Minnesota Fishing License

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

Contact

Address: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 500 Lafayette Road
Saint Paul, MN 55155
DNR Information Center (Twin Cities): 651-296-6157
Toll-free (MINNDNR): 888-646-6367
Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-6pm CT, Sat 8am-4:30pm CT
Website: dnr.state.mn.us

Buy a licence Read the regulations

At a glance

Licences and permits: 24
Of which specialty: 8
Cheapest listed licence: $0.00
Free fishing days: Take a Kid Fishing Weekend, June 5-7, 2026. Minnesota residents may fish without an angling licence during that weekend when accompanying a child age 15 or younger.
Fees verified: 4 Sep 2026

Who does not need one

Anglers under age 16 do not need a Minnesota angling licence. A no-fee Annual Special Angling licence (code 107) exists for statutorily qualifying residents. Resident disabled veterans pay a reduced statutory fee of $5.

Specialty licences 8

Extra items an angler must hold on top of the base licence. These are the ones most often missed — a base licence alone does not cover them.

Licence	Type	Who needs it	Applies to	Fee
Walleye Stamp Validation (code 134)Voluntary under Minn. Stat. 97A.475 subd. 10a. Pictorial version (code 135) is $5.75.	Stamp	Optional stamp; proceeds fund walleye stocking. Not required to fish for or keep walleye.	Any · annual · all	$5.00
Trout and Salmon Stamp Validation (code 128)Pictorial version (code 129) is $10.75. A spouse trout stamp validation on a combination licence is $10.00 (code 136) or $10.75 pictorial (code 137).	Stamp	Anglers age 18 through 64 who fish for or possess trout or salmon, or who fish designated trout waters and Lake Superior	Any · annual · 18-64	$10.00
Resident Spear from Dark House (code 113)Held in addition to an angling licence.	Endorsement	Residents spearing fish from a dark house or fish house	Resident · annual · 16+	$6.00
Nonresident Spear from Dark House (code 118)	Endorsement	Nonresidents spearing fish from a dark house	Non-resident · annual · 16+	$18.00
Resident Whitefish/Tullibee/Herring Netting Licence (code 115)Separate from the angling licence.	Permit	Residents taking whitefish, tullibee or herring with nets on waters where that is allowed	Resident · season · 16+	$11.00
Resident Dark House / Fish House Licence (code 119)Rental dark house/fish house (code 120) is $31.00; resident 3-year shelter (code 131) is $43.00; rental 3-year shelter (code 132) is $88.00.	Permit	Residents licensing a dark house or fish house left on the ice	Resident · season · all	$16.00
Nonresident Fish House / Shelter Licence (code 116)Nonresident 7-day shelter (code 117) is $22.00; nonresident 3-year shelter (code 133) is $112.00.	Permit	Nonresidents licensing a fish house or shelter on the ice	Non-resident · season · all	$38.00
Sturgeon Tag (code 130)Applies to sturgeon harvest waters including the Rainy River / Lake of the Woods border waters and the St. Croix River. The Minnesota DNR page describing which waters and dates require the tag did not load this session, so only the fee and the fact that it is a required harvest tag are recorded here.	Harvest / catch record card	Anglers who intend to keep a lake sturgeon; the tag must be obtained before fishing and affixed to a harvested fish	Any · season · all	$5.00

Every licence and fee 24

Licence	Residency	Term	Ages	Fee
Base licence 16
Annual Special Angling (code 107) Qualifying disabled residents and other statutorily exempt anglers issued a no-fee angling licence No-fee licence. Eligibility is set by statute; a page listing the qualifying categories was not loaded this session.	Resident	annual	all	Freestill required
Nonresident Youth Angling (code 205) Nonresident anglers age 16 and 17 Statutory base fee $5.	Non-resident	annual	16-17	$6.00
Resident Youth Angling, ages 16 and 17 (code 138) Resident anglers age 16 and 17 Statutory base fee $5.	Resident	annual	16-17	$6.00
Resident 24-Hour Angling (code 110) Residents wanting a one-day licence Valid for a 24-hour period.	Resident	1-day	16+	$13.00
Nonresident 24-Hour Angling (code 139) Nonresidents fishing for one day Statutory base fee $14.	Non-resident	1-day	16+	$15.00
Resident 72-Hour Angling (code 140) Residents wanting a three-day licence	Resident	3-day	16+	$15.00
Resident Individual Conservation Angling (code 105) Residents choosing the reduced-cost conservation angling tier Lower-priced alternative to the standard individual angling licence.	Resident	annual	16+	$18.00
Resident Individual Angling (code 111) Minnesota residents age 16 and older fishing Minnesota waters Total fee including the $1 issuing fee. Statutory base fee is $25 under Minn. Stat. 97A.475 subd. 6.	Resident	annual	16+	$26.00
Resident Combination Conservation Angling (code 106) A married resident couple choosing the reduced-cost conservation angling tier	Resident	annual	16+	$28.00
Nonresident 72-Hour Angling (code 127) Nonresidents fishing for three consecutive days Statutory base fee $31.	Non-resident	3-day	16+	$37.00
Resident Combination Angling - married couple (code 112) A married resident couple fishing on one shared license Total fee including issuing fee. Statutory base fee $40.	Resident	annual	16+	$41.00
Nonresident 7-Day Angling (code 126) Nonresidents fishing for seven consecutive days Statutory base fee $38.	Non-resident	7-day	16+	$44.00
Nonresident Individual Angling (code 121) Nonresidents age 16 and older fishing Minnesota waters Total fee. Statutory base fee is $46 plus a $5 nonresident surcharge and the $1 issuing fee.	Non-resident	annual	16+	$52.00
Nonresident 14-Day Married Couple Angling (code 125) A nonresident married couple fishing for 14 days Statutory base fee $49.	Non-resident	14-day	16+	$55.00
Nonresident Family Angling (code 124) A nonresident family fishing on one combined licence Statutory base fee $63.	Non-resident	annual	16+	$69.00
Resident 3-Year Angling (code 141) Residents buying three licence years at once Statutory base fee $71.	Resident	multi-year	16+	$72.00
Stamp 2
Walleye Stamp Validation (code 134) Optional stamp; proceeds fund walleye stocking. Not required to fish for or keep walleye. Voluntary under Minn. Stat. 97A.475 subd. 10a. Pictorial version (code 135) is $5.75.	Any	annual	all	$5.00
Trout and Salmon Stamp Validation (code 128) Anglers age 18 through 64 who fish for or possess trout or salmon, or who fish designated trout waters and Lake Superior Pictorial version (code 129) is $10.75. A spouse trout stamp validation on a combination licence is $10.00 (code 136) or $10.75 pictorial (code 137).	Any	annual	18-64	$10.00
Endorsement 2
Resident Spear from Dark House (code 113) Residents spearing fish from a dark house or fish house Held in addition to an angling licence.	Resident	annual	16+	$6.00
Nonresident Spear from Dark House (code 118) Nonresidents spearing fish from a dark house	Non-resident	annual	16+	$18.00
Permit 3
Resident Whitefish/Tullibee/Herring Netting Licence (code 115) Residents taking whitefish, tullibee or herring with nets on waters where that is allowed Separate from the angling licence.	Resident	season	16+	$11.00
Resident Dark House / Fish House Licence (code 119) Residents licensing a dark house or fish house left on the ice Rental dark house/fish house (code 120) is $31.00; resident 3-year shelter (code 131) is $43.00; rental 3-year shelter (code 132) is $88.00.	Resident	season	all	$16.00
Nonresident Fish House / Shelter Licence (code 116) Nonresidents licensing a fish house or shelter on the ice Nonresident 7-day shelter (code 117) is $22.00; nonresident 3-year shelter (code 133) is $112.00.	Non-resident	season	all	$38.00
Harvest / catch record card 1
Sturgeon Tag (code 130) Anglers who intend to keep a lake sturgeon; the tag must be obtained before fishing and affixed to a harvested fish Applies to sturgeon harvest waters including the Rainy River / Lake of the Woods border waters and the St. Croix River. The Minnesota DNR page describing which waters and dates require the tag did not load this session, so only the fee and the fact that it is a required harvest tag are recorded here.	Any	season	all	$5.00

Fees as published by Minnesota DNR and read on 4 September 2026. Agencies change fees without notice and vendors add issuing charges, so confirm the current price at the point of sale. We do not reproduce seasons, limits or gear rules — see the agency's regulations page for those.

Notes on this listing

Prices come from the Minnesota DNR's own licence code / total-fee schedule (files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/licenses/codes-agent-fee.pdf), which lists the TOTAL a buyer pays. Minn. Stat. 97A.475 was loaded as a cross-check and its base fees reconcile with the PDF totals once the $1 issuing fee and the $5 nonresident surcharge are added (e.g. resident individual $25 + $1 = $26; nonresident individual $46 + $5 + $1 = $52). The main DNR fishing-licence web page renders its fee table with JavaScript and returned no rows to WebFetch, which is why the fee PDF was used instead. TROUT STAMP: confirmed, $10 (or $10.75 pictorial). WALLEYE STAMP: confirmed OPTIONAL, not a requirement to fish for walleye - the statute calls it a voluntary stamp. STURGEON TAG: confirmed as a real $5 tag in the DNR fee schedule; the Baudette border-waters sturgeon page loaded but contained only management content, not tag rules, and the DNR sturgeon index page 404'd, so the waters and dates it applies to are not asserted here. ST. CROIX / BORDER WATERS: the DNR rules page for the Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary waters of the St. Croix loaded but covers only proposed season and refuge rules - it does not state licensing reciprocity, and no separate St. Croix licence or stamp appears anywhere in the DNR fee schedule. Minnesota therefore appears to have NO separate St. Croix border-water licence line item; anglers use a regular Minnesota angling licence, but this session could not load an official page stating the Minnesota-Wisconsin reciprocity terms, so that is flagged rather than asserted. The DNR Information Center email address was redacted by the fetch tool and is left null rather than guessed. Minnesota has no angler-paid aquatic invasive species stamp; AIS obligations there attach to watercraft, not to the fishing licence.

About Minnesota DNR

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is the agency that issues fishing licences in Minnesota and sets what every angler on its water has to carry.

Base and combination licences run from $0.00 to $72.00 depending on residency, term and age.

Beyond the base licence there are 8 specialty items to watch for, including the Walleye Stamp Validation (code 134), Trout and Salmon Stamp Validation (code 128), Resident Spear from Dark House (code 113) and the Nonresident Spear from Dark House (code 118). These are separate purchases and a base licence does not cover them.

Free fishing days: Take a Kid Fishing Weekend, June 5-7, 2026. Minnesota residents may fish without an angling licence during that weekend when accompanying a child age 15 or younger.

The fee table below was read from official sources on 4 September 2026. We list what each item is called, who needs it and what it costs, and link out for the rules themselves — seasons, limits and gear regulations live on the agency’s own page and change too often to mirror.