New Brunswick fishing licence 2026 guide with Fish NB Days, angling and salmon fees, Outdoors Card setup, guide-required waters, tidal rules, and age notes.
A New Brunswick fishing licence costs $23.00 for residents. Youth under 16 do not need an angling licence for species other than Atlantic salmon and have their own daily and possession limits. Resident anglers who are 10 to 15 and want their own Atlantic salmon daily live-release limit must buy a salmon licence. Purchase through NB Fish & Wildlife Licensing and check local rules before you fish.
New Brunswick's licence rules are easiest to handle when you split the job into four checks: get an Outdoors Card number, decide whether you need an angling or salmon licence, check whether Fish NB Days change the timing, and then confirm whether your planned water falls under a guide rule or another special access rule. For 2026, the province's current e-Licensing tables list resident angling at $23, resident 65+ angling at $15, and non-resident angling at $64 for the season. The same system lists short-term options for both angling and salmon. If you are coming in as a non-resident, the guide-requirements page matters just as much as the price table, because it can change whether you are free to fish on your own or need to arrange a guide before the trip.
Visiting from another province or country? Non-residents often face different pricing tiers and extra steps. Read our non-resident fishing licence guide before purchasing your New Brunswick licence.
Most mistakes happen before checkout, when the province is right but the residency, water type, date, or trip length is not.
Start with these province-specific rules before you compare prices or open the buying portal.
Most inland anglers need the right New Brunswick angling or salmon licence after getting an Outdoors Card number.
Get an Outdoors Card number, then buy through NB Fish & Wildlife Licensing.
Carry your licence or electronic licence proof and any tags or authorizations that match the species or water.
New Brunswick angling licences are available from April 1, 2026, and Fish NB Days remain tied to the February Family Day weekend and the first full weekend of June.
Current prices for New Brunswick fishing licences (April 1, 2026 - March 31, 2027).
| Licence Type | Resident | Canadian non-resident | Non-Canadian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angling season licence | $23.00 CAD | $64.00 CAD | $64.00 CAD |
| Angling 7-day licence | — | $41.00 CAD | $41.00 CAD |
| Angling 3-day licence | — | $30.00 CAD | $30.00 CAD |
| Salmon season licence | $36.00 CAD | $173.00 CAD | $173.00 CAD |
| Salmon 7-day licence | — | $100.00 CAD | $100.00 CAD |
| Salmon 3-day licence | — | $53.00 CAD | $53.00 CAD |
The current New Brunswick e-Licensing tables list these licence amounts by class. Get your Outdoors Card number first, then use the Fish & Wildlife Licensing System to confirm the class and purchase total that applies to your trip.
In New Brunswick, annual fishing licences usually follow the province's published licence period rather than a rolling 365-day term. If you are buying late in the season, confirm the current licence dates, salmon-season rules, or short-term options before you pay.
Catch limits, seasons, and size restrictions can vary by waterbody. Read the current New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development rules before you fish.
View New Brunswick RegulationsCost: $0.00 | Validity: Permanent | The province says you need an Outdoors Card number before you buy a New Brunswick angling licence.
Youth under 16 do not need an angling licence for species other than Atlantic salmon and have their own daily and possession limits. Resident anglers who are 10 to 15 and want their own Atlantic salmon daily live-release limit must buy a salmon licence.
New Brunswick residents 65 and older can buy an angling licence for $15 or a salmon licence for $20.
New Brunswick says you need an Outdoors Card number before you buy an angling licence. Register once, keep the number, and use it again for later purchases.
Use the angling licence for inland fishing except sea-run Atlantic salmon. Use the salmon licence if you are targeting Atlantic salmon on waters where a salmon licence is required.
The province keeps a separate non-resident guide-requirements page. Read that page before a salmon trip because some waters and parts of the season require a licensed guide or an accompanying New Brunswick resident.
For inland waters, use the New Brunswick guide and licence system. For tidal waters, the province says no angling licence is required, so check the federal rules that apply to the species and area you plan to fish.
New Brunswick's first step is not the licence itself. It is the Outdoors Card number. The province says you need that number before you buy any angling licence.
Once you have it, the rest of the purchase path is simpler. You can go into the Fish & Wildlife Licensing System, choose the angling or salmon class that matches your trip, and then finish checkout with the correct residency category.
New Brunswick's non-resident salmon rules are more specific than in many other provinces. The province's guide-requirements page says that on listed waters and during the listed part of the season, a non-resident may fish only when accompanied by a licensed New Brunswick guide or an accompanying New Brunswick resident who holds the proper authorization.
That rule does not apply everywhere. Before you book a salmon trip, read the current guide-requirements page, match your river to the map and list there, and check whether you are fishing inland, tidal, or within another access system.
New Brunswick says Fish NB Days happen twice each year: during the Family Day long weekend in February and on the first full weekend of June.
On those dates, residents and non-residents may fish without a licence, and non-residents may fish regular guide-required waters without a guide. That is one reason this page gets so many season and licence searches: the free day question and the guide-rule question overlap here.
The waiver is useful, but it is not unlimited. Closed waters, Crown Reserve waters, private waters, and other separate restrictions still remain in effect. Use the Fish NB Days 2026 guide if your main question is the free fishing weekend rather than the full licence setup.
New Brunswick says you do not need an angling licence to fish in tidal waters. That matters if your trip is focused on tidal species and not inland angling.
For inland waters, use the New Brunswick angling guide and the provincial licence system. For tidal waters, follow the federal rules that apply to your area and species. If your day includes both inland and tidal sections, plan around the point where the rules change instead of assuming one set of rules covers the whole trip.
If your trip is salmon-focused, also open the New Brunswick salmon and tidal rules guide. If your trip is really about access on listed waters, open the guide-required waters guide next.
Start with the Outdoors Card number, then choose angling or salmon. Use this province page for 2026 fees, Fish NB Days, guide-required waters, tidal-water rules, and age or senior notes before you move to a narrower guide.
Yes. New Brunswick says you need an Outdoors Card number before you buy an angling licence.
The current New Brunswick e-Licensing tables list resident angling at $23, resident 10-15 or 65+ angling at $15, non-resident season angling at $64, non-resident 7-day angling at $41, and non-resident 3-day angling at $30.
The current New Brunswick e-Licensing tables list salmon season licences at $36 for residents 16-64, $20 for residents 10-15 or 65+, $173 for non-residents, $100 for a 7-day non-resident licence, and $53 for a 3-day non-resident licence.
Only in places and periods where the guide-requirements page says a guide is not required. On listed guide-required waters and during the listed part of the season, New Brunswick says a non-resident must be accompanied by a licensed guide or an authorized accompanying resident.
No. The province says an angling licence is not required in tidal waters.
New Brunswick says Fish NB Days happen during the Family Day long weekend in February and the first full weekend of June. On those dates, residents and non-residents may fish without a licence, subject to the other restrictions that stay in place.
On Fish NB Days, New Brunswick says non-residents may fish regular guide-required waters without a guide. That does not waive closed-water, Crown Reserve, private-water, or other separate restrictions.
Use the province's current guide-requirements page before a non-resident salmon trip. This page gives the licence overview, but the guide-requirements page settles where a licensed guide or an accompanying resident is still required.
Youth under 16 do not need an angling licence for species other than Atlantic salmon and have their own daily and possession limits. Resident anglers aged 10 to 15 who want their own Atlantic salmon daily live-release limit must buy a salmon licence.
New Brunswick residents 65 and older can buy an angling licence for $15 or a salmon licence for $20.