Do I need a permit to stock fish in my pond in Pennsylvania?

The rule. Since January 1, 2024, anyone who stocks fish into Pennsylvania waters, including private and farm ponds, must file a Notice of Stocking with PFBC first. It is free, filed online through HuntFishPA or on paper form PFBC-NOS-001, one notice per waterbody (one notice can cover several stockings there in the same calendar year), and your hatchery or dealer may file it for you. A copy must be at the pond while fish are stocked. Not needed: closed decorative ponds with no outflow to other waters, aquarium fish kept indoors, stocking under a grass carp permit, and waters inside a licensed propagation facility. Fish from another state need PFBC's written permission before release, and fish from pet stores or ornamental fish dealers may never be released. A Waterways Conservation Officer may warn you or issue a $150 citation.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: 58 Pa. Code § 71a.5, Notice of Stocking to the Commission This may be outdated

What to have ready. Your name and address; the waterbody's name and location (latitude and longitude preferred) and the size of the stocking area; the date range and number of stockings; each species, its size and the approximate number or pounds; and the producer, hatchery or dealer and its state. One notice per waterbody can cover several stockings there in the same calendar year.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: 58 Pa. Code § 71a.5, Notice of Stocking to the Commission This may be outdated

Which fish are allowed. Fish you stock must also appear on PFBC's "Species by Watershed Approved for Open System (Flow Through) Propagation and Introductions" list for your watershed (Ohio, Erie/Genesee, Susquehanna, Potomac or Delaware). The 2026 list is posted on PFBC's Notice of Stocking pages. Penn State Extension notes that tilapia are considered a non-native, invasive fish in Pennsylvania and are illegal to stock here except as permitted in controlled aquaculture facilities.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Sources: Species by Watershed Approved for Open System (Flow Through) Propagation and Introductions; Fish for Pennsylvania Ponds (updated May 19, 2025) This may be outdated

Fish from another state. Separate from the Notice of Stocking, fish brought into Pennsylvania from another state, province or country need PFBC's prior written permission before they are released. Requests go to PFBC's Executive Director; the address is on PFBC's Notice of Stocking page. A fish health certificate may be required for fish brought into Pennsylvania or stocked into its waters; PFBC's Fish Health Inspection Protocol sets out when and how.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Notice of Stocking: Fish Health Certificate Requirements This may be outdated

Fish you caught somewhere else. Moving a fish species from one Pennsylvania water into another drainage where that species is not always present needs PFBC's prior written consent. When you stock fish you caught elsewhere, the Notice of Stocking lists them as "Wild Caught" with the water they came from.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Notice of Stocking FAQs; 58 Pa. Code § 71a.5(a)(2) This may be outdated

Pet-store and aquarium fish. Fish that come from pet stores or tropical and ornamental fish dealers may not be released into Pennsylvania waters, a farm or backyard pond included.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: 58 Pa. Code § 71a.5(a)(3)(ii) This may be outdated

Decorative garden ponds. PFBC defines an ornamental pond as an outdoor pond built as a landscape feature, with a closed water circulation system and no risk of contacting other waters. Ponds built for fishing, aquaculture or holding baitfish are not ornamental ponds, so stocking them needs a Notice of Stocking.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Notice of Stocking FAQs: ornamental ponds This may be outdated

Grass carp are different. Grass carp stocked under a valid PFBC grass carp permit don't need a separate Notice of Stocking; report them as that program directs. See the grass carp guide.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: 58 Pa. Code § 71a.5, Notice of Stocking to the Commission This may be outdated

Derbies. Stocking for a fishing derby or tournament also needs a PFBC Special Activities Permit.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: 58 Pa. Code § 71a.5, Notice of Stocking to the Commission This may be outdated

Choosing fish (care, not law). Penn State calls bass and bluegill by far the most popular and successful pairing for Pennsylvania ponds, stocked with the bass a year older than the bluegill. It suggests trout only as a spring-to-fall "put-and-take" fishery in most ponds because summer water gets too warm, and it advises against walleye, northern pike, muskellunge and pickerel in small ponds. Its fact sheet gives stocking rates.