I found some information on the WDFW web site regarding licenses, and have
pasted it below.

Kevin Li
Ballard, WA
kdli at msn.com

Fishing and hunting license sales
to be computerized March 1, 2001
Internet Sales Scheduled to Begin After May 1
For more information: Licensing goes WILD!
WILD System Frequently Asked Questions
Social Security Number Collection Frequently Asked Questions

OLYMPIA- A computerized recreational licensing system which promises to
speed customer service, improve accounting and make it possible to buy
licenses from home or the road goes into operation March 1.
The new hunting and fishing license sales system, known as the Washington
Interactive Licensing Database (WILD), was developed by MCI WorldCom
Communications, Inc., under a contract with the Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
Besides computerizing in-person license sales, the WILD system will offer
hunters and fishers the option of purchasing licenses by telephone at
(1-866-246-9453), which also goes into operation March 1.
After May 1, recreational license sales also are scheduled to be available
over the Internet.
Customers purchasing licenses in person at WDFW offices or sporting goods
stores and other retail outlets will be issued license documents on the
spot. Those making purchases over the telephone or Internet will be issued
an authorization number for use while the physical license is mailed.
Persons submitting applications for special permit big-game hunts must use
an interactive telephone number (1-877-945-3492).
"The arrival of the WILD system will improve service for our customers while
offering our biologists, business managers and enforcement officers better
information to help them do their jobs," said WDFW Director Jeff Koenings,
PhD.
Operating from a central database linked to individual computer terminals at
WDFW offices and hundreds of private license dealers statewide, the WILD
system will replace manual license sales, which previously took months to
tally. The system will be used for all sales of recreational licenses and
also will issue hunt transport tags, special permits and raffle tickets, as
well as fishing catch record cards as needed.
In order to accommodate some unique situations a two-day fishing stamp will
still be sold without using the WILD system in areas without telephone
service and by some charter operators in coastal communities.
Among improvements over the existing manual license system, the WILD system
is expected to:
Speed license sales by cutting the time it typically takes to purchase a
license by half.
Improve information on hunting and fishing effort to better guide WDFW
species management.
Offer more timely information on license sales trends, which in turn will
improve WDFW revenue projections.
Collect license revenues from private dealers more quickly and efficiently
through daily electronic fund transfers.
Improve hunting and fishing enforcement activities by reducing license
fraud.
The WILD system was developed after the Legislature directed WDFW to
streamline and modernize its license system in 1996.Automated recreational
license systems are already in operation in a number of other states,
including Idaho and Oregon.
To pay for the WILD system a 9.5 percent transaction fee, approved by the
Legislature, will be levied on each license sale. In return, MCI WorldCom
Communications, Inc. is providing all the computer equipment, software and
training to operate the WILD system for the next five years.
Once the WILD system goes into operation, Social Security numbers will be
collected from all license applicants, as required by federal law. That law
was enacted as part of a nationwide effort to improve child support
compliance. Applicants who are declared by the state Department of Social
and Health Services (DSHS) as being six months or more in arrears on
child-support payments, will be automatically blocked from purchasing a
recreational license until DSHS clears their names. Social Security numbers
will not be printed on license documents and will not be visible on WILD
computer terminals once they are entered. For more information, see the WDFW
FAQ on the Social Security number collection.
Return to WDFW Home Page