Where is the corn snake legal?

The following list of species native to Georgia may not be held as a pet regardless of its origin or morphology.

Corn snake is named on Georgia DNR's own list of native species that cannot be kept as pets, and the agency is explicit that captive-bred stock is treated the same as wild-caught: origin does not matter. This is a real blanket ban on a species commonly sold in pet stores elsewhere, grounded in Georgia's wild animal statute, O.C.G.A. § 27-5-4/27-5-5. We could not pin an exact numbered subrule beyond that statutory basis; the DNR guidance page is unambiguous regardless.

How this rule works: Corn Snake and Milksnake both appear by name on DNR's own prohibited-native-species list, with the page stating plainly that origin or morphology doesn't matter.

Serpentes (all species)

Hawaii bans the entire snake suborder by name.

How this rule works: Also carries the default rule: introduction is 'prohibited except for those animals on the lists' incorporated in § 4-71-6.5.

A permit shall be required for any other exotic mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians, or nongame species not specifically exempted by Section 4.4.

We read New Jersey's exempted-species list directly: it names Boa constrictor, garter snakes and ribbon snakes among reptiles, but not corn snake. So a permit is required. Worth flagging clearly: New Jersey also lists the corn snake as a state Endangered species (its native range barely reaches southern NJ, and the wild population was decimated by habitat loss and poaching before an endangered listing in 1984). Per NJ Fish & Wildlife's own species account, "the collection or possession of wild corn snakes is prohibited by the New Jersey Endangered Species Act and is punishable with fines and/or imprisonment." A captive-bred, non-New Jersey-origin animal is a permit case under 7:25-4.5; a wild-collected New Jersey animal is a straight endangered-species violation, a much harsher regime.

How this rule works: Official NJDEP Fish & Wildlife exempted-species list; 4.5 requires a permit for any exotic reptile not named in 4.4's list, which covers Boa constrictor, garter snakes and ribbon snakes but not corn snake, milk snake, or rosy boa.

Illinois caps possession of native Illinois herptiles at 8 specimens total and 4 per species without a permit, and a sport fishing license is required to collect any native species from the wild. Corn snake is Illinois native. A $50 Herpetoculture Permit exempts a keeper from this possession cap. Boidae, by contrast, is specifically exempted from the whole permit process (relevant to rosy boa, not this species).

How this rule works: Official Joint Committee on Administrative Rules text; §885.20 sets the 8-total/4-per-species cap on native herptiles and §885.80 sets the $50 Herpetoculture Permit that exempts a keeper from it.

A snake, lizard, or salamander that is obtained from a permitted breeder or that was possessed before August 1, 2021, may be possessed as a pet.

Since August 2021, Minnesota requires any pet snake to come from a permitted breeder (or be grandfathered from before that date). The rule is not limited to Minnesota-native species; it applies to snakes generally.

How this rule works: Subd. 8 states a pet snake, lizard, or salamander must come from a permitted breeder or have been possessed before August 1, 2021; hosted on the MN Revisor of Statutes' own site.

Corn snakes reproduced in captivity and under 20 inches in total length are allowed

South Carolina's 2021 native-reptile law (Act 177) generally bars sale/possession of native reptiles, but carves out captive-bred corn snakes under 20 inches total length as an allowed pet-trade exception. We could not confirm the exact regulation subsection number for this specific size cutoff beyond the Chapter 123-150s series; the substance is corroborated by SCDNR's own herp regulations page describing the general native-species possession scheme.

How this rule works: Official codified text implementing 2021 Act 177; §123-151.3 carves out captive-bred corn snakes under 20 inches and eastern milksnakes under 10 inches from the general native-reptile sale/possession ban.

Nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians except caimans and gavials

Class III wildlife needs no possession permit, and this clause covers a corn snake regardless of origin. But corn snake is Tennessee native, and TWRA practice requires anyone holding a native, nonpoisonous Tennessee reptile to keep documentary evidence of the supplier's name and address and the date of acquisition, to distinguish legitimately-sourced animals from wild-collected ones.

How this rule works: Three classes. Class I is 'all species inherently dangerous to humans such as wolves, bears, lions and poisonous snakes', possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is 'native species, except those listed in other classes'. Class III is everything else and needs no wildlife permit, only whatever the Department of Agriculture requires. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive.

Corn snake is not Pennsylvania native, so the Fish and Boat Commission's native-species possession-limit rule (58 Pa. Code Ch. 79) does not apply. What does apply is the Game Commission's Exotic Wildlife Possession Permit framework, and we could not find a clear species-level exemption list confirming small non-venomous colubrids fall outside it. Left unclear rather than guessed.

How this rule works: Official Pennsylvania Code text of the Game Commission's exotic-wildlife permit framework; no dedicated descriptive PGC web page could be confirmed, and the Commission has issued no new permits under this framework since January 1, 2014.