Iowa Fishing License: Requirements, Cost, and Age Limits (2026)

Iowa residents and nonresidents age 16 or older generally need a fishing license. The under-16 and special-license rules are listed separately.

The current resident annual fishing license costs $22 on DNR's live consumer fee schedule. It expires January 10 rather than 365 days after purchase.

The current nonresident annual fishing license costs $48 on DNR's live consumer fee schedule.

Nonresident fishing licenses cost $12 for one day, $20.50 for three days, or $37.50 for seven days.

A resident or nonresident younger than 16 needs no base fishing license and keeps an individual limit for fish other than trout. To fish for trout without buying the trout fee, the child must fish with a properly licensed adult who paid the trout fee, and together they share one daily limit of five trout. Buying the child's own trout fee creates an independent limit.

Iowa residents could fish without a license or trout fee June 5–7, 2026. All other fishing regulations remained in effect.

Iowa annual fishing licenses expire January 10. They do not remain valid for 365 days from the purchase date.

Iowa adopted a new underlying fee schedule effective December 15, 2026, for the 2027 recreation year. ARC 0263D's filed effective date controls over the earlier April meeting packet's June 17 date. DNR's current consumer prices include administrative and agent fees above the underlying amounts; because DNR has not published its final 2027 consumer checkout table, this page does not invent those totals by arithmetic.

The annual Bonus Line permit costs $14 for either a resident or a nonresident and authorizes a third fishing line.

The Boundary Water Sport Trotline license costs $26 for a resident or $49.50 for a nonresident. It authorizes up to four trotlines with 200 hooks total on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Big Sioux rivers; it is not a general border-water angling license, and fish taken under it cannot be sold.

A qualifying Iowa resident veteran with a service-connected disability, or a qualifying former prisoner of war, may apply for a $7 lifetime hunting and/or fishing license. This is a low-cost credential requiring an approved application, not an automatic or fee-free exemption; other fish and wildlife fees are not included.

The resident Outdoor Combo costs $55 and includes hunting, fishing, and the habitat fee. It is distinct from the fishing-only Angler's Special.

The special paddlefish Fishing License and Tag costs $25.50 for a resident or $49 for a nonresident. A valid Iowa fishing license is also required unless the angler is younger than 16.

Resident short-term licenses cost $10.50 for one day or $15.50 for seven days. Iowa does not list a resident three-day fishing license.

The $62 Angler's Special is Iowa's three-year resident fishing license. It is one product, not a separate combo, and no nonresident version is listed.

A resident age 65 or older may buy a $61.50 lifetime Fishing License and, separately, a $65 lifetime Trout Fee. Iowa lists no standard discounted senior annual license. A free annual hunting-and-fishing license is available by application to a resident age 65 or older whose household income is below the federal poverty guidelines.

The trout fee costs $14.50 for a resident or $17.50 for a nonresident. An angler otherwise required to hold a fishing license needs both the license and trout fee to fish for or possess trout.