Army Corps of Engineers Fishing Permits

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

Contact

Address: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters, 441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20314-1000
Headquarters general questions: 202-761-0031
Website: usace.army.mil

Buy a licence Read the regulations

At a glance

Licences and permits: 9
Of which specialty: 9
Free fishing days: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not run free fishing days and sells no fishing licence. The free fishing days that matter on a Corps lake are the ones declared by the state the lake sits in, and on those days the state waives its own licence requirement while any Corps day use fee still applies.
Fees verified: 4 Sep 2026

Who does not need one

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a landlord, not a licensing agency. It issues no fishing licence and no fishing permit for its roughly 400 lakes and reservoirs. The licence you must hold is the STATE fishing licence for the state the water sits in, and Corps project pages route anglers straight to the state agency - the Waco Lake page, for example, refers anglers to Texas Parks and Wildlife 'for information concerning fishing regulations'. Where a Corps lake straddles a state line, or where a state has a reciprocity arrangement for a border reservoir, that is a state matter and the state's rules govern. What the Corps adds on top is an access fee, not a licence: a day use fee at fee-charging parks, boat ramps and swim beaches, typically around 5.00 per vehicle and charged 'regardless of activity (including boat launching only)', so an angler who launches and leaves still pays it. You can prepay that layer with either the 40.00 Corps of Engineers Annual Day Use Pass (Corps sites nationwide) or the 80.00 America the Beautiful Interagency Annual Pass (all six federal agencies); the Corps honours the interagency Annual, Senior, Access, Military and 4th Grade passes for day use fees. Neither pass touches the state licence requirement, and neither covers camping or other expanded amenity fees. A camping permit at a Corps campground also gets you into that project's day use areas.

Specialty licences 9

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
Every Kid Outdoors 4th Grade PassFree; valid at Corps day use areas only.	Access or habitat fee	US fourth graders and accompanying family	Resident · annual · 4th grade	Freestill required
Interagency Access PassFree when issued in person at a Corps site; a 10.00 processing fee applies if ordered by mail or online. Carries a 50 percent discount at Corps-operated campgrounds. Federal discount passes are treated as annual day use passes at Corps projects and must be displayed on the vehicle mirror.	Access or habitat fee	US citizens and residents with a permanent disability	Resident · lifetime · all	Freestill required
Interagency Military PassFree; waives day use fees at Corps recreation sites.	Access or habitat fee	Active duty US military personnel, veterans and Gold Star Families	Resident · annual · all	Freestill required
Interagency Senior Annual PassHonoured at Corps day use areas. Senior pass holders also get a 50 percent discount on fees at Corps-operated campgrounds.	Access or habitat fee	US citizens and residents aged 62 and older	Resident · annual · 62+	$20.00
Corps of Engineers Annual Day Use PassA hang tag valid 12 months from the month of purchase, good nationwide at any Corps-operated day use facility - boat launch ramps, swim beaches, picnic areas - for the holder and passengers in their vehicle. Day use only: it does not cover campground fees or concessionaire fees. Not a fishing licence.	Access or habitat fee	Anglers and other visitors who use Corps day use areas and boat ramps repeatedly	Any · annual · all	$40.00
America the Beautiful Interagency Annual Pass (Resident)USACE is one of the six agencies that honour the interagency pass. It covers 'entrance fees and standard amenity recreation day use fees for all federal recreational lands and waters' for one year. It does not cover expanded amenity fees such as camping, special permits or ferries, and it is not a fishing licence. Digital passes are sold through Recreation.gov; a physical card adds a 7.50 shipping fee.	Access or habitat fee	Visitors who want Corps standard amenity day use fees covered along with the other federal agencies	Resident · annual · all	$80.00
Interagency Senior Lifetime PassHonoured at Corps day use areas; 50 percent campground discount applies.	Access or habitat fee	US citizens and residents aged 62 and older	Resident · lifetime · 62+	$80.00
America the Beautiful Interagency Annual Pass (Non-Resident)Interagency pass price effective 1 January 2026.	Access or habitat fee	Visitors who are not US residents	Non-resident · annual · all	$250.00
Day Use FeeSet project by project, so there is no national amount. Loaded examples: Hartwell Lake (Savannah District) charges 5.00 per vehicle on entering a day use park 'regardless of activity (including boat launching only)', and Lewisville Lake (Fort Worth District) charges 5.00 for a boat ramp and 5.00 for picnic/day use. Registered campers at a Corps campground may show their camping permit and use day use areas without an additional charge.	Access or habitat fee	Anyone using a fee-charging Corps day use area, boat ramp, swim beach or picnic area - including anglers who only want to launch a boat	Any · 1-day · all	Not published

Every licence and fee 9

Licence	Residency	Term	Ages	Fee
Access or habitat fee 9
Every Kid Outdoors 4th Grade Pass US fourth graders and accompanying family Free; valid at Corps day use areas only.	Resident	annual	4th grade	Freestill required
Interagency Access Pass US citizens and residents with a permanent disability Free when issued in person at a Corps site; a 10.00 processing fee applies if ordered by mail or online. Carries a 50 percent discount at Corps-operated campgrounds. Federal discount passes are treated as annual day use passes at Corps projects and must be displayed on the vehicle mirror.	Resident	lifetime	all	Freestill required
Interagency Military Pass Active duty US military personnel, veterans and Gold Star Families Free; waives day use fees at Corps recreation sites.	Resident	annual	all	Freestill required
Interagency Senior Annual Pass US citizens and residents aged 62 and older Honoured at Corps day use areas. Senior pass holders also get a 50 percent discount on fees at Corps-operated campgrounds.	Resident	annual	62+	$20.00
Corps of Engineers Annual Day Use Pass Anglers and other visitors who use Corps day use areas and boat ramps repeatedly A hang tag valid 12 months from the month of purchase, good nationwide at any Corps-operated day use facility - boat launch ramps, swim beaches, picnic areas - for the holder and passengers in their vehicle. Day use only: it does not cover campground fees or concessionaire fees. Not a fishing licence.	Any	annual	all	$40.00
America the Beautiful Interagency Annual Pass (Resident) Visitors who want Corps standard amenity day use fees covered along with the other federal agencies USACE is one of the six agencies that honour the interagency pass. It covers 'entrance fees and standard amenity recreation day use fees for all federal recreational lands and waters' for one year. It does not cover expanded amenity fees such as camping, special permits or ferries, and it is not a fishing licence. Digital passes are sold through Recreation.gov; a physical card adds a 7.50 shipping fee.	Resident	annual	all	$80.00
Interagency Senior Lifetime Pass US citizens and residents aged 62 and older Honoured at Corps day use areas; 50 percent campground discount applies.	Resident	lifetime	62+	$80.00
America the Beautiful Interagency Annual Pass (Non-Resident) Visitors who are not US residents Interagency pass price effective 1 January 2026.	Non-resident	annual	all	$250.00
Day Use Fee Anyone using a fee-charging Corps day use area, boat ramp, swim beach or picnic area - including anglers who only want to launch a boat Set project by project, so there is no national amount. Loaded examples: Hartwell Lake (Savannah District) charges 5.00 per vehicle on entering a day use park 'regardless of activity (including boat launching only)', and Lewisville Lake (Fort Worth District) charges 5.00 for a boat ramp and 5.00 for picnic/day use. Registered campers at a Corps campground may show their camping permit and use day use areas without an additional charge.	Any	1-day	all	Not published

Fees as published by Army Corps of Engineers 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

The Annual Day Use Pass is recorded at 40.00 on the strength of two Corps sources loaded this session - the Fort Worth District Stillhouse Hollow passes page and the Savannah District Hartwell Lake day use fee sheet. One further Corps page loaded this session, the Fort Worth District Lewisville fees page, still shows an older 30.00 figure; that page appears stale and 40.00 is treated as current. Day use fee amounts are left null because they are set project by project; 5.00 is quoted in notes only as the amount published for Hartwell and Lewisville. Interagency Senior Annual 20.00 / Senior Lifetime 80.00 and the 250.00 non-resident pass are taken from the NPS interagency pass page because Corps district pages loaded this session still show the pre-2026 Senior pass pricing (10.00 lifetime). No Corps page loaded this session states the state fishing licence requirement in so many words; the Waco Lake fishing page referring anglers to Texas Parks and Wildlife is the closest direct evidence, and the general rule that states license anglers on federal land is stated explicitly by BLM (see us-blm.json).

About Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not sell a general fishing licence. It manages the water, requires the relevant state licence on it, and in places layers its own permit, pass or day-use fee on top.

It issues 9 permits and fees of its own, including the Every Kid Outdoors 4th Grade Pass, Interagency Access Pass, Interagency Military Pass and the Interagency Senior Annual Pass.

Free fishing days: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not run free fishing days and sells no fishing licence. The free fishing days that matter on a Corps lake are the ones declared by the state the lake sits in, and on those days the state waives its own licence requirement while any Corps day use fee still applies.

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.