How to Get Your FWID in BC
Quick answer: log in to the province's WILD system with a BC Services Card Account or a Basic BCeID and register. Your Fish and Wildlife ID is free, takes a few minutes, and is yours permanently. You can also get one in person at a FrontCounter BC office, a Service BC office, or a participating vendor.
What an FWID Actually Is
Your FWID is your permanent identification number in WILD, the BC government's licensing system for hunting and freshwater fishing. It is not a licence. It is the account your licences hang off. Every hunting licence, species licence, and Limited Entry Hunting application in BC is tied to an FWID, and since February 2026 you need one to buy a freshwater fishing licence as well. Old Angler Numbers were retired at the end of March 2026 and were not converted, so anglers need an FWID too.
In the field, you must carry photo ID and be able to produce your FWID number. Conservation officers look your profile up on their devices and verify your licences against it on the spot.
Do I Need CORE Before I Can Get an FWID?
No. This surprises people. The FWID itself is free and open to anyone, and you do not need CORE to register for one. What CORE gives you is the hunter education credential that gets added to your FWID profile, and that credential is what lets you buy a hunting licence or apply for LEH. So the honest order for a new hunter is: take CORE, register your FWID, have your credentials verified, then buy your licence.
Credentials: The Step People Miss
Credentials are how WILD confirms who you are, where you live, and what training you hold. If you log in with a BC Services Card Account, your identity and BC residency are verified automatically. Your CORE completion is the piece Silvercore is directly involved in, and it is the one that unlocks hunting.
We run the CORE Hunter Education course in person, and through our partnership with the BC Wildlife Federation there is an online CORE course you can take at your own pace. If you learned to hunt somewhere else and just need the paper, we also run CORE exam challenges. Any of the three ends with the credential your FWID profile needs.
Do I Ever Renew My FWID?
One number, for life. You do not renew an FWID. Your hunting licence is an annual purchase, your species licences and tags come and go, but the FWID underneath them stays the same. If you had one years ago and lost track of it, do not register a second one. Use the Find my FWID option in WILD and it will be sent to the phone number or email on your profile.
After Your FWID: Licence, Tags, LEH
From here, the path is short. Buy your hunting licence through WILD, add the species licences you need, and put in for LEH if you are drawing. The full walkthrough is in our guide on how to hunt in BC, and if your FWID profile has old information on it, here is how to update your FWID.
One more thing worth sorting while you are setting up. The Silvercore Club includes $5 million in third-party liability insurance through Lloyd's, valid across North America for your hunting and shooting, along with free online courses and The Outpost podcast. It is $59 a year, and it is the piece of kit most new hunters do not know they are missing. Join the Club here.
As of August 2026. FWID registration and credential requirements are set by the Province of British Columbia and can change. Confirm current requirements in WILD or with FrontCounter BC.
