Exotic pet laws in California
California bans 39 animals of the 82 checked here, the American alligator, American black bear and arctic fox among them. None of the rest needs a permit.
Read against the published rules, verified October 1, 2026, for 78 of 82 animals; the other 4 last checked between October 2 and October 8, 2026. Every entry below quotes the statute or regulation it comes from and carries the date it was last checked.
How California decides
Title 14 section 671 is a mammal list wearing the name of a general one. It restricts the order Rodentia as a whole and then names five exceptions, the hamster, rat, mouse, guinea pig and chinchilla, which is why the chinchilla clears and the degu does not despite being a close South American relative of it. The gerbil and the flying squirrel fail the same test the same way.
The reptile half of the list is close to empty: crocodilians, snapping turtles, venomous snakes and the Gila monster, and nothing else. So monitors, tegus, bearded dragons, every gecko and every chameleon are unrestricted in California, which surprises people who expect the strictest mammal rules in the country to extend to large lizards. No arachnid appears anywhere in the manual either, so tarantulas and scorpions sit outside it.
Where it does bite there is no way around it. Section 671.1 lists the permit types and none of them covers pet keeping; the only possession permit requires that the animal was already lawfully held in California before January 1992. The Burmese python is the reminder that a state answer is not the whole answer: unrestricted under section 671, and injurious wildlife under the federal Lacey Act since 2012, which stops one entering the country or reaching Hawaii but, since a 2017 D.C. Circuit ruling, not crossing between continental states.
What California restricts
41 of 82, strictest first. Open one for the rule it comes from.
American alligatorBanned
§ 671(c)(7)(A)
Order Crocodilia-Crocodiles, Caimans, Alligators and Gavials: All species (D)
Every crocodilian is restricted, marked (D) for detrimental, and alligators are named in the heading. No permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
American black bearBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(6)
All other Families-(W)
Bears are named in the order heading and Ursidae falls under the closing "All other Families" line, and the caging standards put the American black bear in Group II. The black bear is also a California game animal. No permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Arctic foxBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(2)
Family Canidae-All species (W)
Every canid is restricted, and the department's caging table lists the arctic fox by name beside the bat-eared fox. No permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Asian small-clawed otterBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(5)(a)
Family Mustelidae-All species (D), except: a. Ambloynx cinerea (Oriental small-clawed otter)-(W)
The rule names this otter, under an old genus spelling, and the exception only moves it from the detrimental category to the welfare category. It is still restricted, and no California permit type covers pet keeping. Separately, the species has been on CITES Appendix I since 2019, which bars commercial international trade.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
AxolotlBanned
§ 671(c)(3)(C)(1)
Genus Ambystoma (nonnative tiger salamander group)-(D)
Ambystoma mexicanum sits in the listed genus. The parenthetical describes the group the restriction was aimed at rather than narrowing it, and none of the permit types in § 671.1 covers pet keeping, so there is no route.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Bennett's wallabyBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(C)
Order Marsupialia-Marsupials or Pouched Animals: All species (W)
Marsupials are restricted as a whole order, marked (W) for welfare, so a wallaby has no pet route. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession before January 1992.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
BobcatBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(1)
Family Felidae-All species (W)
Every felid is restricted and only domestic cats and their hybrids are carved out; the order heading names bobcats. The bobcat is a native California furbearer, but § 671 reaches it whatever its origin, and no permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Canada lynxBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(1)
Family Felidae-All species (W)
Every felid is restricted, and the department's caging standards name the Canada lynx in Group III beside the bobcat and the serval. No permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Capuchin monkeyBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(A)
Order Primates-Monkeys, Apes: All species (W), except humans in the Family Hominidae are not restricted.
Every nonhuman primate is restricted, marked (W) for welfare, so capuchins of both genera are covered without being named. No California permit type covers pet keeping: the only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession in California before January 1992, so no route is open to a new keeper.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
CapybaraBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(J)(1)
Rodents are restricted under § 671(c)(2)(J)(1), and the carve-outs there cover domesticated hamsters, guinea pigs and chinchillas but not the capybara. No California permit covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
CobraBanned
§ 671(c)(7)(C)
Family Elapidae-Cobras, Coral Snakes, Mambas, Kraits, etc. All species (D)
California names the cobras in the family heading and restricts every elapid, marked (D) for detrimental, which takes in the king cobra with the Naja species. No permit type covers pet keeping. The king cobra and the Asian Naja species are on CITES Appendix II, which governs import and export, not keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Common marmosetBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(A)
Order Primates-Monkeys, Apes: All species (W), except humans in the Family Hominidae are not restricted.
The whole primate order is restricted, marked (W) for welfare, and the only exception is humans. The caging standards in § 671 name marmosets among the species that must be given nest boxes, which shows the department has them in view. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession before January 1992, so there is no pet route.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
CougarBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(1)
Family Felidae-All species (W) except: a. Acinonyx jubatus (cheetahs)-(D) b. Domestic cats and hybrids of domestic cats are not restricted.
The whole cat family is restricted, marked (W) for welfare, whatever the animal's origin, so the native mountain lion is covered the same way as an exotic cat. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession before January 1992. The mountain lion's separate protected status under the Fish and Game Code was not read for this cell. Federally, the Big Cat Public Safety Act of 2022 (16 U.S.C. § 3372(e)) bars any person outside a licensed exhibitor, sanctuary or state institution from breeding or possessing a cougar unless the animal was born before December 20, 2022, and registered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 180 days, so no new pet is lawful anywhere in the country whatever the state rule says. The Florida panther subspecies is also endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
DeguBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(J)(1)
Order Rodentia-Hamsters, Field Mice, Voles, Muskrats, Gerbils, Squirrels, Chipmunks, Woodchucks, and Prairie Dogs. All species (D), except: ... b. Domesticated races of golden hamsters ... and dwarf hamsters of the Genus Phodopus ... d. Domesticated races of guinea pigs of the species Cavia porcellus ... e. Domesticated races of chinchillas of the species Chinchilla laniger
California restricts the whole order and then names five exceptions. Octodon degus is not one of them, which is why the degu is barred here while the chinchilla, a close relative and also a South American caviomorph, is expressly cleared. Section 671.1 permits exist but are not issued for pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Eastern gray squirrelBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(J)
Order Rodentia-Hamsters, Field Mice, Voles, Muskrats, Gerbils, Squirrels, Chipmunks, Woodchucks, and Prairie Dogs 1. All species (D), except:
Every rodent is restricted, marked (D) for detrimental, and squirrels are named in the heading. The exceptions are muskrats under Fish and Game Code § 2250 and domesticated hamsters, rats, mice, guinea pigs and chinchillas; no squirrel is among them. The eastern gray squirrel is an introduced animal in California and the rule reaches it whatever its origin.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Fennec foxBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(2)
Family Canidae-All species (W)
The whole canid family is restricted, marked (W) for welfare. No California permit type covers pet keeping: 671.1(b) issues permits for Animal Care, aquaculture, AZA institutions, breeding, broker or dealer work, exhibiting, native species exhibiting, nuisance bird abatement, research, shelters, single event breeding and fish. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession in California before January 1992, so no route is open to a new keeper. That makes it a ban, the same answer the sugar glider gets under the same section.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 2, 2026.
FerretBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(5)
Family Mustelidae-All species (D)
Exceptions are otters only. A petition to remove the domestic ferret from the restricted species list, docketed by the Fish and Game Commission as 2025-003, was accepted for further consideration in 2025 and referred to the Department. Checked 2026-09-22: no determination has been issued and the listing is unchanged, so the ban stands. Treat the petition's progress as reported by the petitioner rather than by the Commission, whose own tracker does not publish a status.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Flying squirrelBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(J)(1)
Order Rodentia is restricted as a whole ('All species (D)') except for a specific list of domesticated species (hamsters, rats, mice, guinea pigs, chinchillas); flying squirrels are not among the exceptions. This section number is carried over from this site's prairie-dog research, which cites the same Sciuridae subsection for a different genus in the same family; the exact subsection should be re-confirmed against the primary text before publishing.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
GerbilBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(J)(1)
Order Rodentia is restricted (D) and gerbils are not among the five exceptions, though the order's own heading names them.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
HedgehogBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(D)
Order Insectivora-Shrews, Moles, Hedgehogs, etc. All species (D)
Hedgehogs are restricted as a whole order, marked (D) for detrimental, so there is no pet route. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession before January 1992.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
KinkajouBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(4)
Family Procyonidae-All species-(D)
The kinkajou is a procyonid and the family line reaches it; the order heading names kinkajous outright, and the exceptions under the family are the pandas, the ringtail and the cacomistle only. No permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
LionBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(1)
Family Felidae-All species (W) except: a. Acinonyx jubatus (cheetahs)-(D) b. Domestic cats and hybrids of domestic cats are not restricted.
The order heading names lions among the carnivores and the whole cat family is restricted, marked (W) for welfare. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession before January 1992, so there is no pet route. Federally, the Big Cat Public Safety Act of 2022 (16 U.S.C. § 3372(e)) bars any person outside a licensed exhibitor, sanctuary or state institution from breeding or possessing a lion unless the animal was born before December 20, 2022, and registered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 180 days, so no new pet is lawful anywhere in the country whatever the state rule says.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Prairie dogBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(J)(1)
Rodents are restricted under § 671(c)(2)(J)(1), and the carve-outs there cover domesticated hamsters, guinea pigs and chinchillas but not the prairie dog. No California permit covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Quaker parakeetBanned
§ 671(c)(1)(M)
Family Psittacidae-Parrots, Parakeets: Myiopsitta monachus (Monk or Quaker parakeet) (D)
The monk (Quaker) parakeet is named by binomial, Myiopsitta monachus, on the restricted list and marked (D) for detrimental, so it cannot be kept as a pet. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession before January 1992.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 2, 2026.
RaccoonBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(4)
Family Procyonidae-All species-(D)
The whole procyonid family is restricted, marked (D) as detrimental, and the four exceptions written under it (the two pandas, the ringtail and the cacomistle) are only moved to the welfare category, not freed. The raccoon is also a native California animal, but § 671 reaches any live animal of a listed family whatever its origin, and the only route for a native one is the Native Species Exhibiting permit for unreleasable rehabilitation animals. No permit type covers pet keeping, so it is a ban.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Red foxBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(2)
Family Canidae-All species (W)
Same line that bans the fennec fox. Every canid is restricted for welfare, the red fox is named in the department's own caging table, and no California permit type covers pet keeping. A native red fox taken from the wild is a separate offense under the Fish and Game Code; a captive-bred one from out of state is still a restricted species.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Ring-tailed lemurBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(A)
Order Primates-Monkeys, Apes: All species (W), except humans in the Family Hominidae are not restricted.
Lemurs are primates and the order is restricted whole, marked (W) for welfare. No California permit type covers pet keeping; Animal Care, the only possession permit, requires lawful possession before January 1992. Lemur catta is on CITES Appendix I, which bars commercial international trade, so a pet lemur here can only come from captive breeding inside the country, and the whole family Lemuridae is listed endangered under the Endangered Species Act (50 CFR 17.11).
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
ServalBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(1)
Family Felidae-All species (W)
The whole felid family is restricted, marked (W) for welfare, and only domestic cats and their hybrids are carved out. No California permit type covers pet keeping: 671.1(b) issues permits for Animal Care, aquaculture, AZA institutions, breeding, broker or dealer work, exhibiting, native species exhibiting, nuisance bird abatement, research, shelters, single event breeding and fish. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession in California before January 1992, so no route is open to a new keeper. That makes it a ban, the same answer the sugar glider gets under the same section.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 2, 2026.
Snapping turtleBanned
§ 671(c)(7)(B)
Family Chelyridae-Snapping Turtles: All species (D)
The snapping turtle family is restricted, all species, marked (D) for detrimental, so there is no pet route.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Spectacled caimanBanned
§ 671(c)(7)(A)
Order Crocodilia-Crocodiles, Caimans, Alligators and Gavials: All species (D)
Every crocodilian is restricted, marked (D) for detrimental, and caimans are named in the heading. No permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Squirrel monkeyBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(A)
Order Primates-Monkeys, Apes: All species (W), except humans in the Family Hominidae are not restricted.
The whole primate order is restricted, marked (W) for welfare. The caging standards let New World monkeys "such as squirrel, titis, and owl" held before August 3, 1989, stay in their approved housing, which is a housing allowance for old permittees and not a pet route. Animal Care, the only possession permit, requires lawful possession before January 1992.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Striped skunkBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K), (K)(5), (K)(6)
Order Carnivora-Raccoons, Ringtailed Cats, Kinkajous, Coatis, Cacomistles, Weasels, Ferrets, Skunks, Polecats, Stoats, Mongoose, Civets, Wolves, Foxes, Coyotes, Lions, Tigers, Ocelots, Bobcats, Servals, Leopards, Jaguars, Cheetahs, Bears, etc.
The order heading names skunks. The section files them with the mustelids, which is where its caging standards put the striped skunk, and current taxonomy puts them in their own family, Mephitidae, which the section reaches through "All other Families-(W)". Either way the animal is restricted and no permit type covers a pet. Descenting does not change the species.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Sugar gliderBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(C)
Order Marsupialia-Marsupials or Pouched Animals: All species (W)
Marsupials are restricted as a whole order, marked (W) for welfare, so the sugar glider has no pet route. The only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession before January 1992.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
TigerBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(1)
Family Felidae-All species (W) except: a. Acinonyx jubatus (cheetahs)-(D) b. Domestic cats and hybrids of domestic cats are not restricted.
The whole cat family is restricted, marked (W) for welfare, and only domestic cats and their hybrids are carved out. § 671.1 issues permits for exhibiting, research, breeding and similar work; the only possession permit, Animal Care, requires lawful possession before January 1992, so there is no pet route. Federally, the Big Cat Public Safety Act of 2022 (16 U.S.C. § 3372(e)) bars any person outside a licensed exhibitor, sanctuary or state institution from breeding or possessing a tiger unless the animal was born before December 20, 2022, and registered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 180 days, so no new pet is lawful anywhere in the country whatever the state rule says.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Tiger salamanderBanned
§ 671(c)(3)(C)(1)
Genus Ambystoma (nonnative tiger salamander group)-(D)
Nonnative tiger salamanders (genus Ambystoma) are restricted and marked (D) for detrimental, so there is no pet route.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Two-toed slothBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(B)
Order Xenarthra-Sloths, Anteaters, Armadillos, etc. All species: 1. Family Dasypodidae-Armadillos-All Species (D) 2. Family Bradypodidae-Sloths (W)
The whole order Xenarthra is restricted and sloths are named in the heading. The rule files them under Bradypodidae, the older family that included the two-toed sloths before Choloepus was split out, and the order-wide "All species" reaches them either way. No permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
Virginia opossumBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(C)
Order Marsupialia-Marsupials or Pouched Animals: All species (W)
Marsupials are restricted as a whole order, marked (W) for welfare, and the Virginia opossum is the one North American marsupial. It has been established in California for a century, but § 671 reaches a listed order whatever the animal's origin, and no permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
White-nosed coatiBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(4)
Family Procyonidae-All species-(D)
The coati is a procyonid, the order heading names coatis, and the department's caging standards list the coatimundi under Procyonidae. None of the four exceptions under the family line reaches it. No permit type covers pet keeping.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
White-tailed deerBanned
§ 671(c)(2)(Q)
Order Artiodactyla-Swine, Peccaries, Camels, Deer, Elk, Moose, Antelopes, Cattle, Goats, Sheep, etc. All species (D) except:
Every even-toed hoofed animal is restricted, marked (D) for detrimental, and deer are named in the heading. The exceptions are domestic livestock, camelids, camels and American bison, with permit provisions for elk already in the state and for commercial fallow deer; no route reaches a white-tailed deer, which is not a California native.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
RattlesnakeConditions apply
14 CCR § 671(c)(7)(E); § 5.60(a), (b)(59) to (65)
No sportfishing license is required for the sport take of any rattlesnake, but bag and possession limits do apply.
California splits the genus by origin. § 671(c)(7)(E) restricts "Family Crotalidae-Pitvipers: All nonnative species (D)", so a rattlesnake from outside the state is barred with no pet route. The seven natives are sport-take animals under § 5.60: the western diamond-backed, Mohave, western, speckled and Panamint rattlesnakes and the sidewinder carry the default limit of two, a daily bag and possession limit, while the red diamond rattlesnake's limit is zero. So a native rattlesnake within the limit is lawful to hold, and anything else is not.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
How this rule works: CDFW's current Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations booklet, which reprints Title 14 section 5.60 in full, including species bag limits and county closures.
Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.
WolfdogConditions apply
§ 671(c)(2)(K)(2)(a)
Wolf hybrids Canis familiaris (domestic dog) x Canis lupus (wolf) are considered F1 generation wolf hybrids and are restricted (W). i. No state permit is required to possess the progeny of F1 generation wolf hybrids, but cities and counties may prohibit possession or require a permit.
California draws its line at the first generation. A direct wolf by dog cross is restricted and no permit type covers a pet; anything bred from F1 animals onward needs no state permit. The rule says in terms that cities and counties may still ban or license those later generations, so the local ordinance is the second check.
Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.
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.
Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.
No restriction found in California
41 of 82. Each was read against the same body of law as the entries above and nothing in it reaches them. Local ordinances and tenancy terms still apply and are not on this map.
- Ackie monitor
- African grey parrot
- Argentine black and white tegu
- Ball python
- Bearded dragon
- Bengal cat
- Blue-tongue skink
- Boa constrictor
- Box turtle
- Burmese python
- California kingsnake
- Chinchilla
- Cockatoo
- Corn snake
- Crested gecko
- Emperor scorpion
- Garter snake
- Giant African millipede
- Green anaconda
- Green anole
- Green iguana
- Guinea pig
- Hamster
- Hognose snake
- Jackson's chameleon
- Leopard gecko
- Madagascar hissing cockroach
- Milk snake
- Nile monitor
- Rabbit
- Red-eared slider
- Red-footed tortoise
- Reticulated python
- Rosy boa
- Russian tortoise
- Savannah cat
- Savannah monitor
- Sulcata tortoise
- Tarantula
- Tokay gecko
- Veiled chameleon
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.
Before you rely on this
This page covers state law only. Cities and counties routinely prohibit what California allows, and a lease or HOA agreement can bar an animal that every level of government permits. Check all three, and check them in that order, because the one most likely to stop you is the one closest to your front door.