Complete the California Commercial Fishing License Worksheet
To apply for a fishing license in California, complete the Commercial Fishing License Worksheet at our site.
You can select whether you are a resident or a non-resident of the state.
This is the same form that you can choose to apply for Limited Entry Commercial Fishing Permits as well.
Use this link for the worksheet to apply for a California Commercial Fishing License.
Help With the California Commercial Fishing License and Other Forms
The Commercial Fishing Permits Center helps commercial fishing professionals to find, apply for, and acquire all of the licenses and permits they need for the state of California. Additionally, the CFPC offers access to state and federal forms across America.
These laws may pertain to your California commercial fishing:
California Code, Fish and Game Code – FGC § 7850
(a) Excepting persons expressly exempted under this code, no person shall use or operate, or assist in using or operating, any boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish or amphibia for commercial purposes, and no person shall cause to be brought ashore, any fish or amphibia at any point in the state for the purpose of selling them in a fresh state or shall contribute materially to the activities on board the commercial fishing vessel, unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the department.
(b) Any person not required under subdivision (a) to hold a commercial fishing license shall register his or her presence on board the commercial fishing vessel in a log maintained by the owner or operator of the vessel according to the requirements of the department.
(c) As used in this section, “person” does not include persons who are less than 16 years of age, a partnership, corporation, or association. Any person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or association may pay the fees for a license issued to any person.
(d) This article does not apply to the taking, transporting, or selling of live freshwater fish for bait by the holder of a live freshwater bait fish license issued pursuant to Section 8460.(a) The department shall issue a commercial fishing license to any resident who is 16 years of age or older, upon payment of a base fee of ninety-five dollars ($95) for each resident vessel crewmember or resident vessel operator.
(b) The department shall issue a commercial fishing license to any nonresident who is 16 years of age or older, upon payment of a base fee of two hundred eighty-five dollars ($285) for a nonresident vessel crewmember or nonresident vessel operator.
(c) The base fees specified in this section are applicable to the 2004 license year, and shall be adjusted annually thereafter pursuant to Section 713.
(d) The commission shall adjust the amount of the fees specified in subdivision (c), as necessary, to fully recover, but not exceed, all reasonable administrative and implementation costs of the department and the commission relating to those licenses.
(e) Nothing in this section affects any other provision of law relating to the employment of minors.
The department may refund the fees paid for a commercial fishing license or stamp, a commercial boat registration, or a commercial fishing permit to the estate of the deceased holder of the license, stamp, registration, or permit, if proof is provided by the estate that the death of the holder occurred prior to the opening of the season for which the license, stamp, registration, oAt all times when engaged in any activity described in Section 7850 or Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) for which a commercial fishing license is required, the licensee shall have in his or her possession, or immediately available to the licensee, a valid driver’s license or identification card issued to him or her by the Department of Motor Vehicles or by the entity issuing driver’s licenses from the licensee’s state of domicile.A current passport may be used in lieu of a valid driver’s license or identification card by a holder of a valid nonresident commercial fishing license issued pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 7852. The licensee’s driver’s license, identification card or, if applicable, passport, shall be exhibited upon demand to any person authorized by the department to enforce this code or regulations adopted pursuant thereto.r permit was valid. The commission may suspend or revoke the commercial fishing license of any licensee who operates a vessel in waters within the territorial jurisdiction of the State and approaches:
(a) Within 500 yards of any vessel owned or operated by the United States Government or any department or agency thereof, except when necessary to comply with the laws or rules of navigation governing the safe movement of vessels; or
(b) So close to any vessel owned or operated by the United States or any department or agency thereof and engaged in transporting naval or military equipment or personnel as to interfere with such transportation or to enable the observation thereof, except when necessary to comply with the laws or rules of navigation governing the safe movement of vessels.
No license shall be suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 7853 until the filing of a complaint with the commission by any of the following:
(a) The commanding officer of a vessel owned or operated by the United States or any department or agency thereof.
(b) Any other officer of any such vessel who is authorized by his commanding officer to file such complaint.
(c) Any commanding officer of any military or naval activity affected by the licensee’s operation of a vessel, or any other officer of such activity authorized by such commanding officer to file a complaint.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, except as provided in subdivision (f) and except when prohibited by federal law, fish may be prepared for human consumption aboard a commercial fishing vessel only under the following conditions:
(a) The fish are taken under all existing commercial fishing laws and regulations and, except as provided in subdivision (f), the fish is of a species and size that can be lawfully taken under sportfishing regulations in the area where taken and are taken incidental to normal commercial fishing operations.
(b) The fish is separated from other fish and stored with other foodstuff for consumption by the crew and passengers aboard the vessel.
(c) The fish shall not be bought, sold, offered for sale, transferred to another person, landed, brought ashore, or used for a purpose other than consumption by the crew and passengers.
(d)(1) All fish shall be maintained in a condition that the species can be determined, and the size or weight can be determined if a size or weight limit applies, until the fish is prepared for immediate consumption.
(2) If the fish is filleted, a patch of skin shall be retained on each fillet as prescribed by the commission in the sportfishing regulations until the fish is prepared for immediate consumption.
(3) Fillets from fish possessed under sportfishing regulations shall be of the minimum length prescribed by commission regulations.
(e) A fish that may be possessed under sportfishing regulations shall not be possessed in excess of the sport bag limit for each crew member and passenger on board the vessel.
(f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, kelp bass, sand bass, spotted bass, yellowfin croaker, spotfin croaker, California corbina, and marlin, shall not be possessed aboard a commercial fishing vessel while that vessel is on a commercial fishing trip. Lobster, salmon, or abalone shall not be possessed aboard a commercial fishing vessel while that vessel is on a commercial fishing trip for preparation for human consumption pursuant to this section unless that lobster, salmon, or abalone is taken and possessed in compliance with all applicable laws pertaining to commercial fishing methods of take, licenses, permits, and size limits. Sturgeon or striped bass shall not be possessed aboard a commercial fishing vessel.A person shall not take or possess a fish on a commercial fishing vessel under a sportfishing license while that vessel is engaged in a commercial fishing activity, including going to or from an area where fish are taken for commercial purposes.
Unless otherwise specified, the following conditions apply to each commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement issued to take, possess aboard a boat, or land fish for commercial purposes and to each commercial boat registration issued by the department, except licenses issued pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030):
(a) The person to whom a commercial fishing permit or other entitlement is issued shall have a valid commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852 that is not revoked or suspended.
(b) The commission, after notice and opportunity for hearing, may suspend, revoke, or cancel commercial fishing privileges for a period of time to be determined by the commission for the following reasons:
(1) The person was not lawfully entitled to be issued the license, permit, or other entitlement.
(2) A violation of this code, the terms of the permit or other entitlement, or the regulations adopted pursuant thereto, by the licensee, permittee, person holding the entitlement, or his or her agent, servant, employee, or person acting under the licensee’s, permittee’s, or entitled person’s direction or control.
(3) A violation of any federal law relating to the fishery for which the license, permit, or other entitlement was issued by the licensee, permittee, person holding the entitlement, or his or her agent, servant, employee, or person acting under the licensee’s, permittee’s, or entitled person’s direction or control.
(c) The person to whom the commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement is issued shall be present when fish are being taken, possessed aboard a boat, or landed for commercial purposes. This subdivision does not apply to commercial fishing vessel permits or licenses.
(d) The commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement shall be in the licensee’s, permittee’s, or entitled person’s possession, or immediately available to the licensee, permittee, or entitled person at all times when engaged in any activity for which the commercial fishing license, permit, or entitlement is required.
(e) Not more than one individual commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement of a single type shall be issued to an individual person and not more than one commercial vessel fishing license, permit, or other entitlement of a single type shall be issued for each vessel.
(f) Any landing of fish used to qualify for, or renew, a commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement shall be reported on landing receipts delivered to the department pursuant to Section 8046.
(g) In addition to any other requirements in Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 8040), the name of the person issued the commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement authorizing the taking of the fish shall be included on the landing receipt for that landing.
(h) An application for a commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement shall be made on a form containing the information the department may require. The commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement shall be signed by the holder prior to use.
(i) Any person who has had a commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement suspended or revoked shall not engage in that fishery, and shall not obtain any other commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement that authorizes engaging in that fishery, while the suspension or revocation is in effect.
(j) A commercial fishing license, permit, or other entitlement is not transferable unless otherwise expressly specified in this code.
(k) Every commercial fishing license, permit, stamp, commercial boat registration, or other entitlement issued pursuant to this part, except commercial fish business licenses issued pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030), is valid from April 1 to March 31 of the next following calendar year or, if issued after the beginning of that term, for the remainder of that term.
(l) A person who holds a commercial fishing vessel permit or other entitlement authorizing the use of a vessel for commercial fishing shall also hold a valid commercial boat registration for that vessel, issued pursuant to Section 7881, that has not been suspended or revoked.
(m) A person who holds a commercial fishing license, permit, registration, or other entitlement, who moves or acquires a new address shall notify the department of the old and new addresses within three months of acquiring the new address.
(n) An application to transfer any permit or other entitlement to take fish for commercial purposes shall be deferred if the current holder of the permit or other entitlement is awaiting final resolution of any pending criminal, civil, or administrative action that could affect the status of the permit or other entitlement.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (f) or (g), no person who is 18 years of age or more and less than 70 years of age, on or before April 1 of the current license year, shall take salmon for commercial purposes or be on board a vessel on which salmon are taken for commercial purposes while salmon are being taken or transported unless that person has a commercial fishing salmon stamp issued pursuant to this section affixed to his or her commercial fishing license.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (f) or (g), the operator of a vessel on which salmon are taken for commercial purposes shall not permit a person on board that vessel while salmon are being taken or transported unless that person was less than 18 years of age or 70 years of age or more on April 1 of the current license year or that person has a commercial fishing salmon stamp affixed to the person’s commercial fishing license.
(c) Except as provided in this subdivision, the department shall issue a commercial fishing salmon stamp upon application therefor and payment of the fee of eighty-five dollars ($85). For any commercial salmon season preceded by a commercial salmon season in which the commercial troll salmon landings in this state equal or exceed 3,000,000 pounds dressed weight, as determined by the department, the fee shall be increased by twelve dollars and fifty cents ($12.50) for every 250,000 pounds over 3,000,000 pounds of dressed weight landings, except that the total fees as adjusted shall not exceed two hundred sixty dollars ($260).
(d) A commercial fishing salmon stamp is valid during the commercial salmon season of the year in which it was issued.
(e) Upon application and payment of an additional fee equal to that prescribed in subdivision (c), the department may issue an additional commercial fishing salmon stamp for a crewmember to the owner or operator of a vessel who holds a commercial fishing salmon stamp.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), one crewmember of a vessel for which a commercial fishing salmon stamp is issued pursuant to subdivision (e) may be aboard that vessel and take salmon for commercial purposes as a crewmember on that vessel without obtaining a commercial fishing salmon stamp under the following conditions:
(1) The crewmember is designated by name and commercial fishing license number on a form furnished by the department before salmon are taken on the vessel when that crewmember is aboard.
(2) The crewmember has a valid commercial fishing license issued under Section 7850.
(3) The commercial fishing salmon stamp for the crewmember is affixed to the form prescribed in paragraph (1) on which the vessel registration number of the vessel is entered and on which the crewmember who is exempted by this subdivision is designated by the last entered name and commercial fishing license number.
(g) Persons who are exempt from the license requirements, or who are not required to be licensed, pursuant to Section 7850, are exempt from the requirements of this section.(a) After deducting the administrative costs for issuing the commercial fishing salmon stamps, the department shall deposit the fees received pursuant to Section 7860 in the Commercial Salmon Stamp Dedicated Subaccount, which is hereby established in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The money in the subaccount shall be available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for new or expanded salmon restoration and enhancement programs in the state that will serve to increase ocean salmon landings. No money in this subaccount shall be used in lieu of other funds appropriated for salmon restoration and enhancement programs authorized by law on or before January 1, 1988.
(b)(1) Thirty dollars ($30) of the fees collected for each commercial fishing salmon stamp issued shall be allocated by the department to be used for raising chinook salmon to a yearling size, at which size they shall be released into state waters. The amount of salmon stamp revenues expended for this purpose in any fiscal year shall not exceed the amount expended by the department for the same purpose during the same period from other funds. The calculation of the amount expended by the department for this purpose shall not include expenditures made by the department for which reimbursements are received from state or federal agencies, public utilities, or private entities for raising chinook salmon to yearling size as part of a fish mitigation program instituted to compensate for the adverse effect of a dam on natural salmon production. If the department expends no funds other than moneys collected from the sale of commercial fishing salmon stamps or moneys for which reimbursements are received as part of an anadromous fish mitigation program for the raising of chinook salmon to yearling size within the period of a fiscal year, the fees prescribed in Section 7860 shall be reduced by an amount equivalent to that portion of the commercial fishing salmon stamp program, as specified in this subdivision.
(2) If the salmon stamps issued pursuant to Section 7860 raise more money for the purpose of this subdivision than is necessary to match the funds expended by the department during any fiscal year from other funds, then the excess salmon stamp revenue allocated pursuant to this subdivision shall be carried over into the following fiscal year.
(c) The department shall post on its Internet Web site an accounting of the projects undertaken with funds from the Commercial Salmon Stamp Dedicated Subaccount and the costs incurred to administer the program. At a minimum, the Internet Web site shall list the project title, the applicant, a brief description of the project, the amount approved, and the status of the project.
(d) Any moneys that were in the Commercial Salmon Stamp Account as of March 14, 2013, and that were retained in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund shall be transferred to the Commercial Salmon Stamp
Notwithstanding any other law, the department may receive on behalf of the Commercial Salmon Trollers Enhancement and Restoration Program, for deposit in the Commercial Salmon Stamp Dedicated Subaccount in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund established pursuant to Section 7861, funds from sources in addition to funds derived from the sale of commercial fishing salmon stamps, including, but not limited to, grants from the federal government, grants from private foundations, money disbursed from court settlements, and donations and bequeaths from individuals. The additional nonfederal funds shall not be deposited in the Commercial Salmon Stamp Dedicated Subaccount unless the person or entity providing the funds specifically designates in writing, prior to or at the time of transmittal of the funds to the department, that the funds are intended solely for deposit to that subaccount. Funds received by the department that are not designated at the time of receipt as being intended solely for deposit to the Commercial Salmon Stamp Dedicated Subaccount shall be deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
(a) The Commercial Salmon Trollers Advisory Committee established under Section 7862 may recommend to the director that a nonprofit organization or the California Salmon Council be authorized to create or contract to create salmon or salmon fishing artwork and other materials based on that artwork, including, but not limited to, a stamp, and offer those items for sale to the public during 2003 and thereafter, for the purpose of augmenting funding for the Commercial Salmon Trollers Enhancement and Restoration Program established under this article.
(b) The committee may not recommend a nonprofit organization or the California Salmon Council as authorized under subdivision (a), unless all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The proposed creation and sale of the artwork is pursuant to a written business plan presented to the committee.
(2) The committee determines that a reasonable share of the sales of any stamp will be remitted to the department for deposit into the Commercial Salmon Stamp Dedicated Subaccount established in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund under Section 7861.
(3) The committee determines that the creation and sale of the artwork will act to increase public awareness and support for the salmon stamp program and the restoration of salmon and their habitats in the state.
(4) Any other conditions deemed necessary by the committee for determining whether to recommend approval to the director have been met.
(c) The director, upon receiving the recommendation of the committee, and upon finding that there will be no new costs to the department, may authorize the recommended entity to create or contract to create salmon or salmon fishing artwork and other materials based on that artwork, including, but not limited to, a stamp, and offer those items for sale to the public, for the purpose described in subdivision (a).
(d) No person or entity, including, but not limited to, any nonprofit organization, may use the name of the Commercial Salmon Stamp, the Commercial Salmon Trollers Advisory Committee, or the Commercial Salmon Trollers Enhancement and Restoration Program for the sale of artwork and other materials, unless that person or entity has been approved by the director under this section for that purpose. The approval of the director under this section shall be for one year, after which the approval may be renewed for an additional year, upon recommendation of the committee.
(e) No artwork sold in the form of a stamp under this section conveys to the purchaser any entitlement to engage in the commercial salmon fishery.
(f) Proceeds from the sales of artwork and other materials sold under this section, after deduction of all reasonable costs borne by the nonprofit organization or California Salmon Council for creation of the artwork and conducting the sales, shall be deposited in the Commercial Salmon Stamp Dedicated Subaccount.