If you want to fish, you need a fishing license. The prerequisite is the fisherman's examination. You can submit this to the fisheries authority responsible for your place of residence (public order offices of the districts and independent cities).

The dates for the fishermen's examinations are determined by the districts or independent cities as the responsible fisheries authorities. The test shall be carried out at least once a year. As a rule, 2 exams take place per year. The date of the examination will be announced by the fisheries authority at least 2 months in advance, up to four weeks before the examination you must have registered with the fisheries authority and paid the examination fee.

The fisherman's examination comprises 15 questions each in the fields of hydrology, fish science, equipment science and law, i.e. a total of 60 questions, of which at least 75% must be answered correctly within 2 hours.

In order to be admitted to the examination, proof of participation in an officially confirmed preparatory course must be provided. The start of the course must not be more than 18 months before the examination date. The course lasts at least 30 hours and is offered by fishing clubs and educational institutions in the respective district. The participation fees are charged by the providers themselves and can vary, for example, depending on the number of participants. Information on the courses offered can be obtained from the local fisheries authority. In addition, it is possible to prepare for the fisherman's examination with the help of the online application "Fisherman's Examination in Saxony-Anhalt". An exam simulation enables an assessment of the acquired level of knowledge. In addition, information about upcoming exam dates can be found in the online application.

For children from the age of 8 and citizens who only want to fish for peace, there is the possibility to take a youth or fried fish fisherman's examination under facilitated conditions in the form of an examination interview. These tests are held by numerous fishing clubs. The dates for the exams will also be communicated in the online application.

For fishing in the respective water, you also need a fishing permit (fishing permit), which must be obtained from the owner or fishing tenant of the water.