OLYMPIA — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today that its new digital licensing app, MyWDFW, will be launching soon in alignment with the 2026 license year.
“We’re committed to ensuring everyone finds belonging in the outdoors,” said WDFW Director Kelly Susewind. “This app modernizes how hunters and anglers access licenses in Washington, improves customer experiences, and ultimately helps prioritize people’s time where it matters — enjoying Washington’s great outdoors.”
“We’re also excited about the advancements this app brings for real-time harvest data collection and support for long-term fish and wildlife conservation,” Susewind added.
When MyWDFW launches to the public soon, it will be free and available from Google Play and Apple's app stores.
The MyWDFW app is a comprehensive mobile licensing tool for both hunters and anglers. It supports license purchases, displays active hunting and fishing license privileges, and enables electronic tagging for a wide range of game species, including deer, elk, turkey, and black bear.
App users can report migratory bird harvests and submit end-of-season harvest reports, with most features available offline. Other functionalities incorporated into MyWDFW and soon available to Fish Washington® include catch record cards for select fish species and an Enforcement View for WDFW officers, along with access to customer licensing (WILD) profiles.
App users who opt to become a mobile license customer will have valid mobile license products at the start of the new license year on April 1, 2026. Once the MyWDFW mobile app launches, people with existing 2025 licensing products will remain paper license holders through the 2025 license year and then will have the option to switch to mobile for the 2026 license year. For the rest of the current calendar year, 2025 licensing products will also be available exclusively in paper.
MyWDFW’s launch is the first step in the Department’s long-term plan to phase out durable-paper stock licenses in favor of mobile licensing. The Department will share more information about this transition as it becomes available.
The app’s creation follows rule making and a public comment opportunity the Department conducted in 2023 to allow electronic licensing, electronic tagging, or e-tagging, and catch reporting using mobile applications. More information about that effort is available in a prior WDFW news release.
More information about MyWDFW is available on WDFW’s website. The new MyWDFW app is a complementary app to WDFW’s existing Fish Washington® app. More information about both apps, their differences, and tips to help guide users to their preferred app is also available on WDFW’s website.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.
