Exotic pet laws in Ohio

R.C. 935.01(C)(15); R.C. 935.02(A), (B)(1)

(A) No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. (B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(1) and (2) of section 935.06 of the Revised Code, no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.

Alligators are named dangerous wild animals. The exceptions in R.C. 935.03 are accredited zoos, research facilities, circuses, sanctuaries, rehabilitators of Ohio natives and vets, so there is no route for a new keeper.

Existing owners: Only a person who registered the animal with the Department of Agriculture in 2012 and possessed it on October 1, 2013, could apply for a wildlife shelter or wildlife propagation permit under R.C. 935.05 or 935.07; the permit requires sterilizing males, insurance, caging standards and, outside the small primates, at least one acre.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(8); R.C. 935.02(A), (B)(1); R.C. 935.03(A)(3)

(A) No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. (B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(1) and (2) of section 935.06 of the Revised Code, no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.

Every bear is a named dangerous wild animal. The exceptions in R.C. 935.03 are accredited zoos, research facilities, circuses, sanctuaries, rehabilitators of Ohio natives and vets, so there is no route for a new keeper. The black bear is also a game quadruped under R.C. 1531.01(V), but the Division of Wildlife's § 1533.71 license does not lift the bar: 935.03(A)(3) exempts only possession under a permit issued under Chapter 935.

Existing owners: Only a person who registered the animal with the Department of Agriculture in 2012 and possessed it on October 1, 2013, could apply for a wildlife shelter or wildlife propagation permit under R.C. 935.05 or 935.07; the permit requires sterilizing males, insurance, caging standards and, outside the small primates, at least one acre.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(7)(b); R.C. 935.02(A), (B)(1)

(A) No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. (B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(1) and (2) of section 935.06 of the Revised Code, no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.

Lynxes, Canadian lynxes by name, are dangerous wild animals. The exceptions in R.C. 935.03 are accredited zoos, research facilities, circuses, sanctuaries, rehabilitators of Ohio natives and vets, so there is no route for a new keeper. The Canada lynx is also federally threatened, which brings federal rules on interstate sale.

Existing owners: Only a person who registered the animal with the Department of Agriculture in 2012 and possessed it on October 1, 2013, could apply for a wildlife shelter or wildlife propagation permit under R.C. 935.05 or 935.07; the permit requires sterilizing males, insurance, caging standards and, outside the small primates, at least one acre.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(7)(c); R.C. 935.02(A), (B)(1)

(A) No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. (B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(1) and (2) of section 935.06 of the Revised Code, no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.

"Cougars, also known as pumas or mountain lions" are named dangerous wild animals, hybrids with domestic cats included. The exceptions in R.C. 935.03 are accredited zoos, research facilities, circuses, sanctuaries, rehabilitators of Ohio natives and vets, so there is no route for a new keeper. 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.

Existing owners: Only a person who registered the animal with the Department of Agriculture in 2012 and possessed it on October 1, 2013, could apply for a wildlife shelter or wildlife propagation permit under R.C. 935.05 or 935.07; the permit requires sterilizing males, insurance, caging standards and, outside the small primates, at least one acre.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(3); R.C. 935.02(A), (B)(1)

(A) No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. (B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(1) and (2) of section 935.06 of the Revised Code, no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.

Lions are named dangerous wild animals. The exceptions in R.C. 935.03 are accredited zoos, research facilities, circuses, sanctuaries, rehabilitators of Ohio natives and vets, so there is no route for a new keeper. 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.

Existing owners: Only a person who registered the animal with the Department of Agriculture in 2012 and possessed it on October 1, 2013, could apply for a wildlife shelter or wildlife propagation permit under R.C. 935.05 or 935.07; the permit requires sterilizing males, insurance, caging standards and, outside the small primates, at least one acre.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(7)(e); R.C. 935.02(A), (B)(1)

(A) No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. (B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(1) and (2) of section 935.06 of the Revised Code, no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.

Servals are named dangerous wild animals, with savannah cat hybrids expressly excluded. The exceptions in R.C. 935.03 are accredited zoos, research facilities, circuses, sanctuaries, rehabilitators of Ohio natives and vets, so there is no route for a new keeper.

Existing owners: Only a person who registered the animal with the Department of Agriculture in 2012 and possessed it on October 1, 2013, could apply for a wildlife shelter or wildlife propagation permit under R.C. 935.05 or 935.07; the permit requires sterilizing males, insurance, caging standards and, outside the small primates, at least one acre.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(17); R.C. 935.02(A), (B)(1)

(A) No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. (B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(1) and (2) of section 935.06 of the Revised Code, no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.

"Caimans, excluding dwarf caimans" are dangerous wild animals, and the spectacled caiman is not a dwarf caiman. The exceptions in R.C. 935.03 are accredited zoos, research facilities, circuses, sanctuaries, rehabilitators of Ohio natives and vets, so there is no route for a new keeper.

Existing owners: Only a person who registered the animal with the Department of Agriculture in 2012 and possessed it on October 1, 2013, could apply for a wildlife shelter or wildlife propagation permit under R.C. 935.05 or 935.07; the permit requires sterilizing males, insurance, caging standards and, outside the small primates, at least one acre.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(4); R.C. 935.02(A), (B)(1)

(A) No person shall possess a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014. (B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(1) and (2) of section 935.06 of the Revised Code, no person shall acquire, buy, sell, trade, or transfer possession or ownership of a dangerous wild animal on or after the effective date of this section.

Tigers are named dangerous wild animals. The exceptions in R.C. 935.03 are accredited zoos, research facilities, circuses, sanctuaries, rehabilitators of Ohio natives and vets, so there is no route for a new keeper. 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.

Existing owners: Only a person who registered the animal with the Department of Agriculture in 2012 and possessed it on October 1, 2013, could apply for a wildlife shelter or wildlife propagation permit under R.C. 935.05 or 935.07; the permit requires sterilizing males, insurance, caging standards and, outside the small primates, at least one acre.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(W); § 1533.71(A)(2); § 935.01(C)(7)(b)

"Noncommercial propagating license" permitting the licensee to propagate game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals and to hold the animals in captivity. Game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, and fur-bearing animals propagated or held in captivity by authority of a noncommercial propagating license are for the licensee's own use and shall not be sold. The fee for such a license is twenty-five dollars per annum.

Bobcats are named fur-bearing animals under R.C. 1531.01(W), which puts them under the § 1533.71 captivity license. The dangerous wild animal list at § 935.01(C)(7)(b) names "Lynxes, including Canadian lynxes, Eurasian lynxes, and Iberian lynxes", and the bobcat is Lynx rufus but is not among them, while the same definitions section names bobcats separately as fur-bearing animals. That separate naming is the better reading. If the bobcat were a lynx under Chapter 935, no new keeper could have one at all, since § 935.02 closed dangerous wild animals to new owners as it did the serval.

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

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(L)(2)(b); 935.08(A)(2); 935.09(A)

(2) A person that acquires a restricted snake in this state on or after January 1, 2014, and that does not intend to propagate, sell, trade, or otherwise transfer the snake shall obtain a restricted snake possession permit under this section not later than one hundred twenty days after acquiring the snake.

Every elapid is a restricted snake under § 935.01(L)(2)(b), the king cobra included. The restricted snake possession permit is still open to a new keeper: the director issues it to an applicant 18 or older with two years' experience with the species or a passed examination, proof of financial responsibility, a clean criminal record and a facility that meets the rules, who signs that the public will have no physical contact with the snake. 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 operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(V); § 1533.71(A)(2)

"Noncommercial propagating license" permitting the licensee to propagate game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals and to hold the animals in captivity. Game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, and fur-bearing animals propagated or held in captivity by authority of a noncommercial propagating license are for the licensee's own use and shall not be sold. The fee for such a license is twenty-five dollars per annum.

Ohio names gray squirrels among its game quadrupeds in R.C. 1531.01(V), and § 1533.71(A) requires anyone who wants to have game quadrupeds in captivity to hold a license. The noncommercial propagating license is the keeper's one: $25 a year, for the licensee's own use, no sales.

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. Chapter 1531 (game quadrupeds)

Ohio classifies the flying squirrel as a game quadruped; no person may take, possess, buy, sell, or transport native wildlife without a permit from the Division of Wildlife. The permits confirmed in the sources reviewed were rehabilitation-oriented; a personal-pet pathway was not confirmed.

How this rule works: Ohio's Division of Wildlife chapter, which defines game quadrupeds (including the flying squirrel) and requires a permit to possess native wildlife.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(W); § 1533.71(A)(2)

"Noncommercial propagating license" permitting the licensee to propagate game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals and to hold the animals in captivity. Game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, and fur-bearing animals propagated or held in captivity by authority of a noncommercial propagating license are for the licensee's own use and shall not be sold. The fee for such a license is twenty-five dollars per annum.

Ohio names the raccoon as a fur-bearing animal in R.C. 1531.01(W), and § 1533.71(A) requires anyone who wants "to have ... fur-bearing animals in captivity" to hold a license. The noncommercial propagating license is the one written for a keeper: $25 a year, for the licensee's own use, no sales. It is not on the § 935.01 dangerous wild animal list.

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

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(L)(2)(c); 935.08(A)(2); 935.09(A)

(2) A person that acquires a restricted snake in this state on or after January 1, 2014, and that does not intend to propagate, sell, trade, or otherwise transfer the snake shall obtain a restricted snake possession permit under this section not later than one hundred twenty days after acquiring the snake.

Every viper is a restricted snake under § 935.01(L)(2)(c), which takes in the rattlesnakes. The restricted snake possession permit is still open to a new keeper: the director issues it to an applicant 18 or older with two years' experience with the species or a passed examination, proof of financial responsibility, a clean criminal record and a facility that meets the rules, who signs that the public will have no physical contact with the snake. Ohio's own timber rattlesnake and massasauga are a Division of Wildlife question as well, since R.C. 1531.01(X) makes reptiles wild animals; that side was not read for this cell.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(W); § 1533.71(A)(2)

"Noncommercial propagating license" permitting the licensee to propagate game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals and to hold the animals in captivity. Game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, and fur-bearing animals propagated or held in captivity by authority of a noncommercial propagating license are for the licensee's own use and shall not be sold. The fee for such a license is twenty-five dollars per annum.

"Fox" is a fur-bearing animal under R.C. 1531.01(W), so holding one needs a § 1533.71 license, and the noncommercial propagating license covers a keeper's own animal for $25 a year. The § 935.01 canid entries are gray wolves and African wild dogs only.

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

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(W); § 1533.71(A)(2)

"Noncommercial propagating license" permitting the licensee to propagate game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals and to hold the animals in captivity. Game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, and fur-bearing animals propagated or held in captivity by authority of a noncommercial propagating license are for the licensee's own use and shall not be sold. The fee for such a license is twenty-five dollars per annum.

Skunks are named fur-bearing animals under R.C. 1531.01(W), so a pet skunk needs the $25 noncommercial propagating license under § 1533.71(A)(2), for the licensee's own use and not for sale.

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

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(W); § 1533.71(A)(2)

"Noncommercial propagating license" permitting the licensee to propagate game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals and to hold the animals in captivity. Game birds, game quadrupeds except captive white-tailed deer, reptiles, amphibians, and fur-bearing animals propagated or held in captivity by authority of a noncommercial propagating license are for the licensee's own use and shall not be sold. The fee for such a license is twenty-five dollars per annum.

Ohio names opossums among its fur-bearing animals in R.C. 1531.01(W), and § 1533.71(A) requires a license to hold fur-bearing animals in captivity. The noncommercial propagating license is the keeper's one: $25 a year, own use, no sales.

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(V), (YY), (GGG); § 1533.71(A)(3), (B)

"Captive white-tailed deer propagation license" permitting the licensee to propagate captive white-tailed deer, hold the animals in captivity, and sell the animals and carcasses.

Ohio carves captive white-tailed deer out of the ordinary noncommercial license and gives them their own, which needs an enclosure surrounded by an eight-foot fence built before applying, and a Department of Agriculture license under R.C. 943.03 or 943.031, the chronic wasting disease side of the scheme, before deer are placed. R.C. 1531.01(GGG) defines a captive white-tailed deer as one held at a facility licensed under both. That is a deer farm, not a pet license, but it is the only lawful way to hold one.

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 935.01(L)(1)

"Restricted snake" means any of the following: (1) All of the following constricting snakes that are twelve feet or longer: ... (e) Burmese pythons

Ohio is one of the few states to draw the line by length rather than by species. A Burmese python under twelve feet is not a restricted snake and needs nothing; at twelve feet it becomes one, and the keeper needs a restricted snake permit, liability insurance and caging that meets the rules. Since a healthy Burmese passes twelve feet in a few years, this is a deadline rather than an exemption.

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

How this rule works: Two enumerated lists. Dangerous wild animals need an Ohio Department of Agriculture wildlife shelter permit; anything on neither list needs no state permit. Restricted snakes are constrictors of 12 feet or more plus venomous families.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(L)(1)(a); 935.08

"Restricted snake" means any of the following: (1) All of the following constricting snakes that are twelve feet or longer: (a) Green anacondas;

The green anaconda heads Ohio's list of constrictors that become restricted snakes at twelve feet. Under that length it needs nothing; at twelve feet the keeper needs a restricted snake possession permit, with insurance, experience and caging. Adult females routinely pass twelve feet, so this is a deadline rather than an exemption. Federally, the green anaconda has been injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act since 2015 (50 CFR 16.15(a)), which bars importing one into the country or shipping one to Hawaii or a territory; USARK v. Zinke (D.C. Cir. 2017) held it does not bar shipment between the continental states.

How this rule works: Two enumerated lists. Dangerous wild animals need an Ohio Department of Agriculture wildlife shelter permit; anything on neither list needs no state permit. Restricted snakes are constrictors of 12 feet or more plus venomous families.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(L)(1)(c); 935.08

"Restricted snake" means any of the following: (1) All of the following constricting snakes that are twelve feet or longer: ... (c) Reticulated pythons;

Ohio draws the line by length. A reticulated python under twelve feet is not a restricted snake and needs nothing; at twelve feet it becomes one, and the keeper needs a restricted snake possession permit, with insurance, experience and caging. Most adult reticulated pythons pass twelve feet, so this is a deadline rather than an exemption, the same reading the Burmese python gets. Federally, the reticulated python has been injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act since 2015 (50 CFR 16.15(a)), which bars importing one into the country or shipping one to Hawaii or a territory; USARK v. Zinke (D.C. Cir. 2017) held it does not bar shipment between the continental states.

How this rule works: Two enumerated lists. Dangerous wild animals need an Ohio Department of Agriculture wildlife shelter permit; anything on neither list needs no state permit. Restricted snakes are constrictors of 12 feet or more plus venomous families.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(19); 935.041(D)

A person that possesses any of the following animals shall register the animal in the same manner as provided in section 935.04 of the Revised Code: (A) Pygmy, white-tufted-ear, silvery, and black-pencilled marmosets; (B) Squirrel monkeys; (C) Brown, white-faced, weeping, and white-fronted capuchins; (D) Lemurs.

Ohio writes the lemurs out of its dangerous wild animal definition, "Nonhuman primates other than lemurs", so the possession bar in § 935.02 does not reach them. What applies instead is § 935.041: a lemur must be registered with the director of agriculture in the same manner as a dangerous wild animal under § 935.04, with a microchip implanted at registration. Lawful on that condition. 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).

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(W), (X); § 1533.71(A)

"Fur-bearing animals" includes minks, weasels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, muskrats, fox, beavers, badgers, otters, coyotes, and bobcats.

The dangerous wild animal list does not reach it, since its canids are gray wolves and African wild dogs. What arguably does is the fur-bearing animal definition, which names "fox" with no species and no nativity limit, inside a definition of wild animals that takes in "all other wild mammals". On that reading the arctic fox, long farmed for fur as the blue fox, needs a § 1533.71 license; read as Ohio's own foxes, it needs nothing. The Division of Wildlife has published nothing on it.

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

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(W), (X); § 1533.71(A)

"Fur-bearing animals" includes minks, weasels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, muskrats, fox, beavers, badgers, otters, coyotes, and bobcats.

Not on the dangerous wild animal list. The fur-bearing definition names "otters" with no species or nativity limit, inside a definition of wild animals that reaches "all other wild mammals", so it arguably puts an Asian otter under the § 1533.71 captivity license; read as Ohio's river otter, it needs nothing. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately.

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

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(19); 935.041(C); 935.02

A person that possesses any of the following animals shall register the animal in the same manner as provided in section 935.04 of the Revised Code: (A) Pygmy, white-tufted-ear, silvery, and black-pencilled marmosets; (B) Squirrel monkeys; (C) Brown, white-faced, weeping, and white-fronted capuchins; (D) Lemurs.

Ohio's statute points two ways. R.C. 935.01(C)(19) makes a dangerous wild animal of "Nonhuman primates other than lemurs and the nonhuman primates specified in division (C)(20)", which on its words takes in every capuchin, and dangerous wild animals cannot be newly acquired. But § 935.041, enacted in the same bill, singles out four capuchins, the brown, white-faced, weeping and white-fronted, with the lemurs for registration with the director of agriculture, which only makes sense if they are not dangerous wild animals. If 935.041 governs, a registered animal is lawful; if (C)(19) governs, it is barred unless it was registered in 2012. Recorded unclear because the two sections cannot both be read at full strength.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(19); 935.041(A); 935.02

A person that possesses any of the following animals shall register the animal in the same manner as provided in section 935.04 of the Revised Code: (A) Pygmy, white-tufted-ear, silvery, and black-pencilled marmosets; (B) Squirrel monkeys; (C) Brown, white-faced, weeping, and white-fronted capuchins; (D) Lemurs.

Ohio's statute points two ways. R.C. 935.01(C)(19) makes a dangerous wild animal of "Nonhuman primates other than lemurs and the nonhuman primates specified in division (C)(20)", which on its words takes in the marmosets, and dangerous wild animals cannot be newly acquired. But § 935.041, enacted in the same bill, singles out four marmosets, among them the white-tufted-ear marmoset, which is the common marmoset, with the lemurs for registration with the director of agriculture, which only makes sense if they are not dangerous wild animals. If 935.041 governs, a registered animal is lawful; if (C)(19) governs, it is barred unless it was registered in 2012. Recorded unclear because the two sections cannot both be read at full strength.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

R.C. 1531.01(W), (X); § 1533.71(A)

"Fur-bearing animals" includes minks, weasels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, muskrats, fox, beavers, badgers, otters, coyotes, and bobcats.

The dangerous wild animal list does not reach it, since its canids are gray wolves and African wild dogs. What arguably does is the fur-bearing animal definition, which names "fox" with no species and no nativity limit, inside a definition of wild animals that takes in "all other wild mammals". On that reading the fennec fox needs a § 1533.71 license; read as Ohio's own foxes, it needs nothing. The Division of Wildlife has published nothing on it.

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

How this rule works: Ohio defines wild animals as "mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals". The word aquatic in front of insects is the whole answer for a terrestrial invertebrate: a land insect or an arachnid is not a wild animal in Ohio and the Division of Wildlife has nothing to say about it.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

R.C. 935.01(C)(19); 935.041(B); 935.02

A person that possesses any of the following animals shall register the animal in the same manner as provided in section 935.04 of the Revised Code: (A) Pygmy, white-tufted-ear, silvery, and black-pencilled marmosets; (B) Squirrel monkeys; (C) Brown, white-faced, weeping, and white-fronted capuchins; (D) Lemurs.

Ohio's statute points two ways. R.C. 935.01(C)(19) makes a dangerous wild animal of "Nonhuman primates other than lemurs and the nonhuman primates specified in division (C)(20)", which on its words takes in squirrel monkeys, and dangerous wild animals cannot be newly acquired. But § 935.041, enacted in the same bill, singles out squirrel monkeys with the lemurs for registration with the director of agriculture, which only makes sense if they are not dangerous wild animals. If 935.041 governs, a registered animal is lawful; if (C)(19) governs, it is barred unless it was registered in 2012. Recorded unclear because the two sections cannot both be read at full strength.

How this rule works: The operative half of Chapter 935. § 935.02(A) bars possessing a dangerous wild animal on or after January 1, 2014, and (B)(1) bars acquiring one after the chapter took effect; the wildlife shelter and propagation permits at §§ 935.05 and 935.07 are open only to someone who possessed a registered animal on October 1, 2013. § 935.041 sends four marmosets, squirrel monkeys, four capuchins and lemurs to registration with the director of agriculture. The restricted snake permits at §§ 935.08 and 935.10 remain open to a snake acquired after January 1, 2014, within 120 days of acquiring it.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.