Utah Hunting and Fishing Licences for Veterans With a Disability

A real and recurring discount, and a clean example of a rule adding an eligibility condition the statute does not contain. What the statute says, and what it does not. Section 23A-4-302, subsection 1: "The Wildlife Board shall make rules in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, under which a veteran with a disability may receive a hunting, fishing, or combination license free or at a reduced price." Subsection 2: "In making rules under this section, the Wildlife Board shall: (a) use the same guidelines for disability as the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; and (b) provide at a minimum a reduction under this section of 25% of the full fee." Two instructions, and note what is absent. The Board must use VA's disability guidelines and must give at least a 25 percent reduction. The statute names no minimum percentage of disability. It contemplates that the licence might be free. And "free or at a reduced price" leaves the choice to the Board. What the Division of Wildlife Resources actually requires. Its application page, last updated April 14, 2026: "A Utah resident who has a service-connected disability of 20% or greater may purchase a discounted hunting, fishing or combination license upon furnishing verification of a service-connected disability." So the operative eligibility floor is 20 percent, and it comes from the rules rather than from section 23A-4-302. A veteran rated 10 percent qualifies for the Utah property tax exemption, which has a 10 percent floor written into section 59-2a-501, and is refused the licence discount. If you are between 10 and 20 percent, that is the reason. How the division defines the terms. "Service-connected disability" means "injury or illness incurred or aggravated while in the armed forces and is recognized by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs or by a branch of the US Armed Forces." Note the second limb: recognition by a branch of the armed forces, not only by VA, which is how a military disability retirement can qualify. "Verification" means "an official written letter, statement or card issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or by a branch of the Armed Forces certifying that the person has a service-connected disability rating of 20% or higher." One gap in the division's own definition. It defines "Armed Forces" as "the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, including the reserve components thereof and the Army and Air National Guard of the United States." The Space Force is not on that list, although section 68-3-12.5 includes it in the armed forces for the whole Utah code. A Space Force veteran refused on that basis should point at section 68-3-12.5, subsection 5. The current prices, from the division's fee page, last updated May 6, 2026: Resident disabled veteran one-year fishing licence: $12. Resident disabled veteran one-year hunting licence: $25.50. Resident disabled veteran one-year combination licence: $28.50. Against the ordinary resident rates on the same page, quoted per year: fishing $39, basic hunting $39, combination $43. For comparison the age-65-and-older resident rates are fishing $31, hunting $31 and combination $35. So the discounts are uneven, and the fishing licence is where the value is. Fishing at $12 against $39 is a reduction of about 69 percent. Hunting at $25.50 against $39 is about 35 percent. The combination at $28.50 against $43 is about 34 percent. All three clear the statutory 25 percent floor, and none is free. Note that the combination licence at $28.50 costs only $3 more than the hunting licence alone at $25.50, so a veteran who hunts should almost always buy the combination. You do not reapply every year. The division states: "If you have already applied and have been approved for a veteran hunting or combination license discount, you do not need to reapply each year. Once you purchase your first discounted veteran license, you will automatically be eligible to renew or repurchase your license at the discounted rate going forward." What the discount does not include. These are licence fees. Utah sells permits and tags separately from licences, so a deer, elk, turkey or other big game permit is an additional cost at the ordinary price, and the section does not touch them. Nor does it touch the wildlife habitat fee bundled into some licence products. Budget for permits at full price. Where the section lives now. The wildlife title was reorganised in 2023: section 23A-4-302 was renumbered and amended by chapter 103 of the 2023 general session from the old section 23-19-40. The implementing rules are R657-12, hunting and fishing accommodations for people with disabilities, and R657-45, wildlife licence, permit and certificate of registration forms and terms. A separate outdoor benefit worth pairing with this. Section 79-4-1002 gives free state park admission to an honorably discharged Utah-resident veteran with any current service-connected disability rating, with no percentage floor at all. So a veteran at 10 percent gets into the state parks free and pays full price for a fishing licence. See the Utah state parks entry. And one for people in institutions rather than veterans specifically: section 23A-4-303 lets persons residing in certain institutions fish without a licence.