BC freshwater fishing licence. Read from BC Freshwater Fishing on 2026-09-29, schedule 2026-04-01.
British Columbia has two fishing licences. Fresh water is provincial: an adult BC resident pays C$41.15 for the annual basic licence (C$5.71 at 65 and over), other Canadians C$62.87 and non-Canadians C$91.44, bought in WILD with a Fish and Wildlife ID. Salt water needs the federal Tidal Waters Sport Fishing licence, C$25.86 a year for Canadian residents, with its own salmon stamp.
| Licence | BC resident | Non-resident (other Canadian) | Non-resident alien |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 and over | C$5.71 | — | — |
| Basic licence, annual, fee reduction for BC residents with disabilities | C$1.14 | — | — |
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 province publishes the basic fees without a tax line; for stamps and the sturgeon licence it says prices are subject to change and tax is not included.
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: 1 × 8-day licence, C$22.86, before tax.
| Option | Licence | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 × 8-day licence | C$22.86 | Multi-day licences cover consecutive days. |
| 3 × 1-day licences | C$34.29 | Any days you choose. |
| Annual licence | C$41.15 | Every day until 31 March. |
Fees as the province publishes them for 2026-27, before tax; it says stamp and sturgeon prices are subject to change and exclude tax. Stamps are annual, one per licence year even on day licences. Multi-day licences cover consecutive days.
| Days in a row | BC resident | BC resident, 65 or over | Non-resident (other Canadian) | Non-resident alien |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C$11.43 1 × 1-day | C$5.71 annual | C$22.86 1 × 1-day | C$22.86 1 × 1-day |
| 2 | C$22.86 2 × 1-day | C$5.71 annual | C$41.15 1 × 8-day | C$45.72 2 × 1-day |
| 3 | C$22.86 1 × 8-day | C$5.71 annual | C$41.15 1 × 8-day | C$57.14 1 × 8-day |
| 5 | C$22.86 1 × 8-day | C$5.71 annual | C$41.15 1 × 8-day | C$57.14 1 × 8-day |
| 8 | C$22.86 1 × 8-day | C$5.71 annual | C$41.15 1 × 8-day | C$57.14 1 × 8-day |
| 9 | C$34.29 1 × 8-day + 1 × 1-day | C$5.71 annual | C$62.87 annual | C$80.00 1 × 8-day + 1 × 1-day |
| 10 | C$41.15 annual | C$5.71 annual | C$62.87 annual | C$91.44 annual |
| 14 | C$41.15 annual | C$5.71 annual | C$62.87 annual | C$91.44 annual |
Conservation surcharge stamps are added to the basic licence for the licence year, 1 April to 31 March; the province allows up to five, plus the White Sturgeon Conservation Licence. Stamp revenue goes to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation; basic licence fees go to the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Stamp or licence | BC resident | Non-resident or alien | When you need it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steelhead stamp | C$28.57 | C$68.57 | To fish for steelhead anywhere in BC, even to release them, and on most classified waters in their specified periods. One per year; the hatchery steelhead quota is 10 a year and wild steelhead must be released. |
| Non-tidal salmon stamp | C$17.14 | C$34.29 | Only to keep a salmon, other than kokanee, from fresh water. Adult chinook kept must be recorded on the licence. |
| Kootenay Lake rainbow trout stamp | C$11.43 | C$22.86 | To keep a rainbow over 50 cm from the main body of Kootenay Lake. |
| Shuswap Lake rainbow trout stamp | C$11.43 | C$22.86 | To keep a rainbow over 50 cm from Shuswap Lake, Little Shuswap and Mara Lake. |
| Shuswap Lake char stamp | C$11.43 | C$22.86 | To keep a char over 60 cm from Shuswap Lake. |
| White Sturgeon Conservation Licence | C$28.57 a year; C$9.14 a day; C$17.14 for 8 days | C$68.58 a year; C$17.14 a day; C$34.29 for 8 days | To fish for white sturgeon in the Fraser watershed from the CPR Bridge at Mission up to the Williams Lake River. Catch and release only. |
| Classified Waters Licence | C$17.15 a year, all Class I and II waters | Class I C$45.72 a day; Class II C$22.86 a day | On the 52 classified trout streams while they are classified. Non-resident licences are for a named water and date, at most 8 consecutive days each; they go on sale on 1 March. |
Concessions. BC residents 65 and over pay C$5.71 for the annual basic licence, and the fee reduction programme for residents with disabilities brings it to C$1.14.
BC residents under 16 need no licence and no stamps and keep their own quota. Non-residents under 16 may fish without a licence when accompanied by a licence holder aged 16 or over, whose quota their catch counts against, or buy their own licence to keep their own quota. BC resident First Nations people eligible under the Indian Act need no freshwater licence. In salt water every angler needs the federal licence, which is free under 16.
| Who fishes without buying one | What to carry, and the limits |
|---|---|
| BC residents under 16 | No licence or stamps; they keep their own quota. |
| Non-residents under 16 | With a licence holder aged 16 or over, on that person’s quota; or their own licence. |
| BC resident First Nations people eligible under the Indian Act | No freshwater licence. |
| BC residents 65 and over | Not exempt: the annual basic licence costs C$5.71. |
| BC residents with disabilities | Not exempt: the fee reduction programme makes the annual licence C$1.14. |
| Anyone in salt water | Not exempt at any age: the federal tidal licence, free under 16. |
In salt water everyone needs the separate BC Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence, free under 16.
Online in WILD, or in person at FrontCounter BC, Service BC offices and the 173 licence vendors on the province’s list that sell fishing licences. Licensed guides and permit-to-accompany holders can buy licences for their non-resident clients.
A new system in 2027. For the 2026-27 season freshwater licence sales moved to WILD, the system BC hunters already used, and a permanent Fish and Wildlife ID replaced the old angler number. The province says that since 1 April 2026 most anglers no longer need to carry a copy of the licence, only the FWID and photo ID.
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.
Every business on the province’s list of licence vendors that sells freshwater fishing licences, 173 of them (list updated 2026-09-22), 11 of them seasonal and 18 Canadian Tire stores. FrontCounter BC and Service BC offices also sell licences. The province advises contacting a vendor before you go.
Year-round vendorSeasonal vendor
Source: Government of British Columbia, licence vendors for hunting and freshwater fishing licences; 169 addresses placed with the BC Address Geocoder (DataBC, Open Government Licence – British Columbia), the rest listed without a point; the province’s vendor list.
British Columbia splits its fishing between two governments. The province licenses fresh water, from the interior rivers to the 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: the tidal and non-tidal stamps are not interchangeable.
The basic freshwater licence covers most fishing, and conservation surcharge stamps add what needs extra protection. The steelhead stamp is needed to fish for steelhead at all, while the salmon, Kootenay Lake and Shuswap Lake stamps are needed only to keep the fish they cover. White sturgeon, fished catch-and-release on the Fraser, have a conservation licence of their own, and the fifty-two classified trout streams need a classified waters licence while they are classified.
For a BC resident, two one-day licences cost exactly as much as an eight-day licence, so from the third consecutive day the eight-day licence wins; the annual licence costs less than day licences from the tenth consecutive day of fishing. For another Canadian the eight-day licence is cheaper from the second day, and a resident over 65 should simply buy the annual licence at C$5.71.
BC prices by residency in three steps, set by the Wildlife Act: British Columbians, other Canadians, and non-residents who do not live in Canada, whom the province calls non-resident aliens. The annual basic licence runs from C$41.15 to C$91.44 across the three, and the stamps cost double or more for anyone who is not a BC resident.
Since the 2026-27 season freshwater licences are sold in WILD, the system hunters already used. Every angler needs a free Fish and Wildlife ID. For fishing alone, the credentials that prove identity and residency are optional but recommended: a BC Services Card Account adds them automatically, an online application with documents can take up to three business days, and vendors, FrontCounter BC and Service BC can set them up in person.
The annual freshwater basic licence is C$41.15 for BC residents, C$62.87 for other Canadians and C$91.44 for non-Canadians; a day costs C$11.43 for residents and C$22.86 for everyone else. Salt water needs the federal tidal licence, C$25.86 a year for Canadian residents.
Yes. Tidal waters are federal and need a Tidal Waters Sport Fishing licence from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, bought separately, with its own salmon stamp to keep salmon.
Yes, but BC residents 65 and over pay C$5.71 for the annual freshwater licence and C$13.54 for the annual tidal licence. Non-residents pay the full price at any age.
Not in fresh water if they are BC residents under 16. Non-resident children fish on a licensed adult’s quota. In salt water everyone needs a tidal licence, free under 16.
Register for a Fish and Wildlife ID in WILD with a Basic BCeID or a BC Services Card Account, then buy the licence and any stamps there. The tidal licence is sold on Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s own system.
An annual licence ends on 31 March, whatever the purchase date; the new licence year opens on 1 April, with pre-sales from 1 March.
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.