Who needs a license
You need a saltwater fishing license to catch, or try to catch, saltwater fish, crabs, clams or other marine life in Florida, unless one of the exemptions below applies. That is true from the beach, a pier, a bridge, a jetty or a seawall just as much as from a boat, and catching and releasing still counts as fishing.
If you live in Florida
- Saltwater Shoreline license: free. It covers fishing from land or from a structure fixed to land, such as a pier, bridge, jetty or seawall. It does not cover fishing from a boat.
- Resident saltwater license: $17 a year or $79 for five years. It covers shore and boat fishing alike, so it's the one to get if you ever fish from a boat.
Who counts as a resident, and the proof you need, is set out on the FWC license page, along with the combination licenses that add freshwater fishing and hunting.
If you're visiting
There is no free shoreline license for visitors. A non-resident saltwater license costs $17 for 3 days, $30 for 7 days or $47 for a year, and covers fishing from shore and from a boat.
Who doesn't need one
- Anyone under 16.
- Florida residents aged 65 or older, carrying proof of age and residency such as a Florida driver license or ID card, or the optional Resident 65+ Hunt/Fish Certificate.
- Anyone fishing from a pier that holds its own saltwater pier license. Ask at the pier if you're not sure.
- Everyone, on the state's free saltwater fishing days. The FWC publishes the dates.
- Anglers on a licensed charter trip, or on a boat that holds a recreational saltwater vessel license.
- Florida residents who qualify for food assistance, temporary cash assistance or Medicaid, fishing from land or a structure fixed to land, with proof.
- Florida residents fishing in their home county with live or natural bait on a pole or line without a reel, not for sale.
- Florida residents serving in the US Armed Forces, stationed outside the state and home on leave for 30 days or less, with their orders.
There are a few more. The full list, with the exact conditions, is on the FWC exemptions page.
Permits you may need as well
Some fish need a permit on top of your license:
- Shark fishing from shore: free Shore-Based Shark Fishing Permit. Anyone 16 or older who targets or keeps sharks from shore, or from a jetty, bridge or pier, needs one, including anglers who are otherwise exempt from a license. You take a short online course first, and the permit is renewed every year.
- Snook permit: $10 a year, in addition to your license.
- Spiny lobster permit: $5 a year, in addition to your license.
- Tarpon tag: $51.50, sold only at county tax collector offices, and needed to keep a tarpon.
When each permit applies is on the FWC license page. License and permit sellers may add an issuance fee of 50¢.
Where to get one
Online at gooutdoorsflorida.com (keep it on your phone), at a county tax collector's office, or from a license agent such as many bait and tackle shops.
Size, bag and season rules
This page covers licenses only. Each species page lists the size, slot, bag and season rules we have on record for it, by area, with the FWC page each one comes from and the date we last checked it. They change through the year and differ from one part of the coast to another, so before you keep a fish, check the FWC recreational saltwater regulations.
Every species' size, bag and season rules, and which are open or closed today, are on one page: Florida fishing regulations.
Last checked against the FWC license pages on September 24, 2026. The FWC's own pages are the final word: if anything here differs, they are right.
