AUSTIN, Texas - Starting this past fall, folks are able to buy a Texas hunting or fishing license over the Internet for the first time.
When new season licenses went on sale Aug. 15, hunters and anglers could buy online via a new service from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department through Texas Online.
It costs an additional $5 to buy on the Web, which covers shipping, handling and processing.
However, buyers can purchase licenses for as many as five different people in one transaction. This means five hunting buddies or family members could split the cost of the $5 fee. But be aware that all licenses must be shipped to a single address, and whoever places the order will need to have all the personal data for each buyer, including one of the following forms of identification: their TPWD customer number, Texas driver's license number or Social Security number.
Web buyers can go to the TPWD Web site www.tpwd.state.tx.us and click the "Online License Sales" link in the Licenses box near the top of the TPWD home page. They can then click through the links and pages to get to Texas License Online. The first time a customer goes there, they'll need to register and setup a user account. Web customers may pay by Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit card.
It should take a few days to a week for licenses to arrive to Texas addresses after shipment. Customers can pay an additional fee for second day delivery.
However, for fish or game animals that do not require a tag, customers won't have to wait for the hard copy license to arrive to start hunting or fishing. For each license purchased, buyers will receive a Smart Number by e-mail that uniquely identifies the license and will allow them to hunt or fish before licenses are received in the mail. (This does not cover deer, turkey, red drum and other species where the hunter or angler must tag the animal after it's taken-hunters or anglers for those species must wait for the tags to arrive in the mail.)
Lifetime licenses cannot be purchased online.
Web buyers will need to have Internet Explorer version 5.5 or higher or Netscape 6.1 or higher and have Java script enabled. For technical assistance, see the license sales Web page.
Hunters and anglers still have the option to buy licenses the old fashioned way at more than 2,000 vendor locations throughout Texas. These include sporting goods stores, gun shops, department stores, bait and tackle shops, grocery stores and similar locations, plus all TPWD Law Enforcement (game warden) offices. General information about hunting and fishing licenses is also online at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/licenses/public/). Or, call the TPWD toll free phone information line at (800) 792-1112.