Fishing licence

Buy a recreational fishing licence direct from the Victorian Fisheries Authority - it's the cheapest way to do it. It's instant with a discount for online purchases.

Buy a fishing licence at Service Victoria →

Click on the links below or scroll through the page to find the following information:

• Who needs a licence?
• Buying a licence and what it costs
• Who is exempt from needing a licence?
• What if I've lost my fishing licence?
• Accessing your digital RFL
• Updating your details
• Catch and size limits
• Interstate fishing

Who needs a licence?

A Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) covers all forms of recreational fishing in all of Victoria's marine, estuarine and inland waters.

Unless you are exempt, an RFL is required when;

• Taking, or attempting to take from public waters, any species of fish by any method, including line fishing, bait or shellfish collection, yabby fishing, prawning and spearfishing and/or
• Using or possessing recreational fishing equipment in, on or next to Victorian waters.

Unless you are exempt, it is your responsibility to hold a current RFL when fishing in Victoria - penalties apply for fishing without a licence. Your RFL may not be loaned or transferred to another person.

How do I buy a recreational fishing licence?

Buying a Victorian fishing licence direct from the VFA via Service Victoria means you won't be overcharged by other online sellers. You can also buy via an authorised agent in-person.

There are four categories of Victorian fishing licences. Choosing to buy a 1 or 3-year licence online through Service Victoria is the easiest and cheapest option and keeps more money in the RFL Trust Account which delivers projects to improve fishing.

You can also purchase a Victorian fishing licence in person at one of our Authorised Sales Agents across the state.

Victorian recreational fishing licences are GST exempt. New fees come into effect from 1 July every year. See below for the current licence prices effective 1 July, 2024:

You can pre-date your licence up to 3 months ahead to ensure you're never without a valid RFL.

Fisheries Officers will accept the following as proof of a Victorian fishing licence:

• Plastic recreational fishing licence
• Digital RFL or an email containing licence details
• Hand-written licence issued by an authorised agent.

Buy a digital fishing licence

You can buy a digital RFL through Service Victoria. You will get a confirmation email and fisheries officers will accept this email as proof of purchase and evidence of a valid Victorian fishing licence.

You can click on the links below or always look for the orange Service Victoria logo in your search engine.

When you create a Service Victoria account and download the free mobile app, your RFL will automatically appear in the 'My wallet' section.

The digital RFL is built with bank-level security so your personal privacy is protected, and it can be accessed even when you’re out of network range.

Choosing to buy a digital Victorian fishing licence reduces VFA administration costs and keeps more revenue from the sale of fishing licences in the Trust Account to fund important projects that make a difference.

Who is exempt?

You will not need a licence to fish if you are:

• under 18 years of age;
• 70 years of age or over;.

or a holder of a:

• Victorian Seniors Card or interstate equivalent;
• Veterans' Affairs Pensioner Card;
• Victorian Veterans Card;
• Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold Card coded (TPI)
• Commonwealth Pensioner Concession Card coded either (DSP), (DSP Blind), (AGE), (AGE Blind) or (CAR)

or:

• A person that identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

Ordinary HealthCare Card, PPS (Parenting Payment Single) and JobSeeker payment cards, Seniors Business Discount Cards issued by the Victorian government and DVA White and Orange Cards are not exempt from purchasing a Fishing Licence.

If you hold a card that exempts you from needing a Victorian recreational fishing licence, you need to carry that card with you when fishing.

Interstate fishing

A Victorian recreational fishing licence is not valid in other states or territories so check if you need a licence if you intend to fish interstate.

If you plan on doing any fishing across the NSW border, you may need to pay the NSW recreational fishing fee.

This link will take you to the relevant NSW recreational fishing page.

A reciprocal licence is in place at Lake Hume, meaning NSW licence holders do not need a Victorian licence to fish Lake Hume. It is hoped that in return, NSW will accept a Victorian fishing licence for Lake Mulwala.

Victorian Fisheries Authority privacy statement

The VFA is committed to protecting personal information provided by you in accordance with the requirements of the Information Privacy Act 2000 and the Fisheries Act 1995. The personal information you submit, including your email address, will only be used by the VFA for the purpose of issuing and managing recreational fishing licences and will not be disclosed to a third party, except where such disclosure is required or authorised by or under law or in instances where we may engage the services of research consultants under strict privacy conditions to use your contact details to advise you and/or seek your opinion on matters concerning recreational fishing, such as fishery management plans, legislation (including regulations) and recreational programs. Should you wish to access your personal information relating to your recreational fishing licence, please email the Recreational Fishing Licensing Team at rec.licensing@vfa.vic.gov.au.