Exotic pet laws by state

Every jurisdiction below was read for the same 82 animals, and every entry quotes the statute or the regulation itself. Pick a state to see what it restricts, what it merely conditions, and which rule says so.

Not Legal Advice
This page ranks jurisdictions by what their published rules say, not by legal advice. The counts are a research summary, they change as rules change, and county and city ordinances sit underneath all of them. Confirm anything you are relying on with the agency before you acquire an animal.

Where the rules are strictest

The shading counts how many of the 82 animals we track are banned outright or gated behind a permit. It is not a count of every exotic pet, and a pale state is not necessarily a permissive one: Minnesota bans only one of the 82 but attaches conditions to thirty more, which the shading does not show. Each state page gives the full breakdown.

Alabama: 23 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedAlaska: 34 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedArizona: 1 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedArkansas: 32 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedCalifornia: 39 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedColorado: 39 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedConnecticut: 34 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedDelaware: 44 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedFlorida: 37 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedGeorgia: 46 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedHawaii: 71 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedIdaho: 26 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedIllinois: 22 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedIndiana: 17 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedIowa: 21 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedKansas: 10 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedKentucky: 24 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedLouisiana: 26 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedMaine: 49 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedMaryland: 26 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedMassachusetts: 43 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedMichigan: 15 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedMinnesota: 15 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedMississippi: 15 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedMissouri: 25 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedMontana: 29 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedNebraska: 25 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedNevada: 22 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedNew Hampshire: 33 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedNew Jersey: 60 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedNew Mexico: 49 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedNew York: 32 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedNorth Carolina: 10 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedNorth Dakota: 26 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedOhio: 18 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedOklahoma: 22 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedOregon: 26 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedPennsylvania: 22 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedRhode Island: 45 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedSouth Carolina: 14 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedSouth Dakota: 19 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedTennessee: 13 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedTexas: 20 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedUtah: 20 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedVermont: 47 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedVirginia: 25 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedWashington: 17 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedWest Virginia: 50 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedWisconsin: 13 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedWyoming: 38 of 82 animals banned or permit-gatedDistrict of Columbia: 54 of 82 animals banned or permit-gated
  • Nothing on the list restricted
  • 1 to 4 animals
  • 5 to 9 animals
  • 10 to 19 animals
  • 20 or more animals

The ten strictest jurisdictions

  1. 1Hawaii71 of 82
  2. 2New Jersey60 of 82
  3. 3New York City56 of 82
  4. 4District of Columbia54 of 82
  5. 5West Virginia50 of 82
  6. 6Maine49 of 82
  7. 7New Mexico49 of 82
  8. 8Vermont47 of 82
  9. 9Georgia46 of 82
  10. 10Rhode Island45 of 82

Cite this page

Every entry here is quoted from the statute or regulation it comes from, with the date it was last read against the published text.

Every jurisdiction, A to Z

52 in total: all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City, which runs its own Health Code.