Exotic pet laws in South Carolina

S.C. Code Regs. 123-150.2, 123-151.4(A); S.C. Code §§ 50-15-20(C), 50-15-40(D)

A. A person shall not possess any species listed as endangered or threatened and in need of management pursuant to S.C. Code Sections 50-15-10, et seq. except by permit issued by the Department.

The American alligator is first on South Carolina's list of nongame species in need of management in Regulation 123-150.2, and § 50-15-20(C) makes possessing one unlawful except as the regulations provide. The permits that exist are for scientific, zoological, educational and propagation purposes under § 50-15-40(D), plus the alligator propagator permit for a licensed facility with setbacks and a five-foot chain-link fence. None is a pet permit.

How this rule works: The 2021 native reptile rules. 123-151.3(A) bars selling, purchasing, trading, exchanging, bartering, exporting, shipping, transferring or re-homing any native reptile or amphibian, with twelve exceptions that are mostly named snakes under a size limit. 123-151.4 adds possession caps for turtles, two for the eastern box turtle with shell notching and registration. 123-151.4(I) is the clause that matters most: the pet-trade exemption at S.C. Code § 50-16-60 does not privilege a native reptile.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

§§ 47-2-10(2)(a), 47-2-20(A)(6), (7), 47-2-30

(a) Family Felidae, Genus panthera ... all lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, cheetahs, snow leopards, and clouded leopards;

The large wild cat definition names cougars, even though the cougar is not in the genus it heads. § 47-2-30(A) makes it unlawful to import, possess, buy, breed or sell one, and the exemptions in § 47-2-20 are for USDA Class A, B or C licensees, research facilities, circuses and similar holders. The eastern cougar is also on the state endangered list in Regulation 123-150. 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: A legal possessor before January 1, 2018, may keep the animal for life after registering with the city or county animal control authority by that date, paying a $500 site fee and $100 a year per animal, and filing an escape contingency plan.

How this rule works: The 2018 Act. It is narrow on purpose: genus Panthera, non-native bears, great apes, and hybrids of those. Anyone in lawful possession before January 1, 2018, could register with the local animal control authority and keep the animal for its life.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

§§ 47-2-10(2)(a), 47-2-20(A)(6), (7), 47-2-30

(a) Family Felidae, Genus panthera ... all lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, cheetahs, snow leopards, and clouded leopards;

The large wild cat definition names lions. § 47-2-30(A) makes it unlawful to import, possess, buy, breed or sell one, and the exemptions in § 47-2-20 are for USDA Class A, B or C licensees, research facilities, circuses and similar holders. 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: A legal possessor before January 1, 2018, may keep the animal for life after registering with the city or county animal control authority by that date, paying a $500 site fee and $100 a year per animal, and filing an escape contingency plan.

How this rule works: The 2018 Act. It is narrow on purpose: genus Panthera, non-native bears, great apes, and hybrids of those. Anyone in lawful possession before January 1, 2018, could register with the local animal control authority and keep the animal for its life.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

S.C. Code §§ 50-15-30(C)(3), 50-15-40(D); § 47-2-10(2)(c)

(C) Except as otherwise provided in this article, it shall be unlawful for any person to take, possess, transport, export, process, sell or offer for sale, or ship, and for any common or contract carrier knowingly to transport or receive for shipment any species or subspecies of wildlife appearing on any of the following lists: ... (3) the United States' List of Endangered Foreign Fish and Wildlife (Part 17 of Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Appendix A, 50 C.F.R. Section 17.11), as such list may be modified hereafter;

South Carolina's 2018 ban reaches primates only through the great apes, but § 50-15-30(C)(3) separately bars possessing any species on the federal list of endangered foreign wildlife, and 50 CFR 17.11 lists the whole family Lemuridae, Lemur included, as endangered. § 50-15-40(D) lets the Department permit possession only for scientific, zoological, educational, propagation or other special purposes. 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 2018 Act. It is narrow on purpose: genus Panthera, non-native bears, great apes, and hybrids of those. Anyone in lawful possession before January 1, 2018, could register with the local animal control authority and keep the animal for its life.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

§§ 47-2-10(2)(a), 47-2-20(A)(6), (7), 47-2-30

(a) Family Felidae, Genus panthera ... all lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, cheetahs, snow leopards, and clouded leopards;

The large wild cat definition names tigers. § 47-2-30(A) makes it unlawful to import, possess, buy, breed or sell one, and the exemptions in § 47-2-20 are for USDA Class A, B or C licensees, research facilities, circuses and similar holders. 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: A legal possessor before January 1, 2018, may keep the animal for life after registering with the city or county animal control authority by that date, paying a $500 site fee and $100 a year per animal, and filing an escape contingency plan.

How this rule works: The 2018 Act. It is narrow on purpose: genus Panthera, non-native bears, great apes, and hybrids of those. Anyone in lawful possession before January 1, 2018, could register with the local animal control authority and keep the animal for its life.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1), (B)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

"Bear" is named in § 50-16-20(A)(1), so importing one needs a Department permit. The 2018 ban in Title 47 reaches non-native bears only, so the native black bear is outside it. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue the permit only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1), (B)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The furbearer list names "red and gray fox" and is open ended, "includes, but is not limited to", so an arctic fox reads as a furbearer needing the import permit, the fennec fox's position. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue the permit only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1), (B)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The furbearer list names "otter" without a species and is open ended, so an Asian otter reads as a furbearer needing the import permit. CITES Appendix I since 2019 governs international trade separately. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue the permit only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1), (B)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The bobcat is named as a furbearer, so importing one needs a Department permit. The large cat ban stops at genus Panthera. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue the permit only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The furbearer list is open ended and names fox. Bringing one into South Carolina needs a Department of Natural Resources permit.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1), (B)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The raccoon is named as a furbearer, and bringing one into South Carolina or possessing one for release needs a Department of Natural Resources permit. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue the permit only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1), (B)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The red fox is named first in the furbearer list, so importing one needs a Department permit, the fennec fox's position. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue the permit only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1), (B)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The skunk is named as a furbearer, so importing one needs a Department permit. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue the permit only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1), (B)

a furbearer, a member of the family Cervidae, a nondomestic member of the families Suidae (pigs), Tayassuidae (peccaries), Bovidae (bison, mountain goat, mountain sheep), coyote, bear, or turkey (genus Meleagris). Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The opossum is named as a furbearer, so bringing one into South Carolina needs a Department of Natural Resources permit, the raccoon's position. § 50-16-20(B) lets the Department issue it only if the animal was taken lawfully where it came from and its possession is not expected to harm the state's wildlife, and § 50-16-60's pet-trade exemption does not list it.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

S.C. Code Regs. 123-151.4(D); 123-151.3(A)

A person shall not possess more than 2 eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina).

This entry read legal on § 50-16-60, which clears reptiles as a class from the import permit. Regulation 123-151.4(I) says that section does not privilege a native reptile, and the eastern box turtle gets its own subsection. 123-151.4(D) caps possession at two, and anyone who held more on September 28, 2020, had ninety days to register them by species, wild-caught and captive-born alike, with no further turtles acquirable until the number drops below the cap. Registered turtles are assigned a unique identification number and must be shell notched with it, the keeper must file an affidavit confirming the notching, and permit holders file an annual report. On top of that 123-151.3(A) bars selling, buying or re-homing one at all. Two is also the aggregate cap for diamondback terrapins, against ten for native turtles generally.

How this rule works: The 2021 native reptile rules. 123-151.3(A) bars selling, purchasing, trading, exchanging, bartering, exporting, shipping, transferring or re-homing any native reptile or amphibian, with twelve exceptions that are mostly named snakes under a size limit. 123-151.4 adds possession caps for turtles, two for the eastern box turtle with shell notching and registration. 123-151.4(I) is the clause that matters most: the pet-trade exemption at S.C. Code § 50-16-60 does not privilege a native reptile.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

S.C. Code Regs. Ch. 123-150 to -153 (Act 177)

Corn snakes reproduced in captivity and under 20 inches in total length are allowed

South Carolina's 2021 native-reptile law (Act 177) generally bars sale/possession of native reptiles, but carves out captive-bred corn snakes under 20 inches total length as an allowed pet-trade exception. We could not confirm the exact regulation subsection number for this specific size cutoff beyond the Chapter 123-150s series; the substance is corroborated by SCDNR's own herp regulations page describing the general native-species possession scheme.

How this rule works: Official codified text implementing 2021 Act 177; §123-151.3 carves out captive-bred corn snakes under 20 inches and eastern milksnakes under 10 inches from the general native-reptile sale/possession ban.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

S.C. Code Regs. 123-150.3; § 50-16-60

That a scientific collecting permit under the terms of § 50-11-2190, 1976 Code of Laws, shall be required for the collecting of all nongame species or subspecies of the Classes Pices (Fish), Amphibia (Amphibians), Reptilia (Reptiles), Aves (Birds) and Mammalia (Mammals).

The southern flying squirrel is a South Carolina native and a nongame mammal, and the answer turns on where an individual animal came from. Regulation 123-150.3 requires a scientific collecting permit for collecting any nongame species of the class Mammalia, so taking one from the wild is out for a keeper. Possession of a lawfully acquired captive-bred animal is a different question and South Carolina does not answer it directly: § 50-16-20(A) requires a permit for furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey, and a flying squirrel is none of those, while the pet-trade exemption at § 50-16-60 names rats, mice, rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs and no squirrel. Recorded conditional on origin rather than as a permit, because there is no possession permit in the chapter to apply for.

How this rule works: The 2021 native reptile rules. 123-151.3(A) bars selling, purchasing, trading, exchanging, bartering, exporting, shipping, transferring or re-homing any native reptile or amphibian, with twelve exceptions that are mostly named snakes under a size limit. 123-151.4 adds possession caps for turtles, two for the eastern box turtle with shell notching and registration. 123-151.4(I) is the clause that matters most: the pet-trade exemption at S.C. Code § 50-16-60 does not privilege a native reptile.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

S.C. Code Regs. 123-151.3(A); 123-151.4(I)

No native reptile or amphibian, including parts, products, eggs, and derivatives may be sold, purchased, traded, exchanged, bartered, exported or shipped, transferred and/or re-homed, except:

The green anole is a South Carolina native, which is what takes it out of the pet-trade exemption. § 50-16-60 clears reptiles as a class from the import permit, and Regulation 123-151.4(I) then says that section "does not privilege" a native reptile: the 2021 rules control instead. 123-151.3(A) bars selling, purchasing, trading, exchanging, bartering, exporting, shipping, transferring and re-homing any native reptile, and its twelve exceptions do not reach a lizard. They are: transfers to the department, transfers authorized by other law, accredited zoos and research institutions, laboratory venom, non-native morphs of native snake species, three named snakes under 10 inches, three more under 20, the pine snake under 24, two named turtles from permitted sources, alligators, bullfrogs, and rehabilitators. So a green anole may be kept and may not change hands, and giving one away is expressly included in the bar.

How this rule works: The 2021 native reptile rules. 123-151.3(A) bars selling, purchasing, trading, exchanging, bartering, exporting, shipping, transferring or re-homing any native reptile or amphibian, with twelve exceptions that are mostly named snakes under a size limit. 123-151.4 adds possession caps for turtles, two for the eastern box turtle with shell notching and registration. 123-151.4(I) is the clause that matters most: the pet-trade exemption at S.C. Code § 50-16-60 does not privilege a native reptile.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

S.C. Code Regs. Ch. 123-150 to -153 (Act 177)

eastern milksnakes reproduced in captivity and under 10 inches in total length are also permitted

South Carolina's 2021 native-reptile law (Act 177) bars sale/possession of native reptiles generally, but carves out captive-bred eastern milksnakes under 10 inches total length as an allowed pet-trade exception. We could not confirm the exact regulation subsection for this size cutoff beyond the Chapter 123-150s series.

How this rule works: Official codified text implementing 2021 Act 177; §123-151.3 carves out captive-bred corn snakes under 20 inches and eastern milksnakes under 10 inches from the general native-reptile sale/possession ban.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

S.C. Code Regs. 123-151.3(A), 123-151.4(I); S.C. Code §§ 50-15-15, 50-16-60

A. No native reptile or amphibian, including parts, products, eggs, and derivatives may be sold, purchased, traded, exchanged, bartered, exported or shipped, transferred and/or re-homed, except:

South Carolina splits rattlesnakes by nativity. A rattlesnake not native to the state comes under § 50-16-60, which lets reptiles be imported for the pet trade without a permit. A native rattlesnake may not be bought, sold, traded or re-homed under Regulation 123-151.3, and 123-151.4(I) says § 50-16-60 does not reach natives, so the routes are catching one yourself, which the regulations set no snake possession limit on, or a non-native color morph of a native species, which 151.3(A)(5) exempts.

How this rule works: The 2021 native reptile rules. 123-151.3(A) bars selling, purchasing, trading, exchanging, bartering, exporting, shipping, transferring or re-homing any native reptile or amphibian, with twelve exceptions that are mostly named snakes under a size limit. 123-151.4 adds possession caps for turtles, two for the eastern box turtle with shell notching and registration. 123-151.4(I) is the clause that matters most: the pet-trade exemption at S.C. Code § 50-16-60 does not privilege a native reptile.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

§ 50-11-1910(A); § 50-16-20(A)(1)

(A) It is unlawful to buy or sell, offer for sale, barter, or have in possession for sale the following: any live deer (family cervidae),

No live deer may be bought or sold in South Carolina, and bringing one into the state needs a Department of Natural Resources permit under § 50-16-20(A)(1), which names the family Cervidae. No South Carolina rule read here speaks to keeping a native deer that was neither bought nor imported, so pet keeping is not clearly ruled out but has no ordinary route.

How this rule works: Makes it unlawful to buy, sell, offer for sale, barter or possess for sale any live deer of the family Cervidae, among other deer products.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

§ 50-16-20(A)(1)

Furbearer includes, but is not limited to, red and gray fox, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, mink, skunk, otter, bobcat, weasel, and beaver;

The domestic ferret is not named, but the list is expressly not exhaustive and it does name mink and weasel, the ferret's closest relatives. Ferrets are also absent from the § 50-16-60 pet trade exemption list, which names hamsters, guinea pigs and gerbils. Worth a call to DNR before importing one.

How this rule works: § 50-16-20 requires a permit to bring in certain groups of live wildlife, chiefly furbearers, cervids, pigs, bovids, coyote, bear and turkey. § 50-16-60 then exempts a named list of pet trade animals from even that.

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.