The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says it’s expecting to launch a new electronic licensing system to purchase hunting and fishing licenses in the early summer.
The system won’t be online for the fishing opener Saturday, May 9 to avoid being overloaded during the busiest time of the year. But when the system does launch in its first phase this summer, it will be accessible to hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts.
Minnesotans will be able to go online, use a new mobile app or visit a license agent in person to purchase fishing and hunting licenses.
“I, for one, have been keeping my paper license on the back of my phone underneath the phone cover for years,” DNR commissioner Sarah Strommen said Thursday. “With this new system, I won't have to do that anymore, because my license will be in the app and available anytime I need it, no matter where I am.”
The new system will also allow Minnesotans to store their licenses on paper as a PDF, through email or within the mobile app. New features include linking licenses between family members and spouses to make purchases easier for groups.
“Because of Minnesotans’ passion for the outdoors and their commitment to conservation, we have some of the nation's most sought-after outdoor experiences and we are excited that this new system will make it easier for everyone to enjoy our outdoors,” Strommen said.
The summer launch comes after it was initially planned to debut over a year ago. After the first phase of the system launch, recreational vehicle and watercraft registration will be added at a later date.
Earlier this month, a state audit raised “significant concerns” about the rollout of the licensing system that it warned would result in delays and issues throughout the development process. Some of the concerns included the large amount of data the new system would have to handle.
According to a 2024 budget report, the Minnesota DNR manages 2.4 million license sales transactions for hunting, fishing and other activities a year, in addition to 1.4 million registrations for recreational boats and vehicles.
Minnesota IT Services Commissioner Jon Eichten said on Thursday multiple agencies have worked to remedy the issues that were highlighted in the Office of the Legislative Auditor’s report.
“We concurred with the findings of that report and they aligned to the risk mitigations and quality assurance strategies that we had already put in place ahead of that approach to launch,” he said.
Testing of the system has gone well and now Eichten says he’s confident the system is ready to go live soon.
“At this stage, our focus really goes to the final phases of training, making sure our internal staff and our external partners who support us in this work are ready to engage with the new system and some of the new processes that go along with it,” he said.
