Fishing Exam Bavaria: Online Exam, 60 Questions, 30-Hour Course, from Age 12

The examining authority is the Bayerische Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft (LfL), Institute for Fisheries Starnberg (§ 4 Abs. 1 AVBayFiG, Art. 48 BayFiG); the administration of the exam is delegated to the Landesfischereiverband Bayern e. V. (§ 4 Abs. 2 AVBayFiG). The legal bases are Art. 48 of the Bavarian Fisheries Act (BayFiG) and §§ 4–9 of the ordinance implementing the Bavarian Fisheries Act (AVBayFiG), as well as the LfL's procedural rules for the online fishing exam (in force since 1 January 2015, last amended 9 January 2024).

The exam is taken on a computer at the exam venue – not from home. The paper contains 60 questions, 12 from each of the five exam areas fish biology, water science, protection and care of fishing waters/fish stock management, fishing tackle and angling practice, and relevant legal provisions; each question has three answers, one is correct. The time is 60 minutes. Anyone who answers more than a quarter of all questions or more than half of the questions in one area incorrectly fails (§ 8 AVBayFiG) – so at least 45 correct in total and at least 6 per area. For a surcharge of €16 there is a read-aloud aid via headphones. The exam is generally held in German only.

Only those who have attended a preparatory course of at least 30 hours including practical instruction are admitted to the exam (§ 6 AVBayFiG) – as an in-person course or as an online live course from a Bavarian provider. There is no separate practical or oral exam in Bavaria. The minimum age is 12 years; the youth fishing licence (Jugendfischereischein) for children from 10 allows fishing when accompanied, without an exam.

The exam fee is €50 (§ 5 AVBayFiG). After you pass the exam, the municipality issues the fishing licence: €35 for life or €7.50 for the annual fishing licence; in addition there is the fishing levy (€40 for five years or €15 for the annual licence, § 9 AVBayFiG).

The LfL publishes the question catalogue for the state fishing exam; the 2023/2024 edition contained 998 text questions and 54 picture questions, and a new edition has applied since 15 December 2025. The LfL declares the question and answer texts to be freely available; the picture questions (fish species, tackle, knots) are subject to the rights of their illustrators. ScheinFit therefore contains the 998 text questions with the official answer (“correct answer” column), translations under every question, explanations and an exam simulation with 12 questions per area in 60 minutes according to the Bavarian pass rule. The picture questions will be added as soon as the rights holders have agreed.