Where is the snapping turtle legal?

Chelydra serpentina. Restricted in 8 of the 11 jurisdictions checked. Every entry quotes the rule it comes from.

Alabama: no restriction found for snapping turtleAlaska: no restriction found for snapping turtleArizona: no restriction found for snapping turtleArkansas: no restriction found for snapping turtleCalifornia: banned for snapping turtleColorado: no restriction found for snapping turtleConnecticut: no restriction found for snapping turtleDelaware: no restriction found for snapping turtleFlorida: no restriction found for snapping turtleGeorgia: no restriction found for snapping turtleHawaii: no restriction found for snapping turtleIdaho: no restriction found for snapping turtleIllinois: no restriction found for snapping turtleIndiana: no restriction found for snapping turtleIowa: conditions apply for snapping turtleKansas: no restriction found for snapping turtleKentucky: no restriction found for snapping turtleLouisiana: conditions apply for snapping turtleMaine: no restriction found for snapping turtleMaryland: no restriction found for snapping turtleMassachusetts: no restriction found for snapping turtleMichigan: no restriction found for snapping turtleMinnesota: no restriction found for snapping turtleMississippi: no restriction found for snapping turtleMissouri: permit required for snapping turtleMontana: no restriction found for snapping turtleNebraska: no restriction found for snapping turtleNevada: no restriction found for snapping turtleNew Hampshire: permit required for snapping turtleNew Jersey: no restriction found for snapping turtleNew Mexico: no restriction found for snapping turtleNew York: no restriction found for snapping turtleNorth Carolina: no restriction found for snapping turtleNorth Dakota: no restriction found for snapping turtleOhio: no restriction found for snapping turtleOklahoma: permit required for snapping turtleOregon: no restriction found for snapping turtlePennsylvania: no restriction found for snapping turtleRhode Island: banned for snapping turtleSouth Carolina: no restriction found for snapping turtleSouth Dakota: no restriction found for snapping turtleTennessee: no restriction found for snapping turtleTexas: no restriction found for snapping turtleUtah: no restriction found for snapping turtleVermont: no restriction found for snapping turtleVirginia: no restriction found for snapping turtleWashington: no restriction found for snapping turtleWest Virginia: no restriction found for snapping turtleWisconsin: no restriction found for snapping turtleWyoming: no restriction found for snapping turtleDistrict of Columbia: no restriction found for snapping turtle

Select a state for the rule behind its colour. Alaska, Hawaii and the District of Columbia are drawn out of position so they can be clicked. The counts include New York City, which has rules separate from the surrounding state and so cannot be shaded on a state map. Listed in full below.

What the colours mean

  • Banned (3)No legal way to keep one, and no permit to apply for.
  • Permit required (3)Legal, but you need a permit or licence before the animal arrives.
  • Conditions apply (2)Legal without a permit only if a stated condition is met, such as a generation, a size or an indoor-only rule.
  • UnclearThe rule genuinely does not resolve for this animal. Ask the agency before relying on it.
  • No restriction foundNothing in the body of law we read restricts this animal here.

Choose an animal

ServalFennec foxPrairie dogCapybaraBurmese pythonHedgehogFerretSugar gliderQuaker parakeetBengal catSnapping turtleBoa constrictorDeguArgentine black and white teguNile monitorTiger salamanderBall pythonChinchillaGreen iguanaSavannah monitorTarantulaVeiled chameleonEmperor scorpionGerbilRussian tortoiseHamsterGuinea pigTokay gecko

Every restriction on the snapping turtle

8 of the 11 jurisdictions checked restrict this animal in some way. The rest had no rule we could find.

California

Banned§ 671(c)(7)(B)
Family Chelyridae-Snapping Turtles: All species (D)

How this rule works: § 671(b) defines (D) detrimental and (W) welfare. § 671.1(a) lists permit types; none covers pet keeping. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession in California before January 1992.

California Code of Regulations Title 14 § 671, via CDFW Restricted Species Laws and Regulations Manual →

New York City

Banned
all members of the family Chelydridae, including snapping turtle and alligator snapping turtle

How this rule works: § 161.01 is the list of animals that may not be kept in the five boroughs. It binds regardless of what New York State allows, which is why the city and the state answer differently for several species.

New York City Health Code Article 161, Animals (NYC Department of Health official PDF) →

Rhode Island

Banned§ 3.17(A)(4)(a)(2)
The possession of native turtles is restricted to those institutions identified within § 3.7(C) of this Part... Turtles considered native to Rhode Island and which possession as pets is prohibited include the following: ...Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina),

Possession is limited to the Department, USFWS, AZA zoos, research institutions and USDA licensed exhibitors.

How this rule works: One of the most species-specific schemes in the country. § 3.6 defines domestic animals, § 3.7 sets general prohibitions, § 3.9 governs permits, and § 3.17 is the long exempt list of animals that need no exotic animal possession permit. Anything not domestic, not native and not on the § 3.17 list needs a permit.

250-RICR-40-05-3, Rules and Regulations Governing the Importation and Possession of Wild Animals →

Missouri

Permit required3 CSR 10-9.230
those species of mammals... and nonvenomous reptiles and amphibians native to Missouri

Chelydra serpentina is a native nonvenomous reptile and so falls in Class I.

How this rule works: Class I is native Missouri mammals, reptiles and amphibians plus birds native to the continental United States. Class II is the venomous natives, mountain lion, wolf and black bear. Class III is cervids. An animal that is none of these is outside the Wildlife Code entirely.

3 CSR 10-9, Missouri Wildlife Code: Confined Wildlife →

New Hampshire

Permit requiredFis 804.05, Table 800.2
1,5 Snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina

Category 1 is an individual, so unlike the serval this one is open to a private keeper who holds a permit to possess wildlife.

How this rule works: Fis 804.02 is the non-controlled possession list, needing no permit. Fis 804.05 is the controlled table, and the number beside each species is the permittee category allowed to hold it. Category 1 is an individual, category 5 is an exhibitor, so a species marked 5 alone cannot be kept by a private person at all.

New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules, Fis 800, Importation and Possession of Wildlife →

Oklahoma

Permit required§ 800:25-25-3(c)
monotypic species and subspecies of reptiles and amphibians not indigenous to Oklahoma are exempt from import and export requirements and commercial and noncommercial wildlife breeder's license

The exemption is written for reptiles not indigenous to Oklahoma. Chelydra serpentina is native here, so it falls outside it.

How this rule works: Navigate to Title 800, Chapter 25, Subchapter 25, Section 800:25-25-3. One of the most permissive exemption lists in the country, and one of the very few that names the fennec fox individually. Note what the exemptions are from: permits and breeder licences, not a ban. An unexempt animal is licensable, not prohibited.

OAC 800:25-25-3, Exemptions →

Iowa

Conditions apply§ 481A.67
It is unlawful for a person, except as otherwise expressly provided, to take, capture, or kill fish, frogs, or turtles except during the open season established by the commission.

Chelydra serpentina is native here and taking one from the wild falls under the licence, season and possession limit rules. Subsection 2 exempts snapping turtles from the noncommercial season only, not from the rest.

How this rule works: The native wildlife side. § 481A.67 governs taking turtles.

Iowa Code Chapter 481A, Wildlife Conservation →

Louisiana

Conditions apply§ 101.G.2, § 101.G.3.a.i
No person shall collect or possess more than 10 restricted turtles, as listed in Paragraph G.3 herein, in any combination, with no individual species to exceed two per person at any time... i. Snapping Turtle—Chelydra serpentina;

Two per person, a basic recreational fishing licence to collect, no commercial use of native turtles, and captive breeding is unlawful without department approval.

How this rule works: Rewritten in January 2025 and now one of the strictest reptile rules in the country. Three tiers: prohibited nonnative species, restricted nonnative species needing a permit, and a general rule that any constrictor over eight feet needs a restricted snake permit.

LAC 76:XV.101, Reptiles and Amphibians, Recreational and Commercial Harvests; Prohibitions →

How to read this

A state with no colour is one where nothing in the law we read restricts that animal. That is not the same as a guarantee: it means no restriction was found in the specific body of law checked for that state, which is recorded alongside each jurisdiction. Cities and counties regularly ban animals their state allows, and several states say so in their own rules.

Hatched grey means the rule genuinely does not resolve. Usually a definition arguably reaches the animal without naming it, and the honest answer is to ask the agency rather than to guess. Those entries are marked unclear on purpose rather than being rounded to a yes or a no.

Every entry links to the regulation it came from. None of this is legal advice, laws change without much notice, and the agency that issues the permit is always the last word. For the federal layer and how state schemes are structured, see the exotic pet legal hub.