September 1 marks the beginning of a new fiscal year for the folks at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Time for Texas hunters and anglers to pay the piper and get their paperwork in order.
New Texas hunting and fishing licenses, along with assorted stamp endorsements and permits valid for fiscal year 2024-25, went on sale statewide August 15. If you haven’t purchased a new license yet, you need to take care of business soon.
Most current licenses and permits expire at midnight on August 31. The exceptions are year-from-purchase fishing licenses, lifetime licenses and Lake Texoma fishing licenses.
Anyone planning to hunt doves on September 1, or participate in the 16-day early teal season that gets underway Sept. 14, will need to buy a new license ahead of time.
Licenses can be purchased via the TPWD website using a credit card, in-person at retail locations throughout the state or TPWD offices, or by phone at (800) 895-4248 during regular business hours. Tack on a $5 administrative fee for phone and online purchases.
More on new licenses later. What follows is list of other important pieces of paperwork to remember before heading to the field or marsh to hunt doves or teal next month:
Migratory Bird Endorsement: The migratory bird endorsement is required to hunt any migratory game bird in Texas. Among them are doves, waterfowl, coot, rail, gallinule, snipe, sandhill crane, and woodcock. The endorsement costs $7. It is not required for hunters under 17.
Federal Duck Stamp: In addition to the Migratory Bird Endorsement, the Federal Duck Stamp is required for hunting teal and other waterfowl. The Federal Stamp is not required of hunters under 16. Beginning this season, Federal Duck Stamps either printed on physical licenses or validated on digital licenses meet the requirements for the entire waterfowl hunting season. The cost is $25, plus any processing fees.
Annual Public Hunting Permit: Dove/teal hunters are required to have a new Annual Public Hunting Permit if hunting on TPWD’s small game and dove leases, or on state-run wildlife management areas. The permit provides hunting access to about 1 million acres of public hunting land around the state for hunting other game. It costs $48.
TPWD public hunting coordinator Kelly Edmiston says there are 116 public leases totaling nearly 51,000 acres in about 50 counties available for public dove hunting this season. Check out tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/public to review the leases on an interactive map. All of the public leases are located in good dove country, most in close proximity to metropolitan areas.
Hunter Education Certification: Hunter education certification is required of every Texas hunter born after Sept. 1, 1971. The only way to legally hunt otherwise is to pay a one-time, one-year deferral fee ($10, available only for those 17 or older), or to be accompanied by a hunter with a valid hunting license who is 17 or older and is hunter ed certified.
Youngsters can enroll in a hunter ed course at any age, but the minimum age for receiving the certification is nine. Certification is good for life and is valid in other states.
TPWD offers three ways to get certified:
Classroom Course
The six-hour classroom course is conducted in person by a certified instructor. It’s a good choice for youths under 17. The fee is $15. There could be additional charges for shooting range facilities.
Seating is limited for classroom courses and preregistration is required. You can check out dates, locations, times and contacts or upcoming classroom courses on the TPWD Hunter Education web page.
Two Online Course
* Online + Field Course (Under 17): This course is for youths under 17. Students complete an online course in preparation for a four-hour field course directed by an instructor.
Field course seating is limited, so be sure to preregister before taking the online course. The field instruction portion includes ethics discussion, simulated or live-fire activities and participation in a hunter skills trail. There is a final exam that requires a passing score of 75 percent for certification.
The there is a $15 fee due at the time of the field course. There could be additional fees for shooting range use.
* Online Only (17 and older): Designed for Texas residents 17 and over.
There are multiple online-only courses to choose from at tpwd.texas.gov/education/hunter-education/online-course-for-certification. Six of the TPWD-approved courses have fees ranging from $19.95 to $49.95. The NRA online course is free, except for a $5 fee that goes to TPWD. It is important to read and understand the terms prior to completing and paying for the selected course.
For more information on Hunter Education in Texas, check out tpwd.texas.gov/education/hunter-education/.
About Those Licenses
TPWD offers a variety of licenses to its customers. The licenses are tailored for different tastes.
There are licenses specifically for anglers (fresh or saltwater) and licenses just for hunters. A “combination license” is the best choice for those who play both games.
There were more than 2.64 million hunting and fishing licenses sold in Texas through August 18, 2024. TPWD License Manager Mike Hobson says the sales generated about $100.9 million in revenue for the state agency.
Here is a rundown on the Top 3 most popular license options and costs.
No.1: Super Combo License, $68: It’s the best deal going for all-around Texas resident sportsmen. The Super Combo is also the most popular license on the menu. Hobson says there were approximately 457,562 Super Combo licenses sold during the 2023-24 fiscal year.
The Super Combo includes a resident hunting license and a resident fishing license valid for fishing in fresh or saltwater. Additionally, it comes with five stamp endorsements valid for archery hunting, freshwater fishing, saltwater fishing, upland game birds, migratory game birds.
Sold separately, those licenses and stamps would cost $86 — a savings of $18. Seniors 65 and older are eligible for an even bigger savings with the $32 Senior Super Combo. The Federal Duck Stamp ($25) must be purchased separately for hunting waterfowl.
No. 2: Resident Year from Purchase All-water, $47: The package includes a resident fishing license, freshwater endorsement and saltwater endorsement with a red drum and spotted seatrout tag. The license, endorsements and tags are valid from the date of purchase through the end of the purchase month of the following license year. There were about 437,434 licenses sold through August 18.
No. 3: Resident One Day All-water, $11: The license is valid only for the selected day or days purchased. Freshwater and saltwater endorsements are not required. Includes a red drum tag and one spotted seatrout tag at no additional charge. Hobson says there were 251,608 licenses sold through August 18.
Other Licenses to Look At
* Resident Freshwater Package: $30
* Senior Freshwater Package: Texas resident 65 years and older; $12
* Resident Saltwater Package: $35
* Senior Saltwater Package: Texas resident 65 years and older; $17
* Resident All-Water Package: $40
* Senior All-Water Package: Texas resident 65 years and older, $22
* Combo Hunting & Freshwater Fishing: $50
* Combo Hunting & Saltwater Fishing: $55
* Combo Hunting & All-Water Fishing: $60
* Senior Combo Hunting & Freshwater Fishing: $16
* Senior Combo Hunting & Saltwater Fishing: $21
* Senior Combo Hunting & All-Water Fishing:$26
Things to Know
* Fishing licenses or endorsements are not required for youths under 17, seniors born before January 1, 1931, or persons with documented intellectual abilities. Nor is a license required to fish in private stock tanks, or in state parks.
* A hunting license is not required to hunt feral hogs on private property.
* Physical Super Combo licenses have the new spotted seatrout tag printed on a second document. For anglers purchasing a physical saltwater or all-water license, the spotted seatrout tag prints on the license document.
* Physical licenses can only be purchased in person. Digital license holders will not receive a printed license or tags, but must keep their license available via mobile device while in the field. Digital tagging is required of digital license holders through the Texas Hunt & Fish mobile app. The license can be viewed through the Texas Hunt & Fish and TPWD Outdoor Annual mobile apps.
* License holders can provide proof of license using an an electronic photo of their license, an emailed receipt, their account in the online license sales system or via license lookup in the Outdoor Annual app or Texas Hunt & Fish.
Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo.com .
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