New Jersey Free Hunting and Fishing Licences for Disabled Veterans and Guard Members

N.J.S.A. 23:3-1e: "no fee, including application fees and issuance fees, may be charged of an applicant for a license, permit, stamp, tag, or certificate to hunt, fish, trap, or otherwise lawfully take fish, game, or any other wildlife in the State", to two groups. Disabled veterans, at any rating. A resident honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service who has been declared by VA "to have a service-connected disability of any degree". A 0 percent rating counts. This is broader than most states in this catalog, which set a floor. Guard members. An active member of the New Jersey National Guard who has completed Initial Active Duty Training, defined as basic military training for the Air Guard and basic combat and advanced individual training for the Army Guard. The Army benefits library says the Guard's application also asks for unit training within the last 90 days and current child support; those are the Guard's administrative conditions, not the statute's. What Fish and Wildlife asks for. Its disabled veteran certification application, revised August 2025, requires a Conservation ID from the online licence system, a VA letter or card showing a service-connected disability, a DD-214 or similar proof of honorable discharge, and a New Jersey licence or ID showing that you have "resided in New Jersey for at least six months prior to application". The statute requires only that you be a resident. A veteran refused for having moved to New Jersey less than six months ago should cite N.J.S.A. 23:3-1e. Certification takes about three weeks, lasts until you leave the state, and is not renewed annually. The Army benefits library adds that certified disabled veterans receive unlimited antlerless deer permits, one antlered permit per season and free turkey and bear permits; the fee waiver in the statute is what makes those permits free.