Everyone who fishes or gathers shellfish in British Columbia’s salt water needs a federal Tidal Waters Sport Fishing licence from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, at any age. For 2026-27 it costs Canadian residents C$25.86 a year (C$13.54 at 65 and over) and non-residents C$124.41, is free under 16, and a salmon kept needs the C$7.39 salmon conservation stamp. Prices exclude GST.
| Licence | Canadian resident | Non-resident | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual, 16 to 64 | C$25.86 | C$124.41 | From the purchase date to 31 March. |
| Annual, 65 and over | C$13.54 | C$124.41 | Seniors’ price for Canadian residents only. |
| Annual, under 16 | Free | Free | A licence is still required. |
| Five days | C$19.70 | C$38.18 | 16 and over; ends at midnight on the last day. |
| Three days | C$13.54 | C$23.40 | 16 and over. |
| One day | C$6.46 | C$8.62 | 16 and over. |
| Salmon conservation stamp | C$7.39 | C$7.39 | Annual, any age, to keep salmon. |
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s 2026/2027 fees; prices do not include GST. A Canadian resident is someone who normally lives in Canada; everyone else pays the non-resident fee, and proof of residency may be requested. Every fee rose by between 2.6 and 2.8 per cent from 2025/2026, when the resident annual licence was C$25.18. The provincial licence is priced on the British Columbia fishing licence page.
Pick your residency and how many days in a row you will fish; the cheapest combination comes first.
Cheapest: 1 × 3-day licence, C$13.54, before tax.
| Option | Licence | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 × 3-day licence | C$13.54 | Multi-day licences cover consecutive days. |
| 3 × 1-day licences | C$19.38 | Any days you choose. |
| Annual licence | C$25.86 | Every day until 31 March. |
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s 2026/2027 fees, before GST. Multi-day licences cover consecutive days; the salmon stamp is annual.
| Days in a row | Canadian resident, 16 to 64 | Canadian resident, 65 or over | Non-resident, 16 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C$6.46 1 × 1-day | C$6.46 1 × 1-day | C$8.62 1 × 1-day |
| 2 | C$12.92 2 × 1-day | C$12.92 2 × 1-day | C$17.24 2 × 1-day |
| 3 | C$13.54 1 × 3-day | C$13.54 annual | C$23.40 1 × 3-day |
| 4 | C$19.70 1 × 5-day | C$13.54 annual | C$32.02 1 × 3-day + 1 × 1-day |
| 5 | C$19.70 1 × 5-day | C$13.54 annual | C$38.18 1 × 5-day |
| 6 | C$25.86 annual | C$13.54 annual | C$46.80 1 × 5-day + 1 × 1-day |
| 8 | C$25.86 annual | C$13.54 annual | C$61.58 1 × 5-day + 1 × 3-day |
| 10 | C$25.86 annual | C$13.54 annual | C$76.36 2 × 5-day |
| 14 | C$25.86 annual | C$13.54 annual | C$108.38 2 × 5-day + 1 × 3-day + 1 × 1-day |
| 17 | C$25.86 annual | C$13.54 annual | C$124.41 annual |
Every recreational fisher in BC tidal (salt) waters, for any finfish or shellfish, at every age. Under 16 the licence is free but still required. The provincial freshwater licence is not valid in salt water.
The salmon conservation stamp is needed on the licence to keep any Pacific salmon, at any age. The provincial non-tidal salmon stamp is a different stamp; the two are not interchangeable.
Canadian residents may buy their licence online; non-Canadians fishing for halibut there must buy it from an Independent Access Provider in Canada.
Record every chinook and halibut you keep, in any area, and lingcod in Areas 12 to 19 (except Subarea 12-14), Subareas 20-5 to 20-7 and 29-5, immediately and permanently in the catch record on the licence, or in the NRLS catch log or the FishingBC app when you have mobile internet.
Adult licence holders must complete the iREC report assigned to them by the deadline printed on the licence, even if they did not fish or kept nothing. Juvenile licence holders are exempt.
Have the licence with you while fishing or transporting catch and show it, with its catch records, on request. It is not transferable, and it is illegal to hold more than one valid licence.
Buy from the province’s own service or an issuer on its list. A site that charges a processing fee on top of the provincial price is a reseller.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s list of Independent Access Providers, 119 tackle shops, marinas, lodges and charters that sell the tidal licence and salmon stamp, 9 of them Canadian Tire stores; 106 have an address we could place on the map. DFO asks you to call ahead to check hours and licence availability. Search by town or postal code, or use your location.
Independent Access Provider
Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Independent access providers (page modified 2025-07-30, read from the Internet Archive); addresses placed with the BC Address Geocoder (DataBC, Open Government Licence – British Columbia); DFO’s provider list (archived copy).
In British Columbia the province licenses fresh water and Fisheries and Oceans Canada licenses the sea, including the tidal lower reaches of rivers. The tidal licence is a federal document with its own fees, its own salmon stamp and its own sales system, and nothing bought in the province’s WILD system is valid on it. An angler who fishes a river in the morning and the salt in the afternoon needs both licences.
For a Canadian resident the five-day licence costs the same for four days as for five, and the annual licence is the cheaper choice from the sixth consecutive day of fishing. At 65 and over the annual licence costs exactly as much as a three-day licence. For a visitor the arithmetic runs the other way: the annual licence costs more than fourteen one-day licences, so only a long season pays for it.
The tidal licence is also a logbook. Chinook and halibut kept anywhere, and lingcod kept in the management areas the licence names, must be written on it at once and permanently, or logged in the licensing system or the FishingBC app when there is a signal. The same licence assigns adults an iREC survey, which must be answered even after a day with no fish.
DFO issues the licence online and never mails it. You print every page, or a provider prints it for you, and a lost copy is reprinted free with the catch records copied across. Refunds are not given and dates are not changed, so the licence year and the start date need checking before paying.
Tidal fees are revised each licence year. For 2026/2027 every one rose by between 2.6 and 2.8 per cent: the resident annual licence from C$25.18 to C$25.86, the non-resident annual from C$121.14 to C$124.41 and the salmon stamp from C$7.19 to C$7.39. The two licences are priced by different governments, so both are worth checking each April.
For 2026-27, C$25.86 a year for Canadian residents aged 16 to 64, C$13.54 at 65 and over, C$124.41 for non-residents and free under 16, before GST. Short licences cost C$6.46 a day for residents and C$8.62 for non-residents.
Yes. Everyone needs one in salt water, but it is free under 16. Juveniles do not have to complete iREC reports.
Yes, on Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s National Recreational Licensing System, with no added fee; you print it yourself. Non-Canadians fishing halibut in Areas 121, 23 and 123 must buy from a provider in Canada.
Only to keep a salmon, at any age: C$7.39 for the licence year. Releasing every salmon needs no stamp.
No. Fresh water is licensed by the province and salt water by Fisheries and Oceans Canada; each needs its own licence.
No. DFO does not refund licences or change their dates, so check the fishing year and dates before paying.