Texas to Offer Digital Tags for All Hunting and Fishing Licenses Starting in September

Texas hunters and anglers will be able to use digital tags with every recreational hunting, fishing and combination license starting with the license year that begins Sept. 1. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved the change at its Thursday meeting in Austin.

Chris Cerny, a business analyst with the wildlife division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, briefed the commission on the plan. He said 56 recreational hunting, fishing and combination licenses, along with the related endorsements, tags and permit offerings, will be available to customers in a fully digital format.

The package also reaches a group that has so far been left out. "Importantly, the proposed changes will provide digital options for non-resident customers, who have not yet been able to take advantage of digital offerings," Cerny told the commission.

Digital tags let hunters and anglers record their harvests using a phone, without needing the physical license on hand. Tags are used by anglers pursuing trophy red drum and spotted seatrout, and by hunters of wild turkey, mule deer and, most commonly, white-tailed deer. The department's website provides detailed instructions for digital tagging.

The Texas Legislature authorized fully digital licenses and tags through HB 3081 during its 2021 session. Digital tagging became available to Texans in the 2022-23 season, when resident hunters and anglers could buy super combo, senior super combo and lifetime combo licenses that came with digital tags. More than 80,000 of those digital licenses sold in that first season.

Cerny said that pilot year beat expectations. "The number of licenses sold in that pilot year did exceed our estimates by more than 50%, which gave strong indication of the popularity of this option early on," he said.

After that first season, the department extended digital tagging to youth hunting licenses, lifetime hunting and fishing tags, and exempt angler tags. More than 120,000 digital licenses were sold in the 2023-24 season. The spotted seatrout tag was added for 2024-25, at the same time the Texas Hunt and Fish app was rebranded, and nearly 150,000 have been sold so far.

Cerny said the sales growth of recent years shows the digital program is popular and supports the goal of widening the option to more license types.

He also sought to reassure the commission and the public that paper licenses are not going away. "I do want to ensure the commission and the public that we have no intention of getting rid of paper licenses. This package simply adds a digital option," Cerny said.