AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is reminding hunters and anglers that all current year Texas hunting and fishing licenses (except the year-to-date fishing license) expire the end of August, and new licenses for 2019-20 go on sale Thursday, Aug. 15.

Outdoor enthusiasts in Texas purchase more than 2.4 million hunting and fishing licenses annually. Hunters and anglers can purchase licenses online, by phone or in person at any of the agency’s 28 law enforcement field offices, at more than 50 state parks, and at over 1,700 retailers across the state.

Hunting and fishing licenses are available online at www.tpwd.texas.gov/buy, at license retailers or by phone at (800) 895-4248. The online transaction system is available 24/7. Call center hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a required $5 administrative fee for each phone or online transaction, but unlimited items can be purchased during a single transaction for this $5 fee.

New this year, starting Sept. 1, are enhancements to make the licensing process simpler and faster. “Expedited checkout” speeds the process of re-purchasing the same license items bought during the previous three years. TPWD has also made it easier to show proof-of-license. Now hunters and anglers can use an electronic image of their license as proof-of-license and show/display it in any of these ways: (1) an electronic photo of your license, (2) an emailed receipt, (3) via your account within the license point-of-sale system, the Outdoor Annual App or the My Texas Hunt Harvest App (for hunters). You still must have your physical license for any activities requiring tags and the physical federal duck stamp for waterfowl hunting. License buyers will also enjoy a new, more mobile-friendly online system when purchasing on their phone.

In addition to purchasing a new license, hunters can also enter to win any of 10 premium guided hunt packages in the Big Time Texas Hunts drawing.  All lodging and food is included and most of the packages allow winners to bring friends along to hunt. There are packages to hunt bighorn sheep, mule deer, white-tailed deer, nilgai, pronghorn, waterfowl, upland game birds, wild hog and more. New this year is the addition of waterbuck to the Exotic Safari hunt, which offers the chance to hunt gemsbok, scimitar-horned oryx, and axis deer—plus win a bonus Ruger American rifle and Vortex scope, donated by McBride’s Guns in Austin. Big Time Texas Hunts entries are available online for $9 each at www.tpwd.texas.gov/buyentry or for $10 each at license retailers or by phone at (800) 895-4248. Big Time Texas Hunts has raised over $9 million for wildlife research, habitat conservation efforts, and public hunting programs in Texas over the last 20 years.

Resident hunters and anglers can also purchase an entry in the Lifetime License Drawing. Three lucky winners will each win a Lifetime Super Combo License and never need to buy another Texas hunting or fishing license again.  Entries are $5 each and can be purchased online, by phone or at any license retailer. The first entry deadline for the three monthly drawings is Sept. 30.

When making their purchase, license buyers can add a donation of $1, $5, $10 or $20 to help support the Feeding Texas Hunters for the Hungry program or the Veterans Commission’s Veterans Assistance Fund. Donations to the Hunters for the Hungry program provide hunters with a way to donate legally harvested deer to participating processors, and this processed meat goes to local food banks to feed Texas families in need. Donations to the Fund for Veterans Assistance program provides grants to veteran service organizations and nonprofit charitable institutions that assist veterans and their families at the community level throughout Texas.

Hunting and fishing regulations for the new season are available in the Outdoor Annual in print, online and on the Outdoor Annual mobile app. A limited number of Outdoor Annual booklets are available at license retailers.

To get more information on Texas hunting and fishing throughout the year, sign up for free email updates at www.tpwd.texas.gov/email or by texting TPWD HUNT or TPWD FISH and your email address to 468-311 (ex. TPWD HUNT myemail@emailaddress.com).