$27.00 or C$29.00) and seven-day (C$43.00 or C$57.00) licences.
The Wildlife Identification Number every angler needs before buying a licence: a one-time C$12.00 plus GST at an issuer, or C$10.00 online. Once activated it never expires.
Not if they live in Alberta and are 65 or over. Non-resident seniors pay the full price.
No. Alberta sells one-day and seven-day licences only to non-residents; residents buy the C$30.00 annual licence.
The Family Fishing Weekends are 11β12 July 2026 and 13β15 February 2027. Albertans and visitors may fish without a sportfishing licence; the regulations still apply.
Of each dollar, 61 cents goes to the Alberta Conservation Association, 34 cents to licensing, the issuers and fish population monitoring, and 5 cents to general revenue.
Every Alberta water on this site carries a daily report and links back to this page. The Alberta hub has today's verdicts side by side; all Canada waters are filterable by type and species.