Minnesota Fishing License Cost 2026: Every Fee & Who Needs One

A standard Minnesota fishing license costs $25 for residents and $51 for non-residents in the 2026 license year, which runs March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027. Anyone 16 or older needs one, with a short list of exceptions, and you can buy it in about five minutes online or at any bait shop.

The fees below come from the 2026 Minnesota fishing regulations booklet and were verified in October 2026. Fees are set by the Legislature and do change, so confirm on the DNR fishing license page before you buy for a later season.

Resident license fees (2026)

To buy at the resident rate you must have maintained a legal residence in Minnesota for at least 60 consecutive days. Residents 21 and older need a Minnesota driver's license or state ID to prove it.

Resident license	Who it covers	Fee
Annual individual	Ages 18 through 89	$25
Youth annual	Ages 16 and 17	$5
Married combination	Both spouses, each with a full limit	$40
24-hour	One angler, 24 consecutive hours	$12
72-hour	One angler, 72 consecutive hours	$14
3-year individual	Three consecutive license years	$71
Conservation individual	Half the normal limits	$17
Conservation married combination	Half limits for each spouse	$27
Sports (fishing plus small game)	One angler	$41
Married combination sports	Two angling, one small game	$57

The conservation license is the overlooked bargain. If you mostly release fish or only keep a meal now and then, $17 gets you on the water all year. The catch: your daily and possession limits are cut in half, rounded down, and you may not keep any walleye over 20 inches. A regular limit of six walleye becomes three; a limit of one becomes catch-and-release.

Lifetime licenses are also sold. A resident lifetime angling license costs $344 to $574 depending on age at purchase, and the first purchase has to go through the DNR License Center in St. Paul.

Non-resident license fees (2026)

Non-resident license	Who it covers	Fee
Annual individual	Age 18 and over	$51
Youth annual	Ages 16 and 17 (optional under 16)	$5
24-hour	One angler, 24 consecutive hours	$14
72-hour	One angler, 72 consecutive hours	$36
7-day	One angler, 7 consecutive days	$43
14-day married couple	Both spouses, 14 consecutive days	$54
Annual family	One or both parents and children under 16	$68

For a week at a Brainerd Lakes or Leech Lake resort, the math is simple: one adult fishing a single long weekend should buy the 72-hour license, a full week is cheapest on the 7-day, and two adults are almost always better off with the 14-day couple license or the annual family license. The family license is the only one that lets each child under 16 keep their own limit. A non-resident child fishing under a parent's individual license can fish, but any fish they keep count toward the parent's limit.

Full-time non-resident students at Minnesota schools, and military members stationed in Minnesota, can buy at resident rates with proof.

Stamps and add-ons

Add-on	Required?	Fee
Trout and salmon stamp	Yes, on trout water (ages 18 to 64)	$10
Walleye stamp	No, voluntary	$5
Sturgeon tag	Yes, to harvest a lake sturgeon	$5
Dark house spearing license	Yes, to spear (resident / non-resident)	$6 / $17
Fish house or shelter license, annual	Yes, for non-portable shelters (resident / non-resident)	$15 / $37

Trout and salmon stamp

You need the stamp validation, on top of a fishing license, to fish any designated trout stream or designated trout lake, to fish Lake Superior, or to possess trout or salmon anywhere. That includes the stocked rainbow trout lakes around the Arrowhead and the mine pit lakes on the Cuyuna Range, the southeast Minnesota spring creeks, and lake trout in the Boundary Waters.

You do not need it if you are under 18, 65 or older, fishing on a 24-hour or 72-hour license, or exempt from needing a license at all.

Walleye stamp

Purely optional. It does nothing for your legal status on the water. The money goes toward buying walleye from private fish farms to supplement state stocking, which we cover in how Minnesota stocks its lakes.

Who does not need a license

• Minnesota residents younger than 16.
• Minnesota residents 90 and older.
• Non-residents younger than 16 when a parent or guardian is licensed.
• Minnesota residents in the U.S. Armed Forces stationed outside the state and home on leave, carrying leave papers.
• Minnesota residents discharged from overseas federal active service within the past 24 months, carrying discharge papers.
• Minnesota residents fishing inside state parks under the conditions described in the FAQ above (not for trout).
• An adult who is only helping a child under 16 bait, cast and unhook fish. The child has to hold the rod, set the hook and reel in.

Free licenses are available to some residents, including people receiving SSI or SSDI, residents who are legally blind, veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability, and residents of licensed nursing homes. These still have to be issued; you cannot simply go fishing. The DNR lists the paperwork on its license pages.

Free fishing weekends

Three weekends each license year let specific groups of Minnesota residents fish without a license. For the 2026 license year they are:

• Take a Mom Fishing Weekend, May 9-10, 2026: resident mothers fish free.
• Take a Kid Fishing Weekend, June 5-7, 2026: residents 16 and older fish free when accompanied by a child under 16.
• Take a Kid Ice Fishing Weekend, January 16-18, 2027: same rule, on the ice.

Seasons, limits and every other regulation still apply.

Where to buy

• Online: the DNR's electronic licensing system, reached from the DNR fishing license page or mndnr.gov/buyalicense. You get an electronic license by email that you can show on your phone or print. A convenience fee applies.
• In person: about 1,400 license agents statewide, which in practice means nearly every bait shop, many gas stations in lake country, and big sporting goods retailers. The DNR License Center at 500 Lafayette Road in St. Paul also sells them on weekdays.
• Questions: the DNR Information Center answers license questions at 888-646-6367.

The DNR notes that licenses are subject to a $1 issuing fee, so your total at checkout can come out slightly above the table prices. The DNR has also been replacing its electronic licensing system during 2026, so the buying screens may look different from older how-to videos. A self-printed or electronic copy is legal proof of license. Carry it, or have it on your phone, whenever you fish.

Losing a license is not a disaster. Any agent can print a duplicate for $2.50.

Common mistakes

• Buying in February. The annual license expires on the last day of February no matter when you bought it. If you are ice fishing in mid-February, a 24-hour or 72-hour license may be the smarter purchase.
• Forgetting the trout stamp. Conservation officers check stamp validation at popular stream trout lakes, especially on the winter opener.
• Assuming a Minnesota license covers the whole lake on the Canadian border. On Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake it covers Minnesota waters only. On the Wisconsin, Iowa and Dakota border waters it generally covers the shared water shore to shore.
• Sharing a limit. One license, one limit. A married combination license gives each spouse their own possession limit.

Bottom line

• $25 resident, $51 non-resident, $5 for 16- and 17-year-olds; free for residents under 16 and 90 and up. Verified for the 2026 license year.
• The license year ends the last day of February. Check the date before paying for a full year late in the winter.
• Add the $10 trout stamp before fishing any designated trout water or Lake Superior, and read the statewide rules and limits once you are licensed.