License Agent Information

Thank you for your interest in becoming an authorized License Agent (Agent) for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)! Our Agents issue licenses through our Internet Point of Sale (IPOS) Equipment and receive a 5% handling fee for each fee based item sold. To become an Agent you must meet and agree with the Agent Requirements listed below, complete an online Agent Application, and sign a License Agent Contract to complete the process.

Agent Requirements

High Speed Internet Connection

Each location (outlet) that would like to provide license sales must have a high speed Internet connection (cable, DSL, or satellite) that can be connected to our IPOS terminal. For business that are not in an area with high speed Internet, you must inform CDFW and obtain written approval to use a Dial-Up Internet connection.

Counter Space for IPOS Equipment

Each outlet will need a secure counter space to place the IPOS Equipment. The IPOS cabling is minimal; however, cabling for Internet connection and a power source must be considered when locating the IPOS equipment.

IPOS Terminal
17”H x 19”W x 12”D
photo of point of sale terminal
Exact model not shown

License Printer
7.5”H x 8”W x 11.5” D
photo of point of sale license printer

Equipment Deposit

Each Agent must submit a $1,000 IPOS Equipment Deposit, for each IPOS terminal, prior to contract approval. The Equipment Deposit is refundable upon contract dissolution, if the IPOS Equipment is returned within the terms of the contract.

License Agent Terminal Support Fee

All outlets are subject to a $15.00 weekly License Agent Terminal and Support Fee (LATS). The LATS Fee is waived for outlets that meet our annual minimum sales threshold of $6,000. High volume sales outlets that require a second set of IPOS Equipment, must meet $125,000 in annual sales for the LATS fee to be waived for the second terminal. Every January, we review prior year’s sales to determine if the LATS Fee may be waived for each outlet.

Bank Account

Agents must provide a bank account that allows for Automated Clearing House (ACH) or Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) at the time of completing the online Agent Application. All license sales revenue (except the Agent Handling Fee) at all times belongs to the State and must be accounted for separately from your other funds. License sales revenues, weekly LATS fees, and any additional charges incurred are remitted to CDFW via an ACH/EFT transfer on a weekly basis (Wednesday) for the prior week's (Saturday - Friday) sales (CDFW Billing Schedule (PDF)). Agent handling fees are never included in the funds remitted to CDFW.

Responsibility and Training

Agents are responsible for all actions of their employees and should ensure that all staff are properly trained and have their own login and password for the IPOS Equipment prior to performing license sales. Agents are responsible for, but not limited to, the following actions:

Issuing licenses accurately and in compliance with all laws, policies, and issuing instructions provided by the CDFW
Maintaining customer data confidentiality
Charging the appropriate fees, Agents are prohibited from charging more than authorized by California Statutes
Properly caring for the IPOS Equipment and reporting any hardware or software related issues
Returning all IPOS Equipment timely (replacements and upon account closure)

Each outlet is sent an IPOS Installation and Retail User Guide; plus, we have downloadable online Training Videos, reference materials, and can schedule additional over the phone training, if needed.

Getting Started!

If you agree with the requirements above and want to start the online Agent Application process or if you have any questions, contact our New Agent Account desk at (916) 928-5981 or email Agent@wildlife.ca.gov.

Welcome to the Agent IPOS Training & Interactive Tutorials

NEW TRAINING VIDEOS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE TERMINAL - The latest system enhancement included a new feature that integrated our License Agent Training Videos on the sales terminal. Login and select Training Videos to watch the training videos directly from your sales terminal.

IMPORTANT: The following files must be downloaded first, and then opened: click link, save file to desktop or other computer location, then click the saved file to open.

Customer Profiles

License Sales

Administration

Manuals and Instructions

The following manuals and instructions provide assistance with our Automated License Data System (ALDS) Internet Point of Sale (IPOS) equipment and sales process. For more in-depth training Agents should refer to the online training tab for downloadable training videos or contact our Agent Help Desk or Technical Support for additional assistance.

Display Posters

To better assist customers and sales staff, Agents should display the following posters near your CDFW license sales area.

Account Changes

Agents must update us with any changes that may affect your account. The changes must be submitted in writing by the owner or designated contact on file.

Contract Changes: To update your business name, address or ownership type (e.g., sole proprietorship, LLC, etc.) listed on your contract, complete the Change of Business Name, Ownership Type, or Address (PDF Form) and submit any supporting documentation (if required) to the address, email, or fax number provided on the form.
Bank Account Changes: To update your bank account on file, complete the Change of Bank Account Form (PDF Form). This form must be submitted by our Secure document upload process. DO NOT send your document via fax or email. Request a secure document upload link by emailing Agent@wildlife.ca.gov. You will receive a response with a link to upload your documentation securely.

Account Cancels, Credits, and Returns

All incorrectly sold or printed CDFW Items must be returned to the CDFW's License and Revenue Branch timely to help prevent unnecessary account charges. The CDFW cannot authorize credit if a document was not canceled timely and was duplicated by another location, is expired or returned six months after the sales date, or returned without a valid reason.

Canceled Documents: Agents should immediately cancel incorrectly sold items through the CDFW terminal's Administration Menu after the error occurs. Canceled documents are immediately credited to your account and must be returned within 30 days. If canceled documents are not returned, your account is charged at face value for the unreturned canceled document.
Non-Canceled Documents: CDFW Items that were sold incorrectly (e.g., Gift Voucher not redeemed correctly) that could not be canceled, should immediately contact our Agent Help Desk for assistance at (916) 928-2537. All CDFW Items being returned must be submitted on a Document Return Form (PDF), include an explanation for the return, and any supporting documentation to substantiate the claim for account credit.

Agent News

Sport Fishing Sales Reminders...

California recreational abalone fishery is closed for 2019.
Annual Sport Fishing Licenses are valid for use from January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019.
Ocean Enhancement Validations are only required for anglers fishing in ocean waters south of Point Arguello (Santa Barbara County).

Hunting Sales Reminders...

NEW Reduced-Price Tags for Resident Juniors - Resident Junior license holders that are at least 12 years of age may purchase a bear tag for a reduced price of $26.18. Junior Hunters who are successful in drawing a tag for bighorn sheep, elk, or pronghorn will also pay a reduced tag fee.
Non-lead Ammunition Required July 1, 2019 - Effective July 1, 2019, non-lead ammunition will be required when taking any wildlife with a firearm anywhere in California.
September 1 - Dove season opens statewide and customers may start applying for waterfowl reservations to hunt on State-operated wildlife areas.
2019/2020 Hunting Licenses are valid for use from July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020.

Newsletters

License Agents are mailed newsletters three times a year that contain sales information and reminders for the upcoming seasons.

Sport Fishing Newsletter (PDF) (updated in November)
Hunting Newsletter (PDF) (updated in April)
Waterfowl Newsletter (PDF) (updated in August)

Do License Agents receive a profit from selling licenses?

Yes, License Agent receive a 5% handling fee for each item sold. The 5% handling fee is calculated using the base item fee and is incorporated into the total license fee that is charged to the customer. The CDFW does not sweep the 5% handling fee during the EFT process.

Is sales tax charged on licenses?

No. CDFW items are not subject to sales tax. License Agents are prohibited from charging any fee for CDFW items or services in excess of the amount established by California Statutes or stated on the face of the CDFW item.

Do License Agents have to pay for the IPOS equipment?

License agents are subject to pay a $15 weekly License Agent Terminal and Support (LATS) Fee for each IPOS terminal. However, the weekly LATS fee for one IPOS terminal is waived for qualifying outlets who meet the $6,000 minimum annual sales threshold. The LATS fee for a second IPOS terminal may be waived for high volume qualifying outlets that have $125,000 in annual sales.

How does CDFW collect license sales revenues from License Agents?

License agents are required to provide a bank account that allows EFTs to the CDFW at the time of enrollment. The license sales revenues are remitted to CDFW via electronic fund transfer (EFT) on a weekly basis (Wednesday) and include all CDFW item fees collected from sales occurring from 12:00 a.m. Saturday through 11:59 p.m. Friday, as well as any outstanding charges (i.e. terminal fees, unreturned cancel document charges, etc.). There are three components to the process: the Sales Period; Weekly Statement; and EFT (sweep).

For Example: the license sales period is from Saturday through Friday. A weekly Statement report is generated on Sunday and can be viewed via the IPOS terminal or Agent Services Website. License agents have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to review, reconcile and notify CDFW of any discrepancy prior to the EFT occurring on Wednesday.

How are reconciliation problems handled?

When license agents notify CDFW of disputed items and/or discrepancies, CDFW will adjust the agent's account and remove items from the scheduled EFT. CDFW and the license agent will work to resolve the problem ASAP and adjust the license agent's account accordingly.

Is there be an appeal process for penalty and interest or NSF charges applied to agent account if a bank transfer, internal accounting, or other unforeseen error occurs that causes there to be an incorrect amount of funds available?

Consistent with current statute and practice, penalty and interest charges may be appealed and waived under certain instances and circumstances.

When credit cards are used to purchase a license, does it go through our account or a CDFW account? Who covers the fees associated with a credit card purchase?

License agents will continue to be responsible for their own sales and associated credit card processing fees.

What types of training is available to License Agents?

License agents are provided an IPOS Installation Guide and Retail User Manual. Plus, we have Online Training Videos or can schedule over the phone training, if needed. For specific questions or for immediate help, license agents may contact the CDFW’s License Agent Help Desk at (916) 928-2537 or email Agent@wildlife.ca.gov.

How does a License Agent sell and issue a license (i.e. Collect customer data and issue a license?)

Most transactions require the license agent to retrieve the customer’s profile for which the license is intended, this can be done three different ways; such as scanning a previous license, scanning or swiping an driver’s license or identification card, or by entering search criteria.

ALDS automatically limits items available, based on customer qualifications, such as age, residency and previous purchases. For an in-depth view of the sales process, view our Online Training Videos.

What forms of identification can the License Agent accept for purposes of selling a license?

The following are acceptable forms of identification required to purchase a license:

Any license document or GO ID number previously issued via ALDS
A valid driver's license or identification card issued to him or her by the Department of Motor Vehicles or by the entity issuing driver's licenses from the licensee's state of domicile
US Birth Certificate
US Certificate or Report of Birth Abroad
INS American Indian Card or Tribal Identification Card
Birth Certificate or passport issued from a US Territory
US Passport
US Military Identification Cards (Active or reserve duty, dependent, retired member, discharged from service, medical/religious personnel)
Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship.
A foreign government issued photo identification

Customers less than 18 years of age can also provide any form of identification described above; or a parent or legal guardian's identification as described above.

Does the License Agent have any responsibility for verifying that purchasers are who they say they are?

Yes. In accordance with the License Agent Contract, license agents agrees to comply with all applicable laws, rules, processes, policies and issuing instructions provided by CDFW. The License Agent agrees that if he/she has a question or concern related to the issuance of CDFW Items or the collection of data and dissemination of customer information, he/she will promptly contact CDFW LRB for instructions.

What is the minimum customer information required to sell a license?

Customer ID, name, address, physical description, phone number and DOB are required for all license sales.

How does the system handle multiple licenses being purchased as gifts, as is common at Christmas?

Multiple profiles can be retrieved for one transaction. If a customer's profile cannot be retrieved or created due to lack of customer information, a person can purchase a Gift Voucher that is redeemable for an annual Resident Sport Fishing License. An individual may redeem the Gift Voucher by providing their customer information at any license agent, CDFW sales office or via our Online License Sales and Services website. Gift Vouchers are only redeemable for the corresponding license year annual resident sport fishing license.

How are "denials" handled for licenses? for tags?

Customers who have restrictions on file may not be able to purchase certain license items and should be instructed to contact CDFW at the number provided on the IPOS terminal.

If an item does not appear on the IPOS terminal, the customer most likely does not qualify for the item based upon age or residency requirements.

If the item appears but is grayed out, the customer may not have met the prerequisite (i.e. hunter education) to obtain that item or already has the max quantity for that item.

What happens when an incorrect item is sold?

The system should minimize issuance errors because customers are only offered licenses for which they qualify. If a customer is sold the wrong item, the license agent has up to 4 hours to cancel the license document(s) after the sale. Once canceled, the license document(s) are inactive and the license agent is not charged for the sale. However, license agents are required to mail canceled document(s) to CDFW's License and Revenue Branch, within 45 days; if canceled documents are not received by CDFW the license agents will be charged for the unreturned canceled document(s).

License agents should contact CDFW's License Agent Help Desk at (916) 928-2537 for license documents sold outside of the four hour cancel period. The CDFW will help determine the best course of action on how to proceed to credit your CDFW account for the incorrectly sold item.

How do i sell licenses if the system is not working?

License agents should immediately call the ALDS Help Desk to diagnosis and resolve problems with their system. There are two possible types of outages: Local to your point of sale and system wide.

Local outages: the ALDS IPOS system is offline due to a local power outage, failed internet connectivity, and/or equipment failure, and a customer needs to be licensed immediately, license agents should direct the customer to purchase the license through another venue (another license agent, Internet, or telephone sales). License agents are also encouraged to place the IPOS system and network equipment on an interruptible power supply (UPS) or battery backup.

System-wide outages: In the event the ALDS IPOS system has a system-wide outage, license agents can call the ALDS Help Desk at (800) 964-7812.