# Alabama 100% Disabled Veterans Hunt and Fish for $3.65 Each

> Alabama residents rated 100% permanently and totally disabled buy the state's $35.30 all-game hunting license for $3.65, plus $3.65 fishing licenses.
>
> Canonical: https://benefitry.io/guides/alabama-100-percent-disabled-veteran-hunting-fishing-license
> Publisher: Benefitry (benefitry.io). Benefits audit software for US veterans and military families.
> Last updated: 2026-10-30 · First published: 2026-10-30
> Official sources cited: https://www.outdooralabama.com/hunting-licenses/hunt-rec-res · https://www.outdooralabama.com/freshwater-fishing-licenses/fw-rec-fishing-licenses-resident · https://www.eregulations.com/alabama/fishing/fishing-licenses-fees · https://www.eregulations.com/alabama/hunting/hunting-licenses-fees · https://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/default/files/Licenses/Recreational%20-%20Current/100Percent_Vet_Hunt.pdf · https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=9-11-44
> Note: Benefitry is informational software, not affiliated with the VA; it does not file claims or give claim advice (38 U.S.C. § 5901).

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If you live in Alabama and the VA rates you 100% permanently and totally disabled, the state sells you its full all-game hunting license for $3.65 a year instead of $35.30. Stack it with the $3.65 Veteran fishing licenses you already qualify for at a 20% rating, and a Veteran who hunts and fishes both fresh and salt water pays $10.95 for privileges that cost everyone else $83.65. That is over $70 kept every single license year.

![A white-tailed buck watches from thick autumn brush](/guide-images/alabama-100-percent-disabled-veteran-hunting-fishing-license/buck-in-brush.webp)

## What it is

The 100% Disabled Military Veteran's Appreciation Hunting License is a real annual resident all-game hunting license, created by [Code of Alabama Section 9-11-44](https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=9-11-44) effective with the license year that began September 1, 2014. The statute sets the fee at two dollars plus the issuance fee, with both subject to periodic cost-of-living adjustments, which is how the counter price for the 2026 to 2027 license year lands at [$3.65 on the current DCNR fee schedule](https://www.outdooralabama.com/hunting-licenses/hunt-rec-res).

It covers hunting all legal game in Alabama during open season, the same privilege as the standard $35.30 resident all-game license. Per the [DCNR license sheet](https://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/default/files/Licenses/Recreational%20-%20Current/100Percent_Vet_Hunt.pdf), the purchase also includes the privileges of the Wildlife Heritage License, which means bank fishing with hook and line in public freshwater statewide, fishing in the state's Public Fishing Lakes (daily lake permits still required), small game hunting on Wildlife Management Areas except waterfowl (free WMA map permit required), and use of state-managed shooting ranges.

One thing to be clear about, because it trips people up: Alabama does not sell a single Veteran "combination" hunting and fishing annual license. What the state actually offers a 100% permanent and total Veteran is this $3.65 hunting license plus separate $3.65 annual freshwater and saltwater fishing licenses available to any Veteran rated 20% or higher. You buy each license you need, and every one of them costs $3.65.

## What it's worth

Current resident prices for the 2026 to 2027 license year, from the [Outdoor Alabama fee schedules](https://www.outdooralabama.com/hunting-licenses/hunt-rec-res) and DCNR's [fishing license digest](https://www.eregulations.com/alabama/fishing/fishing-licenses-fees):

| License | Standard resident | 100% P&T Veteran | You save |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Annual all-game hunting | $35.30 | $3.65 | $31.65 |
| Annual freshwater fishing | $17.45 | $3.65 | $13.80 |
| Annual saltwater fishing | $30.90 | $3.65 | $27.25 |
| All three | $83.65 | $10.95 | $72.70 |

The worked example: a Veteran in Baldwin County who deer hunts in the fall, fishes the rivers in spring, and fishes the Gulf in summer needs all three licenses. At standard rates that is $83.65 every license year. At 100% permanent and total it is $10.95, a savings of $72.70 a year, roughly $727 over a decade before any fee increases.

Even a Veteran who only hunts saves $31.65 a year, and the hunting license quietly covers more than hunting. Because it carries Wildlife Heritage privileges, a 100% P&T Veteran who hunts and only ever bank-fishes with a rod and reel may not need a separate freshwater fishing license at all.

> **The fishing discount starts at 20%, the hunting discount at 100% P&T.** There is also a middle tier: Veterans rated 50% or more can buy the all-game hunting license at half price, currently $18.20.

What the $3.65 hunting license does not include, per the DCNR fee schedule: the baiting privilege license required to hunt deer or feral swine over bait on private land, the Wildlife Management Area license ($23.40) required to hunt deer, turkey, or waterfowl on WMAs, state and federal duck stamps for waterfowl, and the nighttime feral swine and coyote privilege. On that last one there is a companion deal: holders of a VA or SSA 100% disabled hunting license can add the nighttime feral swine and coyote license for $1.10.

## Who qualifies (and who doesn't)

Under [Section 9-11-44](https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=9-11-44), you qualify for the $3.65 hunting license if you meet all of these:

- **You are a U.S. military Veteran certified by the VA as 100 percent, service-connected, permanently and totally disabled.** You prove it with certification from the VA showing the rating. A 100% rating that is not permanent and total does not meet the statute's wording, so check your VA letter for the permanent and total designation.
- **You are an Alabama resident**, which the statute defines as having resided in Alabama continuously for at least 90 days. You will show your Alabama driver's license when you buy, and the state treats you as a nonresident if you also hold a valid driver's license from another state.
- **You are in the age band that needs a license.** Alabama requires hunting licenses from ages 16 through 64. Residents 65 and older are already exempt from the hunting license, so this benefit adds nothing at that age.

Two more rules matter in practice. Hunters born on or after August 1, 1977 need hunter education certification to hunt independently; without it the license is issued with supervision-required status. And resident landowners hunting their own property do not need a hunting license at all.

Veterans rated below 100% permanent and total do not get this license, but at 50% or more you get the half-price hunting tier, and at 20% or more you get the $3.65 fishing licenses. Veterans rated 40% or more should also price the one-time discounted lifetime hunting and fishing licenses, which can beat annual purchases over time.

![Sea oats and dunes on the Alabama Gulf Coast under a cloudy sky](/guide-images/alabama-100-percent-disabled-veteran-hunting-fishing-license/gulf-coast-dunes.webp)

## How to claim it

1. **Get your VA disability letter** showing 100 percent, service-connected, permanent and total. You can download it in minutes from your VA.gov account under disability letters.
2. **Go to your county Probate Office or License Commissioner** with the letter and your Alabama driver's license. WFF District Offices and the Montgomery office (64 N Union Street, Suite 567, Montgomery, AL 36104) also issue it.
3. **Or buy by mail.** Per the [DCNR application](https://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/default/files/Licenses/Recreational%20-%20Current/100Percent_Vet_Hunt.pdf), send the completed application, a check or money order, a copy of your driver's license, and a copy of your disability statement to Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Div., Attn: License Sales, PO Box 301456, Montgomery, AL 36130-1456. Questions go to (334) 242-3465 or dcnr.wfflicense@dcnr.alabama.gov.
4. **Add the fishing licenses you need** at the same counter. The 20%+ Veteran freshwater and saltwater licenses each take the same VA letter.
5. **Renew every license year.** These are annual licenses, so bring the same paperwork each year.

Expect to provide your Social Security number; state law requires DCNR to collect it on all recreational licenses.

## Deadlines

Alabama's license year runs September 1 through August 31, and every annual license expires August 31 no matter when you buy it. A license bought in July costs the same $3.65 as one bought the previous September, so at this price the timing barely matters, but buy at the start of the license year if you want the full twelve months.

## Related benefits

A 100% permanent and total rating unlocks far more than cheap licenses:

- [VA disability pay rates for 2026](/guides/va-disability-pay-rates-2026) shows the monthly compensation attached to a 100% rating.
- [How combined ratings actually work](/guides/combined-ratings-explained) explains how the VA math reaches 100% and why the permanent and total designation matters.
- The [state benefits scan](/app/dashboard?tab=audit) surfaces every Alabama benefit tied to your rating, including property tax and education benefits that dwarf license savings.

## What to do next

Run the [state benefits scan](/app/dashboard?tab=audit) to see the full Alabama list at your rating. Or [start your free benefits scan](https://benefitry.io/start) and we will check you against every federal and state benefit in our catalog, over 6,000 of them, each with an official source.