Are Roof Rats Legal in Denver? Keeping, Breeding & Selling

Keeping / owning   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-20

D.R.M.C. 8-72(a) makes it unlawful to own, possess, keep, maintain, feed, harbor, transport, or sell any living ‘wild or hazardous animal’ in the city. Section 8-72(b)(7) defines that term to include ‘all species of nonhuman mammals’ except an enumerated white-list. The only rat on the list is ‘(j) Domestic laboratory rat (Rattus rattus albino strain).’ On its face, a normally colored (agouti, black, or blonde) domesticated roof rat is not the ‘albino strain’ and is therefore a prohibited wild animal in Denver. This is stricter than Colorado, whose Parks & Wildlife Domestic Animal List (2 CCR 406-11 Section 1103(A)) exempts ‘Domesticated races of rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus)’ from wildlife licensing. The clause appears to contain a scientific drafting error (the albino lab/pet rat is Rattus norvegicus, and no albino Rattus rattus strain exists), so whether Denver enforces it literally against a colored pet rat is an open question we have put to Denver Animal Protection.

Sources: City and County of Denver, Colorado Parks & Wildlife

Breeding   Prohibited

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-20

Denver has no separate rodent-breeding rule, so breeding follows from the keeping ban: because D.R.M.C. 8-72 makes it unlawful to keep or maintain a ‘wild or hazardous animal,’ and a non-albino roof rat is not on the permitted white-list, you cannot lawfully keep the breeding stock inside the city in the first place. (If Denver Animal Protection reads 8-72(b)(7)(j) to allow domesticated pet rats generally, then ordinary hobby breeding would follow Colorado’s permissive state rule.)

Sources: City and County of Denver

Selling or giving away   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-20

The same prohibition in D.R.M.C. 8-72(a) expressly covers selling within the city (‘own, possess, keep, maintain, feed, harbor, transport or sell’). A roof rat that is not the permitted ‘albino strain’ is a ‘wild or hazardous animal,’ so selling or otherwise transferring one inside Denver is barred by the same clause that bars keeping it. (Colorado state allows hobby transfer of domesticated rats; this is a Denver-specific bar.)

Sources: City and County of Denver

Transport & import   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-20

D.R.M.C. 8-72(a) expressly lists ‘transport’ among the prohibited acts for a ‘wild or hazardous animal.’ So moving a non-albino roof rat within Denver is barred by the same clause. (Colorado’s state-level import rule, a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection for a pet rat entering the state, still applies to the rest of Colorado; see Colorado.)

Sources: City and County of Denver

• Read D.R.M.C. 8-72(b)(7) and check whether your animal fits a listed exception
• Contact Denver Animal Protection (DDPHE) for a written determination on a domesticated, non-albino pet rat

Where: Denver Animal Protection (Denver Department of Public Health & Environment)

Source: City and County of Denver