By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor
With hunting season just around the corner, it’s time to purchase 2020-2021 annual Texas hunting and fishing licenses.
Current year licenses, except the year-from-purchase all-water package, expire at the end of August, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), which regulates hunting and fishing activities across the state.
The annual sale of more than 2.4 million hunting and fishing licenses in Texas directly fund conservation efforts and recreational opportunities, including fish stocking, wildlife management, habitat restoration, public hunting leases on more than one million acres of public land, river fishing access and Texas game wardens.
Hunters and anglers can purchase a variety of license combinations and packages online through the TPWD website, by phone at 800.895.4248 or in person at more than 1,700 retailers across the state.
An expedited checkout process is now available for those wishing to re-purchase the same license bought in recent years.
TPWD asks anyone planning to purchase their license directly from a TPWD law enforcement officer or at the Austin headquarters to make an advance appointment as walk-ins are not currently accepted.
Customers can access their license by saving a digital photo of the license or using an emailed receipt from the license purchase.
A digital copy is also available through the online license sales system account or through the Outdoor Annual app license lookup feature or via the My Texas Hunt Harvest app.
Hunters and anglers must still have physical licenses for any activities requiring tags or stamps.
The Outdoor Annual mobile app allows hunters and anglers to access regulations, even without internet connectivity. Other features of the app include location-based functionalities, such as hunting seasons and regulations by location, where to fish and more.
The My Texas Hunt Harvest app enables electronic submission of mandatory harvest reports including alligator gar harvest reporting. Hunters are also able to complete on-site registration for many TPWD public hunting lands via the app.
When purchasing a license, hunters and anglers can also choose to enter a number of drawings, including TWPD’s new Big Time Texas Hunts.
For only $9 per Big Time Texas Hunts entry, hunters have the chance to win any of ten premium hunt packages on some private ranches and prime wildlife management areas in the state. The deadline to purchase entries is Oct. 15.
Bighorn sheep, mule and white-tailed deer, pronghorn, waterfowl, upland game birds, exotics and more are on offer in the Big Time Texas Hunts packages, including the chance to win a hunting and fishing trip to Powderhorn, TWPD’s newest Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
Another popular drawing is the Lifetime License Drawing. Three winners each receive a lifetime super combo license, eliminating the need to purchase another Texas hunting or fishing license again. Those entries are $5 each and must be purchased by Sept. 30.
When buying a license, hunters and anglers can add a donation of $1, $5, $10 or $20 to support the non-profit Hunters for the Hungry or the Fund for Veterans Assistance.
Click to hear more from TPWD on the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network.