The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 10 : Conservation and Development
Chapter 105 : Licenses
Subchapter 001 : GENERALLY
(Cite as: 10 V.S.A. § 4255)-
§ 4255. License fees
(a) Vermont residents may apply for licenses on forms provided by the Commissioner. Fees for each license shall be:
(1) Fishing license $28.00
(2) Hunting license $28.00
(3) Combination hunting and fishing license $47.00
(4) Big game licenses (all require a hunting license)
(a) archery license $23.00
(b) muzzle loader license $23.00
(c) turkey license $23.00
(d) [Repealed.]
(e) [Repealed.]
(f) moose license $100.00
(g) bear tag $5.00
(h) additional deer archery tag $23.00
(5) Trapping license $23.00
(6) Hunting license for persons 17 years of age or under $8.00
(7) Trapping license for persons 17 years of age or under $10.00
(8) Fishing license for persons 15 through 17 years of age $8.00
(9) Super sport license $150.00
(10) Three-day fishing license $11.00
(11) Combination hunting and fishing license for
persons 17 years of age or under $12.00(12) Mentored hunting license $10.00
(b) Nonresidents may apply for licenses on forms provided by the Commissioner. Fees for each license shall be:
(1) Fishing license $54.00
(2) One-day fishing license $21.00
(3) [Repealed.]
(4) Hunting license $102.00
(5) Combination hunting and fishing license $143.00
(6) Big game licenses (all require a hunting license)
(a) archery license $38.00
(b) muzzle loader license $40.00
(c) turkey license $38.00
(d) [Repealed.]
(e) [Repealed.]
(f) moose license $350.00
(g) bear tag $15.00
(h) additional deer archery tag $38.00
(7) Small game licenses
(a) all season $50.00
(b) [Repealed.]
(8) Trapping license $305.00
(9) Hunting licenses for persons 17 years of age or under $25.00
(10) Three-day fishing license $23.00
(11) Seven-day fishing license $31.00
(12) Archery-only license (does not require hunting license) $75.00
(13) Fishing license for persons 15 through 17 years of age $15.00
(14) Super sport license $250.00
(15) Combination hunting and fishing license for
persons 17 years of age or under $30.00(16) Mentored hunting license $10.00
(c) A permanent or free license may be secured on application to the Department by a person qualifying as follows:
(1) A Vermont resident 66 years of age or older may receive one or all of the following licenses for $60.00:
(A) a permanent fishing license;
(B) if the person qualifies for a hunting license, a permanent combination fishing and hunting license, which shall include all big game licenses except for a moose license;
(C) if the person qualifies for a trapping license, a permanent trapping license; and
(D) if the person qualifies for an archery license, a permanent archery license.
(2) A person who is legally blind who is a Vermont resident may receive a free permanent fishing license upon submittal of proper proof of blindness as the Commissioner shall require. A person who is legally blind who is a resident in a state that provides a reciprocal privilege for Vermont residents may receive a free one-year fishing license.
(3) A Vermont resident with paraplegia as defined in subdivision 4001(30) of this title or a permanent, severe, physical mobility disability certified by a physician may receive a free permanent fishing license or, if the person qualifies for a hunting license, a free combination hunting and fishing license. A person with paraplegia or a person certified by a physician to have permanent, severe, physical mobility disability who is a resident of a state that provides a reciprocal privilege for Vermont residents may receive a free one-year fishing license or, if the person qualifies for a hunting license, a free one-year combination fishing and hunting license.
(4) A Vermont resident who is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces and who is, or ever has been, 60 percent disabled as a result of a service-connected disability may receive a free fishing, hunting, or combination hunting and fishing license that shall include all big game licenses, except for a moose license, upon presentation of a certificate issued by the veterans’ administration so certifying. A resident of a state that provides a reciprocal privilege for Vermont veterans and who would qualify for a free license under this subdivision if the person were a Vermont resident may receive a free one-year fishing, hunting, or combination hunting and fishing license.
(5) A person participating in a fishing tournament for Special Olympics may receive a free fishing license valid for that event.
(6) In each year a permanent license holder intends to hunt, trap, or fish, the permanent license holder shall notify the Department that he or she will exercise his or her hunting, trapping, or fishing privileges. Failure to notify the Department as required by this subdivision (c)(6) shall not result in the assessment of points under section 4502 of this title.
(7) A certified citizen of a Native American Indian tribe that has been recognized by the State pursuant to 1 V.S.A. chapter 23 may receive free of charge one or all of the permanent fishing, hunting, or trapping licenses set forth in subdivisions (1)(A)–(D) of this subsection if qualified for the license and upon submission of a current and valid tribal identification card.
(d) A nonresident student who is otherwise qualified and who is enrolled in a program of secondary education or in a college or university within the State at which he or she has successfully completed two successive semesters shall be entitled to a resident fishing, hunting, or combination hunting and fishing license upon presentation of a document from a school that affirms his or her status and payment of the fees set forth in this section, provided the student applies for the license to an authorized license agent.
(e) The Commissioner shall issue honorary hunting and fishing licenses to the President and Vice President of the United States. The Commissioner may, at his or her discretion, issue free licenses that are valid for one year or less.
(f)-(h) [Repealed.]
(i)(1) The fee for a permit to trap hare and rabbits shall be $20.00.
(2) The fee for a permit to transport minnows or bait fish shall be $50.00.
(j) If the Board determines that a moose season will be held in accordance with the rules adopted under sections 4082 and 4084 of this title, the Commissioner annually may issue three no-cost moose licenses to a person who has a life-threatening disease or illness and who is sponsored by a qualified charitable organization, provided that at least one of the no-cost annual moose licenses awarded each year shall be awarded to a child or young adult 21 years of age or under who has a life-threatening illness. The child or adult shall comply with all other requirements of this chapter and the rules of the Board. Under this subsection, a person may receive only one no-cost moose license in his or her lifetime.
(k) The Commissioner may issue multi-year hunting, fishing, trapping, or combination hunting and fishing licenses of up to five years’ duration. The cost of these licenses shall be the sum of the license fee established by this section for the first year, plus the cost of each additional year minus the filing fee established by subdivision 4254(e)(9) of this title for each year.
(l) If the Board determines that it is in the interest of bear management, it may authorize the Department to issue bear tags in addition to those allowed by a hunting license issued under this chapter.
(m) The fee for a therapeutic group fishing license issued under section 4254b of this title shall be $50.00 per year, provided that the Commissioner may waive the fee under this section if the applicant for a therapeutic group fishing license completes instructor certification under the Department’s Let’s Go Fishing Program. The Commissioner may, at his or her discretion, issue a free therapeutic fishing license to an applicant. (Added 1961, No. 59, § 1, eff. April 4, 1961; amended 1963, No. 27, § 1; 1967, No. 34, § 1, eff. March 16, 1967; 1967, No. 373 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. March 27, 1968; 1971, No. 224 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1973; 1973, No. 27, eff. Jan. 1, 1974; 1973, No. 173 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1977, No. 103, § 3, eff. May 6, 1977; 1979, No. 189 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1983, No. 68, § 1; 1985, No. 215 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 2, 1986; 1987, No. 118, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1988; 1987, No. 170 (Adj. Sess.); 1989, No. 36, § 5; 1989, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1991, No. 11, §§ 1-3; 1991, No. 30; 1991, No. 34, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; 1991, No. 34, § 3, eff. June 1, 1991; 1991, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 3, eff. May 27, 1992; 1991, No. 205 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 3, eff. July 1, 1993; 1991, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), § 19; 1991, No. 254 (Adj. Sess.); 1993, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1997, No. 59, § 43, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; 1997, No. 59, § 43a, eff. June 30, 1997; 1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 43, eff. Jan. 1, 1999; 2001, No. 65, § 20, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; 2003, No. 61, § 4; 2003, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 14, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; 2005, No. 72, § 11b; 2007, No. 76, § 27, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; 2009, No. 33, § 83(e)(6); 2009, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; 2009, No. 134 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; 2011, No. 33, § 11a; 2011, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 35a; 2011, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 30, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; 2013, No. 78, § 9; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 37; 2013, No. 116 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 5, 2014; 2015, No. 57, § 24, eff. Jan. 1, 2016; 2015, No. 61, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2016; 2015, No. 61, § 5, eff. June 17, 2015; 2015, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 44; 2017, No. 33, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2018; 2019, No. 50, § 7, eff. Jan. 1, 2020; 2019, No. 70, § 5, eff. Jan. 1, 2020; 2019, No. 143 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2021; 2021, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § 15, eff. January 1, 2023.)
