Fishing Licenses

October 5, 2023

Question: Do I understand it’s possible to renew my fishing license automatically?

Answer: Yes, that’s possible through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife auto-renewal program, which allows customers to authorize CDFW to automatically charge their credit card for annual sport fishing licenses, report cards and validations prior to their expiration dates. This convenient option means that anglers no longer need to worry about lapses in licensure occurring during transitions to new license years. Because auto-renewal is a pilot program, it’s limited to sport fishing items. Hunting licenses, commercial fishing licenses, falconry licenses etc., are not yet included. All the information you’ll need on this option is available under the auto-renewal section of the Online License Sales web page ( https://wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Online-Sales/Frequently-Asked-Questions#219782761-sport-fishing ).