New York Reduced Fee Hunting and Fishing License for Disabled Veterans

The Department of Environmental Conservation sells a resident veteran with a service-connected disability rated 40% or more a Sportsman license for $5. The Sportsman package covers fishing, big game hunting, and small game hunting, so the $5 replaces three separate fees. Bowhunting and muzzleloading privileges are free to the same veteran, on top of the base license. The license also carries preference for Deer Management Permits, the permits that allow taking antlerless deer and that are otherwise allocated by lottery in most units. For a hunter who has drawn nothing for several seasons, that preference is often worth more than the fee saving. Residency matters here. This is a resident benefit, and a nonresident veteran does not qualify. Proof is a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs showing the case number and stating that the service-connected disability is 40% or more. The useful detail is that this is a one-time submission: once DEC enters the eligibility in the license file, the veteran does not have to produce the letter again in later years, and can then buy online, by phone at 1-866-933-2257, or at any license issuing agent. Send the proof to the DEC License Sales Unit by email or fax at 518-402-9025, or bring it to a license issuing agent. Separately, and without any disability requirement, a New York resident service member on active duty stationed outside New York can get free hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses while home on leave of 30 days or less, as can a resident member of the National Guard or Reserves. A nonresident service member stationed in New York for 30 days or more may buy at resident prices.