Florida gives seniors a full exemption, gives active and retired military residents a discounted combination license, and gives disabled veterans a path to a no-cost license, but the three programs work differently and aren’t interchangeable. Here’s exactly what FWC lists for each, with the fees stated as FWC states them.
FWC states that Florida residents age 65 or older with proof of age and residency, a valid Florida driver’s license or ID card, “are not required to have fishing or hunting licenses” at all. This isn’t a discount on a license, it’s a full exemption. No purchase is required, and no separate senior license needs to be bought or carried, only proof of age and Florida residency.
FWC’s saltwater and freshwater license pages both list the same combination license for military residents. The Annual Resident Military Gold Sportsman’s License costs $20.00 and is “available to Florida residents who are active duty or retired military members” with “proof of residency and a current military identification card.” It includes hunting, saltwater fishing and freshwater fishing licenses in one purchase, plus a Wildlife Management Area permit, Archery, Muzzleloading Gun, Crossbow, Deer, Turkey, Florida Waterfowl, Snook and Lobster permits, all under the single $20 fee.
This license is available online through GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or in person at Florida tax collectors’ offices with proof of residency and a current military ID.
Separately from the Military Gold Sportsman’s License, FWC lists an exemption for “Florida residents who are members of the Armed Forces of the United States, who are not stationed in this state and home on leave for 30 days or less.” That’s a narrower, situational exemption rather than a standing discount, and it applies specifically to residents stationed elsewhere who are visiting home briefly.
FWC’s Persons with Disabilities Resident Hunting/Fishing License is, in the agency’s own words, “a no-cost license.” The five-year version is available to, among other qualifying categories, “a disabled veteran of the United States Armed Forces who was honorably discharged upon separation from service and who is certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor or by any branch of the United States Armed Forces as having a service-connected disability percentage of 50 percent or greater.”
A separate, shorter two-year version of the same no-cost license is available to anyone “certified or determined to be disabled by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), with documentation dated within the last 12 months and indicating disability benefits are currently being received,” without a military service requirement attached to that particular path. All applicants for either version must be Florida residents with a valid Florida driver’s license or ID.
FWC also lists a separate Military/Disabled Veteran Event License Exemption Permit, covering “disabled veterans or active or reserve duty military service members and their immediate family members and assistants” participating in specific permitted outdoor recreational events. This is narrower than the standing licenses above and tied to particular organized events rather than everyday fishing.
For anyone who doesn’t qualify for an exemption or discount above, FWC lists the standard resident annual saltwater license at $17.00 and the standard resident annual freshwater license at the same $17.00, each with a $79.00 five-year resident option. Non-resident saltwater and freshwater licenses are $47.00 annual, $30.00 for 7 days, or $17.00 for 3 days, the same figures on both the saltwater and freshwater license pages.
A Florida resident who is 65 or older needs nothing at all beyond proof of age and residency. A resident who is active duty or retired military can get a full hunting-and-fishing combination license for $20 a year rather than paying separately for each. A resident veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 50 percent or greater, or anyone currently receiving Social Security disability benefits, can qualify for a no-cost license covering hunting and fishing. None of these substitute for each other, so check which category actually applies rather than assuming the broadest-sounding one covers your situation.
See our Southwest Florida fishing license guide for the standard fees and requirements that apply to residents and visitors who don’t qualify for any of the programs above, and the regulations page for current figures across every species covered on this site. Our season and regulation calendar tracks the seasons that apply once you’re legally licensed to fish.