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 →Service Victoria

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

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 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 recreational 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 licence in person at one of our Authorised Sales Agents across the state.

The RFL is GST exempt. New fees come into effect from 1 July every year. See below for the current licence prices effective 1 July, 2023:

2023/2024 (from 1 July, 2023)

Licence Type

Online Price

Full Price

3 Day

$10.00

$10.00

28 Day

$22.70

$22.70

1 Year

$37.50

$39.90

3 Year

$102.40

$108.10

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 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 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 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.

Buy a fishing licence at Service Victoria →Service Victoria

Buy a plastic fishing licence

You can buy a 1- or 3-year plastic fishing licence from any authorised agent (standard fee) or online (discounted fee).

Please allow up to four weeks for it to arrive via post.

Purchase from an authorised agent

The RFL is also available from many recreational fishing licence outlets throughout Victoria, please note standard fees apply.

Click here to find a licence outlet near you.

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.

Lost your licence?

You can request the details of your RFL by emailing us at rec.licensing@vfa.vic.gov.au

If your RFL was purchased online you will be issued with an email containing your licence details within 2 business days of the request. If your RFL was purchased through an authorised agent, you will receive an email containing your licence details or a hand written licence in the mail depending on the license type. The VFA will post this replacement licence within 5 working days of a request.

Please note: We do not provide replacement plastic licence cards.

Accessing your digital RFL

To access your digital RFL, please download the Service Victoria app and sign in to your Service Victoria account. Your digital RFL should automatically drop in to the digital wallet in the app under the My wallet section.

available on google play

If you have previously accessed your digital RFL through the Service Victoria app but it no longer appears, please try the following steps:

  • Clear the cache on the app
  • Uninstall and reinstall the Service Victoria app
  • Confirm that you are signing in to the same Service Victoria account to purchase your RFL
  • At the top right of the screen in the ‘My wallet’ section, tap on the three dots and select 'Manage my cards'. You can view cards linked to your app. You may need to click on the check box for your current RFL.

If issues persist, click here to head to the Service Victoria support portal.

Changed address or need to update your details?

You can advise us of a change of postal or email address or update other RFL details by emailing us at rec.licensing@vfa.vic.gov.au

In most instances a replacement RFL will not need to be issued.

Know your limits

Before going fishing remember to familiarise yourself with latest edition of the Recreational Fishing Guide. This guide has details of size and catch limits and other regulations.

A range of FREE products are also available to help you abide by the rules including fish length rulers and measures. Click here for more information.

The Recreational Fishing Guide can be found on this website or is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play via the buttons below.

available on google play

Interstate fishing

A Victorian RFL 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.