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Fishing Licence — Free for Life, or a Dollar
Free for life at 100%, with the trout and Lake Erie permit thrown in — and a dollar a year at 60–99% or as a former prisoner of war, with permits at full price.
Verified August 19, 2026
What this benefit is
Free for life at 100%, with the trout and Lake Erie permit thrown in — and a dollar a year at 60–99% or as a former prisoner of war, with permits at full price.
What it's worth: Free for life at 100%; $1 at 60–99% and for former prisoners of war
- The free licence at 100% is issued for LIFE and carries the Combination Trout/Lake Erie Permit free as well.
- The dollar licence does not reduce permits — trout and Lake Erie permits are bought at full price on that tier.
Who is entitled to it
- You are certified 100% disabled — the licence is free, for life.
- You are certified 60% to 99% disabled — the licence is a dollar.
- You are a former prisoner of war — the licence is a dollar.
- Your home is in Pennsylvania.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1The first issue must be in person at a county treasurer, Harrisburg, or a regional office — after that, renewals work at any issuing agent or online.
- 2The only documentation the Commission accepts for the disability is written certification from the VA. A physician’s letter or a state paper does not substitute.
- 3Do not let anyone tell you it must be combat-related. The law requires a service-connected disability and makes no mention of combat.
- File with
- A county treasurer, the Commission's Harrisburg office, or one of its six regional law enforcement offices — the first time
- Documents you will need
- va benefit summary letter
- Annual
- Claimed once a year.
CorrectionThe fishing tiers are NOT the hunting tiers. The hunting licence in this corpus is a dollar at 60–99% or for a wartime disability; the fishing licence is free only at 100%, and its dollar tier is 60–99% or former prisoner of war. Assuming the two commissions run the same rule gets both wrong.
Worth knowingThe permit asymmetry decides the real value. The free licence brings the Combination Trout/Lake Erie Permit free; the dollar licence brings no permit relief at all, so a 90%-rated trout angler still pays full permit price.
Worth knowingThe Commission answers the combat question in terms: the disability must be service-connected, and the law makes no mention of combat. A counter that asks how you were injured is asking a question the statute does not.
Known gapThe statute prices the reduced licence at one dollar; third-party guides quote $2.97 at the counter, which will be issuing and transaction fees added on top. The Commission’s own fact sheet, re-read 23 August 2026, calls it a "reduced fee" and never names a figure, so expect a small fee above the statutory dollar and do not treat the dollar as the counter price.
Known gapThe prisoner-of-war route is unconfirmed. This record carries a dollar licence for a former prisoner of war, which came from the section text read on a reproduction that has now been dropped. The Commission’s fact sheet answers eight questions about who qualifies and never mentions prisoners of war at all — it frames both tiers purely on the rating. Ask the county treasurer before relying on that route.
Known gapThe section itself is unread on a Commonwealth host. legis.state.pa.us and palegis.us both refuse the connection outright, and a browser navigation to palegis.us is denied at the navigation layer; pacodeandbulletin.gov answers, but it serves the Pa. Code, and §2707 is statute rather than regulation. Everything published here that is not in the fact sheet should be treated as unverified.
Worth knowingThe Commission goes out of its way to say the disability need not have been incurred in the line of duty, and that a soldier disabled in a car accident during a period of service would probably qualify if the VA certifies the disability as service-connected. If a counter clerk starts asking how it happened, that is the answer.
Sources
- authority · statute30 Pa.C.S. §2707 — free and reduced resident fishing licences for disabled veterans. Cited without a link: the Commonwealth’s statute servers refuse this network (see notes).
- operating · published policyPA Fish and Boat Commission — Free and Reduced Fishing Licenses for Disabled Veterans fact sheet, which sets out the §2707 standards in the Commission’s own words
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