Lithuania fishing licences and rules for visitors

This page is a visitor explanation, not a substitute for Lithuanian law. Rules and lists can change. The official Environmental Protection Department fishing memo was updated on 14 August 2026 and should be checked again immediately before fishing.

The five water situations a visitor will meet

Lithuania's three main categories of state recreational-fishing permits are available through ALIS. Private natural and private artificial waters are not interchangeable categories. Owner conditions and access rights must be checked separately from any state permit or statutory free-fishing right.

An angler card is not simply a more expensive national licence. It applies to the water and conditions stated on the card.

ALIS permit codes and prices

The Ministry's 11 September 2026 permit explanation identifies four ALIS products. Select the exact water and conditions before paying; these are not interchangeable nationwide permissions.

Neris in autumn: The salmon-fishing range and the Annex 3 compulsory-card sections are different boundaries. L06.2 does not override complete closures or method restrictions; eligible anglers may rely on documented free-fishing rights under the applicable conditions. See the river guide's Neris permit table.

Buying as a foreign visitor

Lithuania's three main permit categories can be obtained through the official ALIS system. The Ministry also lists Perlas terminals and Maxima checkouts as physical sales channels for angler tickets and cards for unleased waters. Private-water permission comes from the owner or authorised operator, not from ALIS.

AAD states that an online ALIS purchase requires the services of a payment institution operating in Lithuania. If that is not available to the visitor, another person with suitable payment access may purchase the permit through ALIS using the visitor's name, surname and date of birth. Check the current ALIS and AAD permit instructions before paying.

Foreign citizens can enter their date of birth in place of a Lithuanian personal code. Another person may buy a permit for you when the application uses your details, although the Environmental Protection Department notes an exception for salmon and sea-trout cards purchased for another person through ALIS.

At the fishing place, keep the permit number and an identity document available. An ALIS permit does not have to be printed, but saving a copy or screenshot is sensible where mobile reception is weak.

Who may fish without buying a permit

Lithuania's Environmental Protection Department (AAD) states that the following people have a free-fishing right when they carry the required document:

• people under 18, with a document allowing identification;
• recipients of a state social-insurance pension, excluding recipients of officer and service-member pensions, with a pension-recipient certificate;
• people with disabilities, with a disability certificate;
• a person granted free fishing rights by the relevant fishing-area user, with the required documents.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Environment's July 2026 explanation says this documented free-fishing right operates in waters where recreational fishing is not prohibited, including limited fisheries, except private artificial waters. Limited-fishery measures and conditions still apply. The right does not remove species, size, method, access or protected-area rules.

All people may fish without buying the ordinary permit on 16 February, 11 March, 6 July and 15 August in state waters where recreational fishing is not prohibited and limited fishing is not organised. Check the exact water before relying on a free-fishing day.

Lithuania's Environmental Protection Department (AAD) lists the eligible categories and the document required for each one. It does not separately describe how evidence issued outside Lithuania is assessed. If your document was issued outside Lithuania, ask AAD before travelling which evidence you should carry. Where valid for the chosen water, the ordinary permit remains an option; it does not replace a limited-fishing card or permission for private water.

Basic inland rules visitors often miss

The current official guidance says an angler may normally use up to four recreational fishing tools at one time. No more than two may use a bait fish or piece of fish, and the general combined hook limit is six. A double or treble counts as one hook. From a moving watercraft, one angler may normally use no more than two rods; when the craft is anchored or otherwise stopped, the ordinary conditions apply.

The limits change at sea and specialist rules cover bait collection, nets, crayfish traps, ice tackle, sonar and underwater fishing. Prohibited gear can also create a problem merely by being carried or kept near a water.

Read the complete allowed and prohibited gear guide

The general retained catch weight is up to 5 kg per fishing session. The Curonian Lagoon has a separate 7 kg rule. Exceptions and species-specific numbers still matter, and some waters have stricter or conservation-focused conditions. Fish kept by different anglers must be stored separately.

Do not use these summary numbers as a complete checklist. Before fishing, open the current AAD memo for:

• closed seasons;
• minimum and maximum sizes;
• per-species numbers;
• prohibited river sections and protected areas;
• tackle and bait restrictions;
• limited-water conditions;
• waters with special ecological-management rules.

The guide's fish species and retention table explains the ordinary size, number and weight limits in English, with the main exceptions kept visible.

Sea fishing has an extra reporting step

Since 1 January 2025, a Baltic recreational fishing trip must be registered in eLaimikis: start the trip, enter catches and finish the trip. The official guidance says a shore angler reports personally, while the boat captain records the anglers aboard. This is separate from inland ALIS permits and salmon or sea-trout card reporting.

The Lithuanian Fisheries Service says identification uses Lithuania's Electronic Government Gateway. Before planning independent shore fishing, make sure you can sign in and report a trip. For a charter, ask the captain in writing who will file the report, or request guidance from the Fisheries Service. A fishing permit alone does not complete the sea-fishing reporting requirements.

Protected areas and closed places

A national or regional park is not automatically closed to angling, but its reserves, seasonal conservation zones and visitor rules still apply. For example, the official AAD FAQ identifies Krokų Lanka botanical-zoological reserve, Kniaupas Bay and the Nemunas front-delta strict nature reserve as places where fishing is prohibited.

A permit is also not permission to drive through a forest, launch anywhere, cross a private garden, camp on an unapproved shore or use a motor where watercraft restrictions apply.

AAD's current responsible-camping guidance says a private landowner, manager or user may not obstruct access within the general 5 m strip to the waterline. That does not give a visitor permission to walk through a private yard, use another person's pier or platform, park on private land, damage vegetation or use private infrastructure. Where the bank, terrain, protected-area rule or lawful structure changes the situation, confirm access locally instead of forcing a route.

AAD also publishes a water-specific restrictions page and map. The authority warns that mapped boundaries are indicative rather than absolutely precise and recommends avoiding fishing directly on a restriction boundary. Save the exact legal description, not only a map screenshot.

Border waters

Parts of the Curonian Lagoon and lower Nemunas system are associated with Lithuania's external border. These arrangements are not controlled by the fishing permit.

In its 30 January 2026 Curonian Lagoon reminder, the State Border Guard Service said people fishing or otherwise entering designated border waters must be entered in the relevant VSAT list, inform the appropriate border unit before entering and after returning, and carry identity documentation. The border strip and the more restricted state-border protection zone are separate areas. Seasonal signs or buoys may not always be present.

For a visitor, the sensible solution is to obtain the current permission and notification instructions from VSAT and use an established local captain or guide. Never navigate toward a border line based only on a consumer map, footprints or other boats.

The five-minute check before you fish

1. Name the exact water and, for a river, the exact section.
2. Find it in ALIS and check whether it is leased or limited.
3. Read the latest AAD fishing memo and any card conditions.
4. Check the planned rods, hooks, bait and specialist equipment.
5. Confirm legal shore access, launch point and watercraft restrictions.
6. Carry the correct permit number, identity document and any proof of free-fishing rights.
7. If at sea or near a border, confirm reporting and border requirements separately.

Official sources

• AAD fishing permits guide
• AAD current fishing periods, amounts and sizes page
• AAD fishing tools and methods
• AAD free fishing rights
• AAD frequently asked questions
• AAD water-specific fishing restrictions
• Environmental Protection Department: responsible camping, vehicles and shoreline access
• VSAT Curonian Lagoon border-water reminder, 30 January 2026
• Ministry permit update for foreign citizens and 2026 prices
• ALIS environmental permit system
• Lithuanian State Border and Protection of the State Border Act