Making sense of Ohio's multi-year hunting and fishing licenses

Ohio’s anglers and hunters seeking to extend their multi-year licenses may want to think twice before opening their wallets and purses.

And those hunters with multiple-year license who pursue migratory birds – whether waterfowl or upland birds – will need to pay attention to a requirement that may slip their minds, too.

It’s all part of the legislatively approved opportunity for the state’s resident hunters and anglers to buy general license for more than one year at a time. This system is applicable for youth sportsmen as well as their adult and senior citizen counterparts.

Last year was the first full one in which the Ohio Division of Wildlife began issuing multiple year licenses. These permits are issued in three-year, five-year, 10-year, and lifetime increments for both hunting and fishing for adults and seniors.

For youths, multiple-year permits are available only for hunting. That is because youths age 16 and under do not needing a fishing license. With one exception: a lifetime youth fishing license is available though only 12 of those were sold last year.

“We offer a variety of license buying options to meet our customers’ needs, including lifetime and multiyear licenses. These are offered at discounted prices and are available to residents who have provided proof of age and residency,” said John Windau, the Wildlife Division’s licensing communications coordinator.

Last year the Wildlife Division issued a total of 31,247 multi-year fishing licenses of all kinds. Among them were 16,275 three-year adult fishing license, 3,480 five-year adult fishing license, and 1,390 10-year adult fishing licenses.

Plus 1,164 lifetime fishing licenses, though senior citizens bought even more of these with the prospects they’ll have fewer years to enjoy them: 2,123 licenses, to be exact.

The numbers of various multi-year hunting licenses sold in 2019 was much smaller; 11,612 such permits, in fact.

Not surprisingly perhaps, three-year hunting license sales eclipsed their five-year, 10-year, and lifetime counterparts. The Wildlife Division issued 5,169 three-year adult hunting licenses along with 1,697 five-year adult hunting licenses and 928 ten-year adult hunting licenses. However, another 1,349 lifetime adult licenses were sold.

Senior hunting licenses – issued to Ohioans age 66 and older - paralleled those of the adult tags with three-year tags being more popular than five-year licenses. In something of a quirk, Ohio seniors can buy a three-year, a five-year, or a lifetime hunting license but no special senior-only 10-year hunting license.

Youth hunters did buy a few multi-year licenses including 120 three-year tags, 23 five-year licenses and just 27 10-year licenses.

Windau did add that hunters who purchase a multi-year or lifetime license but have not yet completed hunter education receive the apprentice hunter designation on their license. Thus, such licensed hunters must follow the same rules as does an apprentice hunter possessing an annual license, Windau said.

“Once a hunter successfully completes the education requirements, whether a lifetime, multiyear or annual license buyer, the hunter education certification is added to their account,” Windau said.

Also, says Windau, the lifetime and multi-year licenses remain valid even if prices change or the customer moves out-of-state. And there is no need for the hunter to repurchase a license until it expires, Windau says.

“If a customer currently has a license but wishes to upgrade to a longer-term license they may choose to do so; however, they will need to pay the full price since we are unable to apply credit to their account for these products,” Windau says.

As for hunters possessing a multi-year license and who pursue migratory birds, Windau says these individuals must obtain a HIP certification each year. This is a noteworthy requirement that could spell expense trouble for a migratory bird hunter who goes afield without a current HIP endorsement.

For specifics regarding the cost of multi-year Ohio resident fishing licenses see wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/fishingregulations. For the same regarding hunting licenses see http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/huntingandtrappingregulations.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
JFrischk4@gmail.com