The Outdoors Card is the plastic ID card Ontario requires, together with a fishing licence, for everyone who fishes on a licence other than a one-day licence. It costs C$8.57 plus 13% HST (C$9.68), is valid for three calendar years, and is bought or renewed online, by phone or at a licence issuer. Canadian residents under 18 or 65 and over do not need one.
| Product | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoors Card, new or renewal | C$8.57 | Plus 13% HST. Valid for three calendar years. |
| Replacement, lost, stolen or damaged | C$8.57 | Plus HST. The licence summary can be reprinted online at no charge. |
| One-day sport licence | no card needed | Ontario resident C$12.21, Canadian resident C$15.21, non-Canadian C$24.86. |
Fees as Ontario publishes them, before 13% HST; the C$9.68 total is our arithmetic. Pay by Visa, Visa debit, Mastercard or Debit Mastercard; American Express is not accepted. The licences themselves are priced on the Ontario fishing licence page, which also works out the total for your trip.
Ontario residents, other Canadian residents and non-Canadians who fish on a sport or conservation licence of eight days, one year or three years. Ontario requires a valid card alongside those licences, and it must be carried while fishing.
Anyone fishing on a one-day licence; Canadian residents under 18 or 65 and over, who fish with government ID; Ontario residents in the Canadian Armed Forces or veterans, with their Forces or veteran ID; holders of an Ontario accessible parking permit or a CNIB card; and Canadian residents during the four family fishing periods.
The card itself, and the licence summary unless your licence is printed on the back of the card, which happens when a one- or three-year licence is bought together with the card. A licence summary on a phone must be the PDF the service sends; a photo or screenshot is not valid.
Your legal first, middle and last name, date of birth, mailing or residential address, height and eye colour. Parental consent is needed only for resident hunters aged 12 to 15.
Tell the ministry within 10 days of a change of name or address, online, by phone at 1-800-387-7011, at a licence issuer or at a participating ServiceOntario office. It is against the law to try to obtain more than one Outdoors Card.
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.
The province’s own list of licence issuers, published as open data, with its most recent change on 2026-09-28: 306 year-round issuers, 115 seasonal ones, mostly outfitters and camps in the north, and 80 ServiceOntario offices. 92 of the issuers are Canadian Tire stores. The ministry advises calling before you go. Search by town or postal code, or use your location.
Year-round issuerSeasonal issuerServiceOntario
Source: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Fishing and Hunting Licence Issuer Location, Land Information Ontario, under the Open Government Licence – Ontario; the province’s issuer page.
The Outdoors Card proves who you are to a conservation officer; the licence is what lets you fish. Ontario sells them together but prices them separately, so a first-time angler pays for both: an Ontario resident spends C$35.14 before tax on a card and a one-year sport licence, C$39.71 with HST. The card then carries over into the next two calendar years, and only the licence is bought again.
The card is valid for three calendar years and the expiry is printed on it. Renewals open on the first Tuesday of December each year, 1 December in 2026 and 7 December in 2027, so a card expiring on 31 December can be renewed before the ice season starts. A card renewed by phone can come with a three-year licence in the same call.
The ministry mails the card and says it can take up to 20 days. You do not have to wait: the licence summary issued at purchase lists the card and the licence and is valid proof, on paper or as the PDF on your phone. If the card has not arrived after 20 days, check the address in your online account or call 1-800-387-7011.
Non-Canadians need the card for every licence except the one-day licence, including those aged 65 and over. For a weekend, two one-day licences at C$24.86 cost less than an eight-day licence and a card; from the third day the eight-day licence with the card, C$62.95 before tax, is cheaper.
The Outdoors Card is the same card for anglers and hunters. An angler needs only the card and a fishing licence; a hunter must also have Ontario hunter accreditation on file with the licensing service before buying hunting licences and tags. One- and three-year fishing licences and small game licences bought together with the card are printed on its back.
In early 2027 Ontario replaces the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service with FishHuntON, a new website and a free mobile app that will sell licences and Outdoors Cards. The ministry has not said the card changes; it asks anglers to keep using the current service and to update their email and address before the switch.
C$8.57 plus 13% HST, C$9.68 in total, for a new card, a renewal or a replacement. It is valid for three calendar years.
Yes, at the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service, or by phone at 1-800-288-1155, at a licence issuer or at a participating ServiceOntario office. Renewals open on the first Tuesday of December.
Up to 20 days by mail. You can fish straight away with the licence summary issued at purchase, on paper or as the PDF on your phone.
Not if they are Canadian residents aged 65 or over: they fish with government ID showing name and date of birth, under sport limits. Non-Canadians 65 and over need the card and a licence.
No. The one-day sport licence is the only Ontario fishing licence sold without an Outdoors Card.
At any of the 501 licence issuers on the province’s list, 80 of them ServiceOntario offices and 92 Canadian Tire stores. The map on this page shows them all.