Exotic pet laws in Tennessee

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(1), 70-4-404(c)(1)

(i) Order Crocodylia: Crocodiles and alligators--All species;

Alligators are named in Class I. Class I "may only be possessed by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators", and § 70-4-404(c)(1) says that after June 25, 1991 "no new animals shall be brought into possession under authority of a personal possession permit".

Existing owners: Persons legally possessing Class I wildlife before June 25, 1991, must hold an annual personal possession permit and may keep the lineage up to three animals per species; no new animal may be brought into possession under a personal possession permit.

How this rule works: Five classes. Class I is a specific list of inherently dangerous animals, possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is "native species, except those listed in other classes". Class III "requires no permits except those required by the department of agriculture, and includes all species not listed in other classes", followed by seventeen illustrative subdivisions. Class IV is black bear, white-tailed deer and wild turkey; Class V is whatever the commission designates as injurious. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive, and the exception clause in Class II is what keeps native reptiles out of it. Tennessee's official code sits behind LexisNexis, so the wording here was taken from two independent reproductions that agree: animallaw.info, which carries the current post-2024 text, and lawserver.com, whose copy is marked effective until July 1, 2024, and differs only in the snake clause, which the 2024 amendment changed from "poisonous" to "venomous".

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-403(4)(A); (1)(A)(ii)(b)

(4) Class IV--This class includes those native species that may be possessed only by zoos and temporary exhibitors; provided, that rehabilitation facilities may possess Class IV wildlife as provided by rules established by the commission if authorized by a letter from the director of the agency: (A) Black bear (Ursus americanus);

Named in Class IV, which only zoos and temporary exhibitors may hold, with rehabilitators allowed by letter. Bears of all species are also in Class I, which has been closed to personal possession since June 25, 1991.

How this rule works: Five classes. Class I is a specific list of inherently dangerous animals, possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is "native species, except those listed in other classes". Class III "requires no permits except those required by the department of agriculture, and includes all species not listed in other classes", followed by seventeen illustrative subdivisions. Class IV is black bear, white-tailed deer and wild turkey; Class V is whatever the commission designates as injurious. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive, and the exception clause in Class II is what keeps native reptiles out of it. Tennessee's official code sits behind LexisNexis, so the wording here was taken from two independent reproductions that agree: animallaw.info, which carries the current post-2024 text, and lawserver.com, whose copy is marked effective until July 1, 2024, and differs only in the snake clause, which the 2024 amendment changed from "poisonous" to "venomous".

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(1), 70-4-404(c)(1)

(ii) Order Serpentes: Snakes--All venomous species;

Every venomous snake is in Class I. Class I "may only be possessed by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators", and § 70-4-404(c)(1) says that after June 25, 1991 "no new animals shall be brought into possession under authority of a personal possession permit". The king cobra and the Asian Naja species are on CITES Appendix II, which governs import and export, not keeping.

Existing owners: Persons legally possessing Class I wildlife before June 25, 1991, must hold an annual personal possession permit and may keep the lineage up to three animals per species; no new animal may be brought into possession under a personal possession permit.

How this rule works: Five classes. Class I is a specific list of inherently dangerous animals, possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is "native species, except those listed in other classes". Class III "requires no permits except those required by the department of agriculture, and includes all species not listed in other classes", followed by seventeen illustrative subdivisions. Class IV is black bear, white-tailed deer and wild turkey; Class V is whatever the commission designates as injurious. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive, and the exception clause in Class II is what keeps native reptiles out of it. Tennessee's official code sits behind LexisNexis, so the wording here was taken from two independent reproductions that agree: animallaw.info, which carries the current post-2024 text, and lawserver.com, whose copy is marked effective until July 1, 2024, and differs only in the snake clause, which the 2024 amendment changed from "poisonous" to "venomous".

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(1), 70-4-404(c)(1)

(c) Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, cougars--All species;

Cougars are named in Class I. Class I "may only be possessed by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators", and § 70-4-404(c)(1) says that after June 25, 1991 "no new animals shall be brought into possession under authority of a personal possession permit". 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: Persons legally possessing Class I wildlife before June 25, 1991, must hold an annual personal possession permit and may keep the lineage up to three animals per species; no new animal may be brought into possession under a personal possession permit.

How this rule works: Five classes. Class I is a specific list of inherently dangerous animals, possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is "native species, except those listed in other classes". Class III "requires no permits except those required by the department of agriculture, and includes all species not listed in other classes", followed by seventeen illustrative subdivisions. Class IV is black bear, white-tailed deer and wild turkey; Class V is whatever the commission designates as injurious. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive, and the exception clause in Class II is what keeps native reptiles out of it. Tennessee's official code sits behind LexisNexis, so the wording here was taken from two independent reproductions that agree: animallaw.info, which carries the current post-2024 text, and lawserver.com, whose copy is marked effective until July 1, 2024, and differs only in the snake clause, which the 2024 amendment changed from "poisonous" to "venomous".

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(1), 70-4-404(c)(1)

(c) Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, cougars--All species;

Lions are named first in the Class I big cat clause. Class I "may only be possessed by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators", and § 70-4-404(c)(1) says that after June 25, 1991 "no new animals shall be brought into possession under authority of a personal possession permit". 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: Persons legally possessing Class I wildlife before June 25, 1991, must hold an annual personal possession permit and may keep the lineage up to three animals per species; no new animal may be brought into possession under a personal possession permit.

How this rule works: Five classes. Class I is a specific list of inherently dangerous animals, possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is "native species, except those listed in other classes". Class III "requires no permits except those required by the department of agriculture, and includes all species not listed in other classes", followed by seventeen illustrative subdivisions. Class IV is black bear, white-tailed deer and wild turkey; Class V is whatever the commission designates as injurious. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive, and the exception clause in Class II is what keeps native reptiles out of it. Tennessee's official code sits behind LexisNexis, so the wording here was taken from two independent reproductions that agree: animallaw.info, which carries the current post-2024 text, and lawserver.com, whose copy is marked effective until July 1, 2024, and differs only in the snake clause, which the 2024 amendment changed from "poisonous" to "venomous".

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1660-01-18-.03(4)(b); Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-403(5)

(4) The following species or groups of wildlife are added to the group of animals designated by legislation as Class V: (a) Nandaya or Black-Hooded parakeets (Nandayus nenday); (b) Quaker or Monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus);

The statute alone would put the monk parakeet in the no-permit Class III under its avian catch-all, but the commission's rule chapter adds it to Class V by name, alongside the nanday parakeet. Class V is the statute's class for species designated injurious to the environment, and § 70-4-403(5) says species so designated "may only be held in zoos under such conditions as to prevent the release or escape of such wildlife into the environment." There is no permit a private keeper can hold.

How this rule works: The commission's own additions to the statutory classes, read from Cornell LII, which carries all six rules. Rule .03 is short: (1) adds to Class I only hybrids of two Class I species; (2) makes native species Class II unless designated otherwise; (3) adds waterfowl other than migratory game birds, ostriches, cassowaries, caimans and gavials to Class III and moves native nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians and native furbearers out of it into Class II; (4) adds the nanday parakeet, the monk parakeet, the African clawed frog and most non-native freshwater aquatic life to Class V; and (5) regulates a hybrid of species from different classes as a member of the least restrictive class involved. No mammal is added to Class I by name. Rule .01(4) requires anyone possessing live wildlife to be able to prove legal ownership. Last amended effective January 30, 2022.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(1), 70-4-404(c)(1)

(B) Reptiles: (i) Order Crocodylia: Crocodiles and alligators--All species; and (ii) Order Serpentes: Snakes--All venomous species;

Every venomous snake is in Class I, which reaches Tennessee's native rattlesnakes as well as any from elsewhere. Class I "may only be possessed by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators", and § 70-4-404(c)(1) says that after June 25, 1991 "no new animals shall be brought into possession under authority of a personal possession permit".

Existing owners: Persons legally possessing Class I wildlife before June 25, 1991, must hold an annual personal possession permit and may keep the lineage up to three animals per species; no new animal may be brought into possession under a personal possession permit.

How this rule works: Five classes. Class I is a specific list of inherently dangerous animals, possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is "native species, except those listed in other classes". Class III "requires no permits except those required by the department of agriculture, and includes all species not listed in other classes", followed by seventeen illustrative subdivisions. Class IV is black bear, white-tailed deer and wild turkey; Class V is whatever the commission designates as injurious. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive, and the exception clause in Class II is what keeps native reptiles out of it. Tennessee's official code sits behind LexisNexis, so the wording here was taken from two independent reproductions that agree: animallaw.info, which carries the current post-2024 text, and lawserver.com, whose copy is marked effective until July 1, 2024, and differs only in the snake clause, which the 2024 amendment changed from "poisonous" to "venomous".

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-208(a), (b)

It is unlawful for any person to import, possess, or cause to be imported into this state any type of live skunk, or to sell, barter, exchange or otherwise transfer any live skunk, except that the prohibitions of this section shall not apply to bona fide zoological parks and research institutions.

A specific statute bars the animal, and it controls over the five-class scheme that would otherwise file a native furbearer in Class II on a $10 permit. "Any type of live skunk" reaches a descented, captive-bred one. The only routes are a bona fide zoological park or research institution, and a wildlife rehabilitation permit holder receiving skunks from the wild for rehabilitation and release only. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor.

How this rule works: A one-section statute in the hunting and trapping part, outside the five-class exotic animal scheme. (a) makes it unlawful to import, possess, sell, barter, exchange or otherwise transfer any live skunk, with bona fide zoological parks and research institutions the only exemption; (b) lets a permitted wildlife rehabilitator receive skunks from the wild for rehabilitation and release only; (c) makes a violation a Class C misdemeanor. Tennessee has no free official code, so this is read from FindLaw's reproduction (current as of January 2, 2024) and cited by section number.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(1), 70-4-404(c)(1)

(c) Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, cougars--All species;

Tigers are named in Class I. Class I "may only be possessed by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators", and § 70-4-404(c)(1) says that after June 25, 1991 "no new animals shall be brought into possession under authority of a personal possession permit". 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: Persons legally possessing Class I wildlife before June 25, 1991, must hold an annual personal possession permit and may keep the lineage up to three animals per species; no new animal may be brought into possession under a personal possession permit.

How this rule works: Five classes. Class I is a specific list of inherently dangerous animals, possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is "native species, except those listed in other classes". Class III "requires no permits except those required by the department of agriculture, and includes all species not listed in other classes", followed by seventeen illustrative subdivisions. Class IV is black bear, white-tailed deer and wild turkey; Class V is whatever the commission designates as injurious. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive, and the exception clause in Class II is what keeps native reptiles out of it. Tennessee's official code sits behind LexisNexis, so the wording here was taken from two independent reproductions that agree: animallaw.info, which carries the current post-2024 text, and lawserver.com, whose copy is marked effective until July 1, 2024, and differs only in the snake clause, which the 2024 amendment changed from "poisonous" to "venomous".

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-403(4)(B), (3)(P)

(4) Class IV--This class includes those native species that may be possessed only by zoos and temporary exhibitors; provided, that rehabilitation facilities may possess Class IV wildlife as provided by rules established by the commission if authorized by a letter from the director of the agency: ... (B) White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus);

Named in Class IV, which only zoos and temporary exhibitors may hold, with rehabilitators allowed by letter. Class III takes other cervids "except white-tailed deer and wild elk", which shuts the farm route that farmed elk have.

How this rule works: Five classes. Class I is a specific list of inherently dangerous animals, possessable only by zoos, circuses and commercial propagators. Class II is "native species, except those listed in other classes". Class III "requires no permits except those required by the department of agriculture, and includes all species not listed in other classes", followed by seventeen illustrative subdivisions. Class IV is black bear, white-tailed deer and wild turkey; Class V is whatever the commission designates as injurious. The catch-all sitting at Class III rather than Class II is what makes Tennessee permissive, and the exception clause in Class II is what keeps native reptiles out of it. Tennessee's official code sits behind LexisNexis, so the wording here was taken from two independent reproductions that agree: animallaw.info, which carries the current post-2024 text, and lawserver.com, whose copy is marked effective until July 1, 2024, and differs only in the snake clause, which the 2024 amendment changed from "poisonous" to "venomous".

Checked against the published text on October 1, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(2), 70-4-401(b), 70-4-404(d)(1)(B); Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1660-01-18-.03(2), (3)(b)

(2) Native species of wildlife are considered to be Class II unless specifically designated otherwise by T.C.A. § 70-4-403 or rules and regulations authorized therein. (3) ... (b) 1. The following species or groups of wildlife are deleted from the existing listing designated by legislation as Class III: (i) All native, nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians; and (ii) All native, furbearing mammals. 2. All species or groups of wildlife deleted from Class III in part 1. are considered to be Class II wildlife.

The bobcat is a native furbearing mammal, and the commission's rule moves native furbearers out of Class III and into Class II. TWRA says no one may possess a Class II species without the permit, which costs $10 an animal for personal possession, and § 70-4-401(b) requires documentary evidence of the supplier's name and address and the date acquired. The statute's Class III entry for furbearers "raised solely for the sale of fur" covers fur farming, not a pet. Bobcat hybrids with domestic cats are Class III by statute at (3)(N), and Class IV's hybrid clause expressly leaves the bobcat out, which shows the legislature placing the bobcat itself in Class II.

How this rule works: The commission's own additions to the statutory classes, read from Cornell LII, which carries all six rules. Rule .03 is short: (1) adds to Class I only hybrids of two Class I species; (2) makes native species Class II unless designated otherwise; (3) adds waterfowl other than migratory game birds, ostriches, cassowaries, caimans and gavials to Class III and moves native nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians and native furbearers out of it into Class II; (4) adds the nanday parakeet, the monk parakeet, the African clawed frog and most non-native freshwater aquatic life to Class V; and (5) regulates a hybrid of species from different classes as a member of the least restrictive class involved. No mammal is added to Class I by name. Rule .01(4) requires anyone possessing live wildlife to be able to prove legal ownership. Last amended effective January 30, 2022.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(2), 70-4-401(b), 70-4-404(d)(1)(B); Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1660-01-18-.03(2), (3)(b)

(2) Native species of wildlife are considered to be Class II unless specifically designated otherwise by T.C.A. § 70-4-403 or rules and regulations authorized therein. (3) ... (b) 1. The following species or groups of wildlife are deleted from the existing listing designated by legislation as Class III: (i) All native, nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians; and (ii) All native, furbearing mammals. 2. All species or groups of wildlife deleted from Class III in part 1. are considered to be Class II wildlife.

The raccoon is a native furbearing mammal, and the commission's rule moves native furbearers out of Class III and into Class II. TWRA says no one may possess a Class II species without the permit, which costs $10 an animal for personal possession, and § 70-4-401(b) requires documentary evidence of the supplier's name and address and the date acquired. The statute's Class III entry for furbearers "raised solely for the sale of fur" covers fur farming, not a pet. Rule .01(3) bars taking one from the wild except as statute, proclamation or rule allows.

How this rule works: The commission's own additions to the statutory classes, read from Cornell LII, which carries all six rules. Rule .03 is short: (1) adds to Class I only hybrids of two Class I species; (2) makes native species Class II unless designated otherwise; (3) adds waterfowl other than migratory game birds, ostriches, cassowaries, caimans and gavials to Class III and moves native nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians and native furbearers out of it into Class II; (4) adds the nanday parakeet, the monk parakeet, the African clawed frog and most non-native freshwater aquatic life to Class V; and (5) regulates a hybrid of species from different classes as a member of the least restrictive class involved. No mammal is added to Class I by name. Rule .01(4) requires anyone possessing live wildlife to be able to prove legal ownership. Last amended effective January 30, 2022.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 70-4-403(2), 70-4-401(b), 70-4-404(d)(1)(B); Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1660-01-18-.03(2), (3)(b)

(2) Native species of wildlife are considered to be Class II unless specifically designated otherwise by T.C.A. § 70-4-403 or rules and regulations authorized therein. (3) ... (b) 1. The following species or groups of wildlife are deleted from the existing listing designated by legislation as Class III: (i) All native, nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians; and (ii) All native, furbearing mammals. 2. All species or groups of wildlife deleted from Class III in part 1. are considered to be Class II wildlife.

The red fox is a native furbearing mammal, and the commission's rule moves native furbearers out of Class III and into Class II. TWRA says no one may possess a Class II species without the permit, which costs $10 an animal for personal possession, and § 70-4-401(b) requires documentary evidence of the supplier's name and address and the date acquired. The statute's Class III entry for furbearers "raised solely for the sale of fur" covers fur farming, not a pet.

How this rule works: The commission's own additions to the statutory classes, read from Cornell LII, which carries all six rules. Rule .03 is short: (1) adds to Class I only hybrids of two Class I species; (2) makes native species Class II unless designated otherwise; (3) adds waterfowl other than migratory game birds, ostriches, cassowaries, caimans and gavials to Class III and moves native nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians and native furbearers out of it into Class II; (4) adds the nanday parakeet, the monk parakeet, the African clawed frog and most non-native freshwater aquatic life to Class V; and (5) regulates a hybrid of species from different classes as a member of the least restrictive class involved. No mammal is added to Class I by name. Rule .01(4) requires anyone possessing live wildlife to be able to prove legal ownership. Last amended effective January 30, 2022.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-403(3)(J); Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1660-01-18-.03(3)(b)

(b) 1. The following species or groups of wildlife are deleted from the existing listing designated by legislation as Class III: (i) All native, nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians; and (ii) All native, furbearing mammals. 2. All species or groups of wildlife deleted from Class III in part 1. are considered to be Class II wildlife.

Two Tennessee texts pull this animal different ways. The statute's Class III names "Marsupials", which reaches the Virginia opossum and needs no wildlife permit. The commission's rule then moves "All native, furbearing mammals" out of Class III into Class II, which needs a TWRA permit, $10 an animal for personal possession, with supplier documentation. Whether the opossum counts as a furbearing mammal for that rule is not defined in what was read. Either way it can be kept; the open question is whether a permit is needed.

How this rule works: The commission's own additions to the statutory classes, read from Cornell LII, which carries all six rules. Rule .03 is short: (1) adds to Class I only hybrids of two Class I species; (2) makes native species Class II unless designated otherwise; (3) adds waterfowl other than migratory game birds, ostriches, cassowaries, caimans and gavials to Class III and moves native nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians and native furbearers out of it into Class II; (4) adds the nanday parakeet, the monk parakeet, the African clawed frog and most non-native freshwater aquatic life to Class V; and (5) regulates a hybrid of species from different classes as a member of the least restrictive class involved. No mammal is added to Class I by name. Rule .01(4) requires anyone possessing live wildlife to be able to prove legal ownership. Last amended effective January 30, 2022.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-403(1)(A)(ii)(a), (3)(O); Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1660-01-18-.03(1), (5)

(5) Hybrids involving two species from different Classes of animals shall be regulated as a member of the least restrictive Class involved, unless otherwise specified.

Wolves of all species are Class I, closed to private keepers, and Tennessee writes hybrid rules that do not quite fit this cross. The statute puts hybrids of a Class II species and a domestic animal in Class III, but the wolf is Class I. The rule adds hybrids of two Class I species to Class I and puts cross-class hybrids in the least restrictive class involved, but a domestic dog is not wildlife in any class. So whether a wolfdog is a Class I wolf, a Class III hybrid or outside the scheme as a dog is not answered by any of the three provisions.

How this rule works: The commission's own additions to the statutory classes, read from Cornell LII, which carries all six rules. Rule .03 is short: (1) adds to Class I only hybrids of two Class I species; (2) makes native species Class II unless designated otherwise; (3) adds waterfowl other than migratory game birds, ostriches, cassowaries, caimans and gavials to Class III and moves native nonpoisonous reptiles and amphibians and native furbearers out of it into Class II; (4) adds the nanday parakeet, the monk parakeet, the African clawed frog and most non-native freshwater aquatic life to Class V; and (5) regulates a hybrid of species from different classes as a member of the least restrictive class involved. No mammal is added to Class I by name. Rule .01(4) requires anyone possessing live wildlife to be able to prove legal ownership. Last amended effective January 30, 2022.

Checked against the published text on October 8, 2026.