BC freshwater fishing licence. Read from BC Freshwater Fishing on 2026-09-25, schedule 2026-04-01.
All recreational fishing in BC’s non-tidal (fresh) waters for anglers 16 and over. Salt water is federal: the ocean and tidal rivers need a separate Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) tidal waters licence.
| Licence | BC resident | Other Canadian | Non-Canadian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic licence, annual | C$41.15 | C$62.87 | C$91.44 |
| Basic licence, one day | C$11.43 | C$22.86 | C$22.86 |
| Basic licence, eight days | C$22.86 | C$41.15 | C$57.14 |
| Basic licence, annual, BC residents 65+ | C$5.71 | — | — |
| Steelhead surcharge (annual) | C$28.57 | C$68.57 | C$68.57 |
| Non-tidal salmon surcharge (annual) | C$17.14 | C$34.29 | C$34.29 |
| Kootenay Lake rainbow trout surcharge | C$11.43 | C$22.86 | C$22.86 |
| White sturgeon conservation licence, annual | C$28.57 | C$68.58 | C$68.58 |
Prices in CAD as the agency publishes them; residency categories, and whether tax is included, vary by province and are noted below. The licence year runs from 1 April to 31 March. The surcharge page says prices are subject to change and tax is not included.
Concessions. BC residents 65 and over pay C$5.71 for the annual basic licence, and a disability fee reduction brings it to C$1.14.
Exemptions. BC residents under 16 need no licence and keep their own catch quota. Non-residents under 16 may fish without a licence with a licensed adult, and their catch counts against that adult’s quota. BC resident First Nations people eligible under the Indian Act need no licence.
Classified waters, many of them steelhead streams, need a classified waters licence on top of the basic licence.
Salt water: every angler in BC’s tidal waters needs a DFO tidal waters sport fishing licence (free under 16), with a salmon conservation stamp to keep salmon, sold through DFO’s National Recreational Licensing System. The DFO fee page could not be reached on 25 September 2026, so its fees are not shown here.
Online through the province’s WILD licensing system, new for 2026-27, with a Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID), or in person at a licence vendor.
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.
British Columbia splits its fishing between two governments. The province licenses fresh water, from the Bow-sized interior rivers to the thousands of stocked lakes; Fisheries and Oceans Canada licenses the salt water, including the tidal lower reaches of rivers. An angler who fishes the Vedder in the morning and the salt off Vancouver in the afternoon needs both, and a salmon kept on either side needs its own stamp or surcharge.
The basic freshwater licence covers most fishing, and the surcharges add the fish that need extra protection: steelhead, salmon in fresh water, the big rainbows of Kootenay Lake and the rainbows and char of Shuswap Lake. White sturgeon, fished catch-and-release on the Fraser, have a conservation licence of their own. A classified waters licence is needed on the rivers listed as classified in the synopsis.
BC prices by residency in three steps: British Columbians, other Canadians, and non-Canadians. The annual basic licence runs from C$41.15 to C$91.44 across the three, and seniors who live in BC pay a nominal fee.
The freshwater prices here were read on the province’s licensing pages on 25 September 2026, for the licence year that began on 1 April 2026. The DFO page with the tidal licence fees did not load that day, so those fees are left to DFO; the verification log records it.
The annual basic freshwater licence is C$41.15 for BC residents, C$62.87 for other Canadians and C$91.44 for non-Canadians; one-day and eight-day licences are also sold. Surcharges for steelhead, salmon and some lakes are extra.
Yes. Tidal waters are managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and need a DFO tidal waters sport fishing licence, with a salmon conservation stamp to keep salmon.
No, residents under 16 fish free with their own quota; non-resident children fish under a licensed adult’s quota. In tidal water, under-16s need a free DFO licence.
Online through the WILD system with a Fish and Wildlife ID, or from a licence vendor.
Every British Columbia water on this site carries a daily report and links back to this page. The British Columbia hub has today's verdicts side by side; all Canada waters are filterable by type and species.