Exotic pet laws in Illinois

510 ILCS 68/20-5, 20-10, 85-5

"Crocodilians" means any species of the Order Crocodilia, such as crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gavials.

Alligators are named crocodilians, special use herptiles that § 85-5 bars possessing except as the Act provides, and § 20-10 issues the special use permit only for bona fide educational programs, six documented a year, with an inspected facility. Crocodilians may not be bred or sold in Illinois. No pet route.

How this rule works: The statute behind 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885, and the only Illinois law that reaches pet reptiles and amphibians. § 5-5 sets the possession limits, § 15-5 clears the family Boidae from the permit system outright, § 25-5 defines 'monitor lizards' as only the crocodile monitor and Komodo dragon, and § 85-5 bars possession of a special use herptile. Sections are served individually from this endpoint by DocName, 051000680K<section>.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b)

"Dangerous animal" means a lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, cheetah, margay, mountain lion, lynx, bobcat, jaguarundi, bear, hyena, wolf or coyote. Dangerous animal does not mean any herptiles included in the Herptiles-Herps Act.

"Bear" is named as a dangerous animal, and the Wildlife Code separately protects the American black bear by name. § 48-10(b) allows a dangerous animal only at a zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area or animal refuge, so there is no private route. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter and often decides it.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b)

"Dangerous animal" means a lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, cheetah, margay, mountain lion, lynx, bobcat, jaguarundi, bear, hyena, wolf or coyote. Dangerous animal does not mean any herptiles included in the Herptiles-Herps Act.

The bobcat is named as a dangerous animal, and that decides it even though the Wildlife Code also lists it as a fur-bearing mammal: the fur-bearer breeder permit cannot authorize what the Criminal Code bars outside the listed institutions. § 48-10(b) allows a dangerous animal only at a zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area or animal refuge, so there is no private route. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter and often decides it.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b)

"Dangerous animal" means a lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, cheetah, margay, mountain lion, lynx, bobcat, jaguarundi, bear, hyena, wolf or coyote. Dangerous animal does not mean any herptiles included in the Herptiles-Herps Act.

"Lynx" is named as a dangerous animal. § 48-10(b) allows a dangerous animal only at a zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area or animal refuge, so there is no private route. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter and often decides it.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b), (c)(1)

No person shall have a right of property in, keep, harbor, care for, act as custodian of or maintain in his or her possession any dangerous animal or primate except at a properly maintained zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area, or animal refuge in an escape-proof enclosure.

Illinois defines a primate as any nonhuman member of the order, "including but not limited to ... monkey", and bars keeping one. The exceptions are zoos, licensed exhibits, circuses, colleges, research and veterinary bodies and refuges, not homes.

Existing owners: A person in lawful possession of a primate before January 1, 2011, may keep it if they registered it with the local animal control administrator by April 1, 2011, and must report moves, deaths, escapes and bites.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

510 ILCS 68/10-5, 10-15, 10-20, 85-5

Permittees may keep legally obtained venomous reptile specimens native to the United States, except the following species:

Cobras are named in the Elapidae entry of the venomous reptile definition, and the special use permit that is the Act's only route is for educational programs. Even a permittee may keep only venomous species native to the United States, which no cobra is. No route at all. The king cobra and the Asian Naja species are on CITES Appendix II, which governs import and export, not keeping.

How this rule works: The statute behind 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885, and the only Illinois law that reaches pet reptiles and amphibians. § 5-5 sets the possession limits, § 15-5 clears the family Boidae from the permit system outright, § 25-5 defines 'monitor lizards' as only the crocodile monitor and Komodo dragon, and § 85-5 bars possession of a special use herptile. Sections are served individually from this endpoint by DocName, 051000680K<section>.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b), (c)(1)

No person shall have a right of property in, keep, harbor, care for, act as custodian of or maintain in his or her possession any dangerous animal or primate except at a properly maintained zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area, or animal refuge in an escape-proof enclosure.

Illinois defines a primate as any nonhuman member of the order, monkeys among the examples, and bars keeping one. The exceptions are zoos, licensed exhibits, circuses, colleges, research and veterinary bodies and refuges, not homes.

Existing owners: A person in lawful possession of a primate before January 1, 2011, may keep it if they registered it with the local animal control administrator by April 1, 2011, and must report moves, deaths, escapes and bites.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b)

No person shall have a right of property in, keep, harbor, care for, act as custodian of or maintain in his or her possession any dangerous animal or primate except at a properly maintained zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area, or animal refuge in an escape-proof enclosure.

The mountain lion is named as a dangerous animal, and 520 ILCS 5/2.2 separately lists the cougar among Illinois's protected mammals. The exceptions are zoos, licensed exhibits, circuses, colleges, research and veterinary bodies and refuges, not homes. 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.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b)

No person shall have a right of property in, keep, harbor, care for, act as custodian of or maintain in his or her possession any dangerous animal or primate except at a properly maintained zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area, or animal refuge in an escape-proof enclosure.

The lion is the first dangerous animal named. The exceptions are zoos, licensed exhibits, circuses, colleges, research and veterinary bodies and refuges, not homes. 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.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

510 ILCS 68/10-5, 10-15, 10-20, 85-5

Herptile Special Use permits may be issued to residents using approved venomous reptile species only for bona fide educational programs, following an inspection and approval of the proposed facilities. A minimum of 6 documented programs shall be required of each permittee per calendar year.

Every pit viper is a venomous reptile under § 10-5, and § 85-5 bars possessing a special use herptile except as the Act provides. The Act's only route is a special use permit for bona fide educational programs, at least six documented a year, with 250 hours of venomous experience, insurance and an inspected facility. Even then § 10-20 allows only venomous species native to the United States and excludes the eastern and western diamondbacks, the Mojave, the southern Pacific and the southern timber or canebrake rattlesnake by name. No pet route.

How this rule works: The statute behind 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885, and the only Illinois law that reaches pet reptiles and amphibians. § 5-5 sets the possession limits, § 15-5 clears the family Boidae from the permit system outright, § 25-5 defines 'monitor lizards' as only the crocodile monitor and Komodo dragon, and § 85-5 bars possession of a special use herptile. Sections are served individually from this endpoint by DocName, 051000680K<section>.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b), (c)(1)

No person shall have a right of property in, keep, harbor, care for, act as custodian of or maintain in his or her possession any dangerous animal or primate except at a properly maintained zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area, or animal refuge in an escape-proof enclosure.

Illinois names the lemur in its definition of primate and bars keeping one. The exceptions are zoos, licensed exhibits, circuses, colleges, research and veterinary bodies and refuges, not homes. 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).

Existing owners: A person in lawful possession of a primate before January 1, 2011, may keep it if they registered it with the local animal control administrator by April 1, 2011, and must report moves, deaths, escapes and bites.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

510 ILCS 68/20-5, 20-10, 85-5

"Crocodilians" means any species of the Order Crocodilia, such as crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gavials.

Caimans are named crocodilians, special use herptiles, and the special use permit issues only for bona fide educational programs, six documented a year. No pet route.

How this rule works: The statute behind 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885, and the only Illinois law that reaches pet reptiles and amphibians. § 5-5 sets the possession limits, § 15-5 clears the family Boidae from the permit system outright, § 25-5 defines 'monitor lizards' as only the crocodile monitor and Komodo dragon, and § 85-5 bars possession of a special use herptile. Sections are served individually from this endpoint by DocName, 051000680K<section>.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b), (c)(1)

No person shall have a right of property in, keep, harbor, care for, act as custodian of or maintain in his or her possession any dangerous animal or primate except at a properly maintained zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area, or animal refuge in an escape-proof enclosure.

Illinois defines a primate as any nonhuman member of the order, monkeys among the examples, and bars keeping one. The exceptions are zoos, licensed exhibits, circuses, colleges, research and veterinary bodies and refuges, not homes.

Existing owners: A person in lawful possession of a primate before January 1, 2011, may keep it if they registered it with the local animal control administrator by April 1, 2011, and must report moves, deaths, escapes and bites.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b)

No person shall have a right of property in, keep, harbor, care for, act as custodian of or maintain in his or her possession any dangerous animal or primate except at a properly maintained zoological park, federally licensed exhibit, circus, college or university, scientific institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, hound running area, or animal refuge in an escape-proof enclosure.

The tiger is named as a dangerous animal. The exceptions are zoos, licensed exhibits, circuses, colleges, research and veterinary bodies and refuges, not homes. 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.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

520 ILCS 5/2.2, 5/3.23

Any person desiring to possess, propagate, hold in captivity but not offer for sale any species protected by this Act may do so by acquiring either a Class A Noncommercial bird breeders permit or a Class A Noncommercial game breeders permit.

Illinois names the gray squirrel among its game mammals in § 2.2, which makes possessing one unlawful except as the Wildlife Code provides. § 3.23 provides it: a Class A Noncommercial game breeders permit, $10 a year, for anyone who wants to hold a protected species without selling it. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: Carries the Class A noncommercial and Class B commercial game breeder permits, the ferret breeding and sale clause, the San Juan (European) rabbit and raccoon dog prohibition, and the nutria and monk parakeet release ban.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

520 ILCS 5/2.2; 520 ILCS 5/3.23

OTHER MAMMALS-Flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans ... It shall be unlawful for any person at any time to take, possess, sell, or offer for sale, propagate, or release into the wild, any of these wild birds (dead or alive) and parts of wild birds ... wild mammals (dead or alive) and parts of wild mammals ... contrary to the provisions of this Act.

Illinois names the southern flying squirrel in its protected species list, in the "OTHER MAMMALS" group alongside the red squirrel, the eastern woodrat and the bats, and then makes possession unlawful except as the Act provides. The route the Act provides is § 3.23: anyone wishing to possess, propagate or hold in captivity but not sell a protected species may do so under a Class A Noncommercial game breeders permit, $10 a year, expiring March 31st. That is a real personal permit rather than an institutional one, which is what separates the flying squirrel here from a species that is simply barred. The protection is species-specific and does not turn on where the animal came from, so a captive-bred out-of-state Glaucomys volans is still a protected species once it is in Illinois. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: § 2.2 says the Act applies only to wild birds and wild mammals, then lists the protected species by name and family. Parrots are not among them; the flying squirrel is. § 3.23 (DocName 052000050K3.23) carries the Class A noncommercial breeder permit that lets a private keeper hold a protected species, plus the two named-species clauses that decide the rabbit and the monk parakeet.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

17 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.30; 520 ILCS 10/3

THREATENED AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF ILLINOIS ... Snakes ... Plains Hog-nosed Snake Heterodon nasicus

The species the pet trade sells as the western hognose is Heterodon nasicus, and Illinois lists it as a threatened species. 520 ILCS 10/3 then makes it unlawful to possess any animal on the Illinois List unless otherwise authorized by law, with no captive-bred carve-out written into the statute, so a Department endangered or threatened species possession permit is the route, applied for through the Office of Resource Conservation, with a separate Herptile Endangered and Threatened Species Propagation Permit at $150 a year on top if the animal is to be bred or sold. The eastern hognose, Heterodon platirhinos, is the other Illinois native and is not listed, so it sits under the ordinary 4-per-species and 8-total cap instead. Which hognose it is decides the answer here, and the pet trade animal is the listed one. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: Amended effective October 30, 2025. Three entries here reach animals sold in the pet trade: the Great Plains ratsnake is endangered, and the plains hog-nosed snake and the ornate box turtle are threatened.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

520 ILCS 5/2.2; 5/3.25

Before any individual shall hold, possess or engage in the breeding or raising of live fur-bearing mammals, he shall first procure a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit. Fur-bearing mammal breeder permits shall be issued by the Department. The annual fee for each fur-bearing mammal breeder permit shall be $25.

The raccoon is named among Illinois's protected fur-bearing mammals in § 2.2 as Procyon lotor, and § 2.2 makes possessing one unlawful except as the Wildlife Code provides. § 3.25 provides it: a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit, $25 a year, required of anyone who holds a live fur-bearer, breeding or not. The protection follows the species, not the animal's origin, so a captive-bred animal from out of state needs it too. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter and often decides it.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: § 2.2 says the Act applies only to wild birds and wild mammals, then lists the protected species by name and family. Parrots are not among them; the flying squirrel is. § 3.23 (DocName 052000050K3.23) carries the Class A noncommercial breeder permit that lets a private keeper hold a protected species, plus the two named-species clauses that decide the rabbit and the monk parakeet.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

520 ILCS 5/2.2; 5/3.25

Before any individual shall hold, possess or engage in the breeding or raising of live fur-bearing mammals, he shall first procure a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit. Fur-bearing mammal breeder permits shall be issued by the Department. The annual fee for each fur-bearing mammal breeder permit shall be $25.

The red fox is named among Illinois's protected fur-bearing mammals in § 2.2 as Vulpes vulpes, and § 2.2 makes possessing one unlawful except as the Wildlife Code provides. § 3.25 provides it: a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit, $25 a year, required of anyone who holds a live fur-bearer, breeding or not. The protection follows the species, not the animal's origin, so a captive-bred animal from out of state needs it too. The dangerous animal list's canids are the wolf and the coyote. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter and often decides it.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: § 2.2 says the Act applies only to wild birds and wild mammals, then lists the protected species by name and family. Parrots are not among them; the flying squirrel is. § 3.23 (DocName 052000050K3.23) carries the Class A noncommercial breeder permit that lets a private keeper hold a protected species, plus the two named-species clauses that decide the rabbit and the monk parakeet.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

520 ILCS 5/2.2; 5/3.25

Before any individual shall hold, possess or engage in the breeding or raising of live fur-bearing mammals, he shall first procure a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit. Fur-bearing mammal breeder permits shall be issued by the Department. The annual fee for each fur-bearing mammal breeder permit shall be $25.

The striped skunk is named among Illinois's protected fur-bearing mammals in § 2.2 as Mephitis mephitis, and § 2.2 makes possessing one unlawful except as the Wildlife Code provides. § 3.25 provides it: a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit, $25 a year, required of anyone who holds a live fur-bearer, breeding or not. The protection follows the species, not the animal's origin, so a captive-bred animal from out of state needs it too. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter and often decides it.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: § 2.2 says the Act applies only to wild birds and wild mammals, then lists the protected species by name and family. Parrots are not among them; the flying squirrel is. § 3.23 (DocName 052000050K3.23) carries the Class A noncommercial breeder permit that lets a private keeper hold a protected species, plus the two named-species clauses that decide the rabbit and the monk parakeet.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

520 ILCS 5/2.2; 5/3.25

Before any individual shall hold, possess or engage in the breeding or raising of live fur-bearing mammals, he shall first procure a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit.

The opossum is named among Illinois's fur-bearing mammals in § 2.2, and § 3.25 requires a fur-bearing mammal breeder permit, $25 a year, of anyone who holds a live one, breeding or not. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: § 2.2 says the Act applies only to wild birds and wild mammals, then lists the protected species by name and family. Parrots are not among them; the flying squirrel is. § 3.23 (DocName 052000050K3.23) carries the Class A noncommercial breeder permit that lets a private keeper hold a protected species, plus the two named-species clauses that decide the rabbit and the monk parakeet.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

520 ILCS 5/2.2, 5/3.23

Before any person shall hold, possess or engage in the raising of game mammals, game birds or migratory game birds protected by this Act, he shall procure a permit from the Department to do so.

The white-tailed deer is one of Illinois's game mammals in § 2.2, and § 3.23 requires a game breeder permit to hold one: Class A noncommercial at $10 for an animal held but not sold, Class B commercial at $20 for one raised for sale. Any chronic wasting disease or captive cervid rules the Department applies on top were not read here.

How this rule works: Carries the Class A noncommercial and Class B commercial game breeder permits, the ferret breeding and sale clause, the San Juan (European) rabbit and raccoon dog prohibition, and the nutria and monk parakeet release ban.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

17 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.30; 510 ILCS 68/5-5(a)

THREATENED AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF ILLINOIS ... Turtles ... Ornate Box Turtle Terrapene ornata

Illinois splits its two box turtles. The ornate box turtle is a threatened species, so 520 ILCS 10/3 bars possessing one without a Department permit. The eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina, is on the § 885.40 native list but not on the endangered and threatened list, so it needs no permit and sits under the ordinary limits: 4 of the species, 8 indigenous herptiles in total, a sport fishing license to collect one from the wild and a $50 Herpetoculture Permit to breed or sell. Turtles other than common snapping turtles may be taken by hand only, and § 30-5 bars commercial turtle farming in the State. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: Amended effective October 30, 2025. Three entries here reach animals sold in the pet trade: the Great Plains ratsnake is endangered, and the plains hog-nosed snake and the ornate box turtle are threatened.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

17 Ill. Adm. Code 885.105(j)

Any hybrid, intergrade, cross, or morphological variation of any listed herptile shall be treated as an endangered or threatened herptile under this Part. Examples of these include, but are not limited to: scaleless corn snakes, root beer corn snakes, creamsicle/dreamsicle corn snakes, and Slowinski/Kisatchie rat snakes.

This entry previously read the corn snake as an Illinois native subject to the possession cap. It is not: Pantherophis guttatus is absent from the § 885.40 native taxa list, which carries emoryi, obsoletus and ramspotti/vulpinus but not guttatus, so an ordinary corn snake is a non-native herptile and needs no license. What does reach it is newer and narrower. Illinois lists the Great Plains ratsnake, Pantherophis emoryi, as endangered, and this subsection, added effective July 31, 2025, treats any hybrid, cross or morphological variation of a listed herptile as endangered too, then names the common pet-trade lines that carry emoryi ancestry: creamsicle, dreamsicle, root beer and scaleless corn snakes. Those need an endangered species possession permit; a normal corn snake does not. It is an unusually specific rule, and a keeper is unlikely to find it by looking up the species. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: Official Joint Committee on Administrative Rules text, amended effective July 31, 2025. § 885.40 is the list of Illinois native herptile taxa, which decides whether the possession cap applies to a species at all; § 885.20 sets the seasons and limits; § 885.80 sets the $50 Herpetoculture Permit; and § 885.105(j), new in 2025, sweeps named corn snake morph lines into the endangered species regime.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

510 ILCS 68/5-5(a); 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885.40

The possession limit for herptiles (excluding common snapping turtles and bullfrogs) is no more than 4 total per species. ... In no case shall a person possess more than 8 indigenous amphibian or reptiles in total.

The common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, in both its eastern and Chicago subspecies is on the § 885.40 list of Illinois native herptile taxa, which is what puts it inside the cap rather than outside it. No license is needed to keep one, but three conditions ride along: no more than 4 of the species and no more than 8 indigenous herptiles in total, a sport fishing license to collect any native taxon from the wild, and a $50 Herpetoculture Permit to breed or to sell. Non-residents may not possess herptiles collected from the wild in Illinois at all except under a scientific collection permit. This entry previously read as unrestricted on the strength of the dangerous animal statute, which is a closed list of big cats and says in terms that it does not reach herptiles. The Herptiles-Herps Act is the law that actually answers a snake question in Illinois, and a native colubrid sits inside its cap. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: The statute behind 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885, and the only Illinois law that reaches pet reptiles and amphibians. § 5-5 sets the possession limits, § 15-5 clears the family Boidae from the permit system outright, § 25-5 defines 'monitor lizards' as only the crocodile monitor and Komodo dragon, and § 85-5 bars possession of a special use herptile. Sections are served individually from this endpoint by DocName, 051000680K<section>.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

510 ILCS 68/5-5(a); 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885.40

The possession limit for herptiles (excluding common snapping turtles and bullfrogs) is no more than 4 total per species. ... In no case shall a person possess more than 8 indigenous amphibian or reptiles in total.

The milk snake, in the red and eastern subspecies Lampropeltis triangulum syspila and L. t. triangulum is on the § 885.40 list of Illinois native herptile taxa, which is what puts it inside the cap rather than outside it. No license is needed to keep one, but three conditions ride along: no more than 4 of the species and no more than 8 indigenous herptiles in total, a sport fishing license to collect any native taxon from the wild, and a $50 Herpetoculture Permit to breed or to sell. Non-residents may not possess herptiles collected from the wild in Illinois at all except under a scientific collection permit. The genus is well represented on the native list, so the cap is the ordinary answer for a milksnake here, and the $50 Herpetoculture Permit in § 885.80 is what lifts it for a keeper who breeds. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: The statute behind 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885, and the only Illinois law that reaches pet reptiles and amphibians. § 5-5 sets the possession limits, § 15-5 clears the family Boidae from the permit system outright, § 25-5 defines 'monitor lizards' as only the crocodile monitor and Komodo dragon, and § 85-5 bars possession of a special use herptile. Sections are served individually from this endpoint by DocName, 051000680K<section>.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

510 ILCS 68/5-5(a); 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885.40

The possession limit for herptiles (excluding common snapping turtles and bullfrogs) is no more than 4 total per species. ... In no case shall a person possess more than 8 indigenous amphibian or reptiles in total.

The red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans is on the § 885.40 list of Illinois native herptile taxa, which is what puts it inside the cap rather than outside it. No license is needed to keep one, but three conditions ride along: no more than 4 of the species and no more than 8 indigenous herptiles in total, a sport fishing license to collect any native taxon from the wild, and a $50 Herpetoculture Permit to breed or to sell. Non-residents may not possess herptiles collected from the wild in Illinois at all except under a scientific collection permit. Illinois is inside the species' natural range, which is why it lands here rather than in the free non-native bucket, and it is the opposite of how states outside that range treat the animal. Turtles other than common snapping turtles may be taken only by hand, and § 30-5 bars commercial turtle farming in the State outright. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: The statute behind 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885, and the only Illinois law that reaches pet reptiles and amphibians. § 5-5 sets the possession limits, § 15-5 clears the family Boidae from the permit system outright, § 25-5 defines 'monitor lizards' as only the crocodile monitor and Komodo dragon, and § 85-5 bars possession of a special use herptile. Sections are served individually from this endpoint by DocName, 051000680K<section>.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

17 Ill. Adm. Code 885.20(b), (c)

Bullfrogs and common snapping turtles may be taken only June 15 through October 15. There is no closed season on all other non-listed native herptiles. The daily harvest limit for bullfrogs is eight, with a possession limit of 16. The daily harvest limit for common snapping turtles is two, with a possession limit of four.

Illinois pulls the common snapping turtle out of the general herptile cap and gives it its own regime, the only reptile besides the bullfrog treated this way. It is a native taxon under § 885.40, and it is the only one with a closed season: a sport fishing license, take only between June 15th and October 15th, two a day and four in possession. Bowfishing for it is barred in sixteen named southern counties, and § 30-10 bars collecting wild turtles for turtle races in the seven counties where ranavirus has been documented. The alligator snapping turtle is a different animal and is state endangered. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: Official Joint Committee on Administrative Rules text, amended effective July 31, 2025. § 885.40 is the list of Illinois native herptile taxa, which decides whether the possession cap applies to a species at all; § 885.20 sets the seasons and limits; § 885.80 sets the $50 Herpetoculture Permit; and § 885.105(j), new in 2025, sweeps named corn snake morph lines into the endangered species regime.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

510 ILCS 68/5-5(a); 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885.40

The possession limit for herptiles (excluding common snapping turtles and bullfrogs) is no more than 4 total per species. ... In no case shall a person possess more than 8 indigenous amphibian or reptiles in total.

The eastern tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum is on the § 885.40 list of Illinois native herptile taxa, which is what puts it inside the cap rather than outside it. No license is needed to keep one, but three conditions ride along: no more than 4 of the species and no more than 8 indigenous herptiles in total, a sport fishing license to collect any native taxon from the wild, and a $50 Herpetoculture Permit to breed or to sell. Non-residents may not possess herptiles collected from the wild in Illinois at all except under a scientific collection permit. It is not on the state endangered or threatened list, unlike the Jefferson, silvery and spotted dusky salamanders and the mudpuppy, so the ordinary cap is the whole of it. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter than anything above and is often the rule that actually decides this.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: The statute behind 17 Ill. Adm. Code 885, and the only Illinois law that reaches pet reptiles and amphibians. § 5-5 sets the possession limits, § 15-5 clears the family Boidae from the permit system outright, § 25-5 defines 'monitor lizards' as only the crocodile monitor and Komodo dragon, and § 85-5 bars possession of a special use herptile. Sections are served individually from this endpoint by DocName, 051000680K<section>.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

720 ILCS 5/48-10(a), (b)

"Dangerous animal" means a lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, cheetah, margay, mountain lion, lynx, bobcat, jaguarundi, bear, hyena, wolf or coyote. Dangerous animal does not mean any herptiles included in the Herptiles-Herps Act.

The dangerous animal list names "wolf" and has no hybrid clause either way, unlike Ohio's and Washington's, which exclude hybrids in terms, or Texas's, which includes them. Whether a wolfdog is a "wolf" for § 48-10 is the whole question, and the statute does not answer it; a high-content animal is where a prosecutor would argue that it is. If it is, only the listed institutions may keep one. Illinois is a home rule state, so a municipal ordinance can be stricter and often decides it.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: A closed list of 15 named mammals plus a blanket bar on primates, and nothing else. It replaced the Dangerous Animals Act at 720 ILCS 585, which P.A. 98-752 repealed effective January 1, 2015; the old citation is still what most secondary sources give. The section says in terms that it does not reach reptiles or amphibians. Exemptions: primates lawfully held before January 1, 2011, and registered by April 1, 2011, and one service capuchin for a person with a severe mobility impairment.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.