Texas Expands Digital Hunting, Fishing Licenses

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will offer fully digital options for all recreational hunting, fishing and combo license and tag types when 2025-26 licenses go on sale Aug. 15th. In March, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved the expansion of digital license and tag options. 

TPWD first introduced digital license options for resident supercombo license types in 2022. Hunters and anglers not interested in the digital option can still purchase traditional paper licenses both online and at point-of-sale locations. 

The digital license option is available through online purchase only when licenses go on sale Aug. 15th. Digital license holders will not receive a printed license or tags and must keep their digital license available via mobile device while in the field. Digital license holders must tag their harvests through the Texas Hunt & Fish mobile app, and their license can be viewed through the Texas Hunt & Fish and TPWD Outdoor Annual mobile apps. Additional information on digital licenses and tagging is available here.

Hunting and fishing regulations for the 2025-26 season are available online at outdoorannual.com, or the Outdoor Annual mobile app.  The mobile app is free, and once downloaded, it works without internet connectivity, making it easy for hunters and anglers to view regulations in even the most remote locations. Other features include license lookup, location-based functionality such as “Hunting Seasons and Regulations by Location,” “Where to Fish,” and more. A limited supply of printed Outdoor Annual booklets will be available at select TPWD offices. Hunters and anglers are encouraged to call their local offices to check availability prior to visiting.

The Texas Hunt & Fish mobile app enables electronic submission of mandatory harvest reports, including alligator gar harvest reporting, and supports digital tagging of harvested deer, wild turkey, oversized red drum and spotted seatrout for fully digital license holders. The app also allows hunters to complete their on-site registration for many TPWD public hunting lands. Hunters can hunt on more than one million acres of public land with the purchase of an annual public hunting permit.

For frequently asked questions about Texas hunting and fishing licenses, visit the TPWD website.