Washington close to launching digital hunting, fishing licenses

The digital age is almost here for Washington hunters and anglers.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is preparing to launch its MyWDFW app next month, a move that will allow hunters and anglers to store and display digital copies of their licenses and tags on their cellphones.

Shannon Smith, the IT project manager for WDFW’s licensing division, said the app is being reviewed by Apple and Google for inclusion in their app stores, and that the agency hopes it will launch in December and be ready for the 2026 license year, which starts in April.

The launch has been anticipated for years. It comes long after most other states in the region began offering some form of digital hunting and fishing licensing.

Idaho has offered some form of mobile licensing for more than a decade,