The state Department of Fish and Wildlife recently launched an app for smartphone devices that allows residents and nonresidents to show their California sport fishing licenses and validations on their phones instead of using a physical license, officials announced last week.
The CDFW License App was created thanks to a state bill that allowed the agency to give anglers the option to display their fishing licenses, validation, report card or other sport fishing entitlements on a mobile device. Authored by Assembly Member Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, the bill was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021.
The bill also made one-year fishing licenses valid for 365 days from the date of purchase, beginning in 2023. Previously, licenses expired at the end of the calendar year, regardless of purchase date — and some anglers were not willing to pay the same price for fewer days of fishing, resulting in fewer license sales, officials said.
"We sometimes think progress moves too slowly, but the Department of Fish and Wildlife has moved full-speed ahead in making fishing licenses valid for 365 days and has modernized the licensing process by going digital," Wood said in a news release.
The wildlife agency said it plans to add hunting licenses and other related hunting validations to the app "as early as mid-2024."
Here's what to know about the CDFW License App:
What is available on the app?
The app allows California residents and nonresidents to electronically display fishing licenses and sport fishing validations instead of a physical license. Users can also download and read the state wildlife agency's published regulation booklets and access its websites, like the fish planting schedule and online license sales and services pages, according to the CDFW.
The following items are available in the app:
- 365-day sport fishing licenses (resident and nonresident)
- 1-, 2- and 10-day sport fishing licenses
- Ocean enhancement validation
- Recreational crab trap validation
- Second-rod validation
Proof of purchase for report cards — required for anyone fishing for steelhead, sturgeon, abalone and spiny lobster, as well as for salmon in the Klamath, Trinity and Smith rivers only — is available on the app, but it is not a valid entitlement and doesn't replace physical report cards, officials said. "Anglers must always have physical report cards in their immediate possession when engaging in activities authorized by the report cards," the agency said in an FAQ page.
Hunting licenses and some hunting entitlements will be available to display on the app later this year, the agency said.
WHERE DO I DOWNLOAD THE APP?
Smartphone users can download the app on the Apple app store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices. If you do not have either of these phones, wildlife officials say to search "CDFW License" in the digital store on your smartphone.
You will need to create an account within the app, which will be separate from the customer record used to access the CDFW online license sales and services website. You do not need to use the same email address associated with that account.
DO I STILL NEED TO CARRY MY PHYSICAL SPORT FISHING LICENSE IF I HAVE THE APP?
No, according to state wildlife officials. If you are using the app to show your license, you do not need the physical license — though officials recommend carrying your paper license as a backup until you are comfortable using the app.
Keep in mind that only the license displayed within the app is valid — screen shots or photos are not acceptable substitutes. Your license will be stored within the app and can be displayed when you can't access the Internet via cell service or Wi-Fi. However, if you can't use the app because of a dead phone battery or other technical issues, and if you don't have your physical license as a backup, you will be in violation of state laws if you engage in an activity that requires a license, officials said.
For more information, go to the agency's FAQ website.
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