California State Parks Announces Strengthened Mussel Sticker Program to Protect California Waterways
Left: A boat propeller infested with quagga mussels. Right: a pipe encrusted with golden mussels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Photos from California State Parks.
What you need to know: The Mussel Fee Sticker increase will help expand critical prevention efforts as invasive golden mussels continue to spread in California.
SACRAMENTO — California State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) today announced an increase to the state’s Mussel Fee Sticker to help strengthen California’s ability to protect freshwater waterways, recreational boating access, water infrastructure and aquatic ecosystems from invasive mussels.
Effective Oct. 22, the Mussel Fee Sticker is $21 when first purchased during an even-numbered calendar year and $42 when first purchased during an odd-numbered calendar year. The $42 fee covers the full two-year sticker cycle. State law allows for the fee to be adjusted in odd-numbered years.
For a boater purchasing a sticker for a full two-year cycle, the update increases the cost from $16 to $42. The increase reflects a significant expansion of California’s invasive mussel prevention needs at a time when the state is confronting a new and rapidly evolving threat to its waterways.
“California’s waterways are essential to recreation, local economies, drinking water, agriculture, power generation and the health of our natural resources,” said Ramona Fernandez, deputy director of DBW. “We recognize that any fee increase affects boat owners. This strengthened Mussel Fee Sticker program will allow California to invest more into protecting waterways from the growing threat of invasive mussels and help waterbody managers keep those waters healthy, accessible and open for recreation.”
Why the Fee is Increasing
California established the Mussel Fee Sticker program in 2012 to help prevent the spread of quagga and zebra mussels. In 2025, Assembly Bill 149 revised the program to address all species of invasive mussels and directed changes to the fee structure beginning in 2026.
The expansion comes amid an urgent new invasive species threat: golden mussels, which were first detected in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in October 2024. Since then, detections have expanded into additional California waterways and water infrastructure. Golden mussels reproduce rapidly, attach in dense colonies to hard surfaces and can be moved between waterbodies on boats, trailers and in residual water. Golden mussels and other invasive mussels can clog water intakes and pipes, damage water-delivery and power infrastructure, harm fisheries and aquatic food webs, attach to boat hulls and engines, increase maintenance costs and contribute to boating restrictions. Because eradicating mussels after they enter the waterway often fails, prevention is critical. The increased Mussel Fee Sticker provides additional resources to strengthen prevention efforts and helps protect mussel-free waterbodies.
What the Mussel Fee Covers
Fees paid by boat owners support invasive mussel prevention efforts, including grants administered by DBW for eligible waterbody managers that allow boating and fishing recreation, as well as prevention work conducted by partner agencies. Funding supports watercraft inspections, decontamination, early-detection monitoring, prevention planning and public education designed to help reduce the spread of invasive mussels.
What Boaters Need to Know About Sticker Requirements
State law requires California-registered recreational vessels operated in freshwater to purchase and display a current Mussel Fee Sticker on their vessel. The sticker is purchased separately from vessel registration through the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The DMV provides two stickers, which must be displayed on the vessel, one on each side of the hull next to and in line with the CF number and vessel registration stickers.
Vessels used exclusively in marine or salt water remain exempt from the Mussel Fee. However, the Mussel Fee Stickers must be purchased before operating in freshwater, including in inland waterways, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and in areas east of Chipps Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Law enforcement officers may cite a freshwater boater operating a vessel without the required Mussel Fee Sticker.
Preventing Mussel Spread Starts with Every Boater
Boaters play a critical role in protecting California waterways. Before leaving a waterbody and before launching somewhere new, boaters can help prevent the spread by remembering to always Clean, Drain and Dry their vessel, trailer and equipment. They should also follow all local inspection, quarantine and decontamination requirements. These actions, combined with statewide prevention funding, will help reduce the risk of moving invasive mussels to new waterways and help preserve recreational access for the boating public.
Mussel Fee Stickers may be purchased through the DMV online at dmv.ca.gov/musselfee, at a DMV field office, or at participating American Automobile Association offices for members. For more information on the Mussel Fee Sticker, visit DBW’s Invasive Mussel webpage and click on “More Information on the Mussel Fee Sticker.”
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