Does Indiana Still Sell a Lifetime Fishing License?

Indiana stopped selling general lifetime fishing licenses on July 1, 2005, and has not offered a new one since. The closest current option is the Senior Fish for Life license, a one-time $23 purchase available to Indiana residents who are at least 64 years old and were born after March 31, 1943.¹ Everyone else chooses from annual or short-term licenses, and several groups of residents don’t need a fishing license at all.

What Happened in 2005

Before July 2005, Indiana sold lifetime fishing and hunting licenses at various price points. The state stopped issuing them that summer. Licenses purchased before the cutoff remain valid for the life of the holder and fall into three categories:

Basic Fishing, which covers the annual resident fishing license but does not include the trout/salmon stamp.
Comprehensive Fishing, which covers the annual resident fishing license plus the trout/salmon stamp.
Comprehensive Hunting and Fishing, which includes all hunting and fishing licenses and stamp privileges covered by the comprehensive hunting and comprehensive fishing licenses, excluding trapping.

If you already hold one of these, it still works and you don’t need to replace it, though you may need a separate stamp for privileges your category doesn’t cover.¹ The Indiana statute still authorizes the DNR to issue lifetime licenses if the Natural Resources Commission adopts fees, but no new fee schedule has been set since 2005.²

The Senior Fish for Life License

The Senior Fish for Life license is the only lifetime fishing option Indiana currently sells. It costs $23 as a one-time purchase, is valid for the rest of your life, and includes the trout/salmon stamp, which otherwise runs $11 per year on top of an annual license.¹

Two conditions apply. You must be an Indiana resident at least 64 years old, and you must have been born after March 31, 1943. The birthdate cutoff matters because residents born on or before that date already qualify for a broader exemption described below.³

If you’re not sure you’ll fish enough to justify the one-time fee, Indiana also sells a Senior Annual Fishing license for $3 per year to the same age group. The Fish for Life version pays back its price after a handful of renewals and folds in the trout/salmon stamp, so the choice usually turns on whether you expect to keep fishing regularly.¹

To qualify as a resident, you must have lived in Indiana continuously for at least 60 days before buying the license, and you cannot claim residency for hunting, fishing, or trapping in another state or country at the same time.³

Who Doesn’t Need a License at All

Several groups are exempt from Indiana’s fishing license requirement entirely under Indiana Code 14-22-11-8:⁴

Indiana residents born before April 1, 1943. A voluntary senior license is available for those who wish to support conservation.
Anyone under 18, regardless of residency.
Legally blind individuals.
Indiana residents with a developmental disability.
Residents of a licensed health facility in Indiana fishing as part of a supervised activity.
Resident patients of a state mental institution.
Anyone assisting a legally blind person, health facility resident, mental institution patient, or person with a developmental disability while that person fishes.

If you fall into any of these categories, you don’t need to buy anything, lifetime or otherwise.

If You Don’t Qualify for the Senior Option

Since there is no general lifetime license for sale, everyone else picks from Indiana’s annual and short-term licenses. The 2026 license year runs from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027.³

Resident Fees

Annual Fishing: $23
Annual Senior Fishing (age 64+, born after March 31, 1943): $3
Senior Fish for Life (age 64+, born after March 31, 1943): $23 one-time, includes trout/salmon stamp
One-Day Fishing: $10, includes trout/salmon stamp
Trout/Salmon Stamp (annual add-on): $11

Nonresident Fees

Annual Fishing: $60
Seven-Day Fishing: $35
One-Day Fishing: $15, includes trout/salmon stamp

The trout/salmon stamp is required in addition to your license if you’re fishing for trout or salmon. The one-day licenses and the Senior Fish for Life license include it; the annual resident and nonresident licenses do not.¹ A fishing license does not authorize hunting or trapping; those need separate licenses.

The 10-Year Disabled Veteran License

Indiana residents with a service-connected disability determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or with disability retirement benefits from the Department of Defense, can buy a discounted combined hunting and fishing license. The choices are a one-year license for $2.75 or a 10-year license for $27.50. Both cover small game hunting and fishing but exclude stamps, deer, and turkey licenses.⁵ The 10-year option works out to less than $3 a year and is the longest-term license Indiana currently issues to anyone under 64.

How to Buy

Indiana sells fishing licenses through four channels:

Online through the GoOutdoorsIN licensing system at gooutdoorsin.com. A $3 tech fee per license applies, plus credit card processing.
In person at more than 500 retail locations statewide or at DNR properties, where a $1 tech fee applies.
By mail with a check or money order payable to DNR, or with credit card information included. A $1 tech fee per license applies.
By phone at (317) 232-4200 or toll-free at (877) 463-6367.

Licenses are non-transferable and non-refundable.³ Carry yours while fishing and present it to any conservation officer or law enforcement official who asks.

1
Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Indiana Department of Natural Resources License Fees
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 14-22-12-7.3 – Lifetime Licenses to Hunt, Fish, or Trap
3
eRegulations. Indiana Fishing Licenses and Fees
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 14-22-11-8 – Fishing License and Trout
5
Indiana Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Disabled Veteran Discounted Hunting and Fishing License, and Golden Hoosier Passport