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

Keeping / owning   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-07

3 Del. C. §7201 bars possessing any live wild mammal ‘not native to or generally found in Delaware’ without a DDA permit. R. rattus is a non-native species and is not among the exempt mammals in 3 Del. Admin. Code 903-6.1.1 (which names ‘Norway rats’ but not the roof rat); under 903-6.5 a non-listed exotic requires a permit. So the textual reading is that keeping one needs an Individual Exotic Animal Permit ($25, 3-year, home inspection, escape-proof double-enclosure). The genuine counter-argument: a captive-bred R. rattus may be a species ‘generally found in Delaware’ (an established commensal), which could pull it outside §7201, only the State Veterinarian can decide. Gemini DR-verified: Delaware exempts ‘Norway rats’ but NOT R. rattus from exotic-animal permits (3 Del. C. sec.7201; 3 Del. Admin. Code 903-6.1.1) -> R. rattus needs an Individual Exotic Animal Permit (non-transferable, 3-yr, obtained BEFORE acquiring/importing). county zoning (esp. New Castle County) can prohibit outright.

Sources: Delaware General Assembly, Delaware Dept of Agriculture (State Veterinarian), Delaware Dept of Agriculture

Breeding   Restricted

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-07

Breeding follows the keep classification. If treated as permit-required, an Individual Permit holder must report births/deaths and obtain a permit per offspring (903-11.4.1); rodents are not on any ‘prohibited from breeding’ list (that targets large herbivores and giant reptiles), so breeding is conditioned on the underlying permit status, not banned. If DDA treats R. rattus as exempt, breeding is unregulated (903-11.4.6). Gemini DR-verified: Individual Exotic Animal Permits PROHIBIT breeding; to breed you must move to the commercial layer (annual Sales Permit + heightened facility standards) — no hobbyist exemption.

Sources: Delaware Dept of Agriculture (State Veterinarian)

Selling or giving away   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-07

If permit-required, a seller of exotics must hold a Sales Permit per class and verify the buyer holds the appropriate permit (903-7.5). Importantly, GIFTING/ADOPTION by an Individual Permit holder is NOT a ‘sale’ and needs no Sales Permit (903-7.1.3), a free-adoption-with-vetting model fits cleanly: a permit holder gives a rat to a recipient who has their own Individual Permit, reporting the transfer within 10 days (903-11.3.2). If DDA treats R. rattus as exempt, none of this applies. Gemini DR-verified: gifting/adopting out is exempt from a Sales Permit IF the recipient first holds an Individual Permit; selling needs an annual DDA Sales Permit + a DE business license.

Sources: Delaware Dept of Agriculture (State Veterinarian), Delaware General Assembly

Transport & import   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-07

In-state movement of a permitted exotic must use an escape-proof container; release is unlawful and escape must be reported within 3 days (903-13.0). IMPORTING a roof rat triggers §7201’s ‘bring into this State’ clause, so if non-exempt the permit must be obtained before importing/moving in. Separately, a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection within 30 days is required for small animals admitted to Delaware (3 Del. Admin. Code 904), a distinct requirement from the exotic permit. Gemini DR-verified: import needs a CVI (3 Del. Admin. Code 904-20.1) + the Individual Permit secured BEFORE crossing state lines; animals lacking a CVI are quarantined at the owner’s expense.

Sources: Delaware General Assembly, Delaware Dept of Agriculture (State Veterinarian), Delaware Dept of Agriculture

• Ask the DDA State Veterinarian whether R. rattus is exempt or permit-required
• If permit-required: apply for an Individual Exotic Animal Permit

Forms: Delaware Exotic Animals (DDA) · Where: Delaware Dept of Agriculture, Poultry & Animal Health (State Veterinarian) · Fees: ~$25 / 3 years (Individual Permit)

Source: Delaware Dept of Agriculture (State Veterinarian), Delaware Dept of Agriculture

• Get a CVI within 30 days before importing

Where: Delaware Dept of Agriculture

Source: Delaware Dept of Agriculture

Where: Your county

Source: Delaware Dept of Agriculture

In Delaware, “exotic” (non-native) mammals are regulated by the Department of Agriculture / State Veterinarian (3 Del. C. ch. 72; 3 Del. Admin. Code 903), and any non-native mammal that is not on the Department’s exempt list needs an Individual Exotic Animal Permit ($25, valid 3 years, home inspection, escape-proof enclosure). The binding regulation’s exempt list (903-6.1.1) names “Norway rats,” the species Rattus norvegicus, the ordinary fancy rat. It does not name the roof rat (Rattus rattus). A near-identical domestic pet is therefore swept into the exotic-permit system because the rule names one rat species and not its cousin. The Department’s own public webpage simplifies that list to “Rats,” which suggests the agency may already mean to cover pet rats generally. That gap between the codified species name and the plain-English webpage is what needs to be resolved: a keeper reading the website understands that rats are exempt, while the regulation as written names only the Norway rat. The Norway rat itself is the wild brown rat, domesticated in the 19th century, and a captive-bred roof rat is the same case one species over.

The ask: Ask the State Veterinarian’s office, in writing, to confirm that captive-bred Rattus rattus (roof/black rat) kept as a tame indoor pet is covered by the existing “Rats” exemption shown on the Department’s exotic-animals webpage, that is, that it is exempt like the listed Norway rat and the other small pet rodents (hamsters, gerbils, mice, guinea pigs). If the Department cannot read the current exemption that broadly, ask it to add “Rattus rattus” to the exempt mammal list (903-6.1.1) through the rulemaking process the regulation provides at 903-4.3, on the ground that the domestic roof rat is the same kind of small, captive-bred, tame pet rodent the list is meant to cover. The relevant question is domestication, not wild ancestry: the dog descends from the wolf and the house cat from a wild felid, yet both are treated as domestic animals because of generations bred for tameness. The listed Norway rat is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated in the 19th century (https://blonderoofrat.com/how-the-sewer-rat-became-the-fancy-rat/), and a captive-bred roof rat is domesticated in that same sense, one species over. That is posed as the question for the Department to decide. Either path, a written clarification or a formal addition, resolves the gap.

Where the lever really is: This is an AGENCY lever, not a legislative one. The Delaware statute (3 Del. C. §7201) does not single out the roof rat or put it on any banned list; it states that non-native mammals need a permit unless exempted, and it delegates the exempt list to the Department of Agriculture’s regulation (903). The problem is in that regulation’s exempt list, which names “Norway rats” (Rattus norvegicus) but is silent on the roof rat (Rattus rattus). The same regulation (903-4.3) gives the State Veterinarian the power to add or delete species from that list “when suggested by the public through the rule making process,” so the body that created the gap can close it. Two factors help in Delaware: (1) the Department’s published exotic-animals webpage already lists “Rats” generically as exempt, which gives the agency a no-rulemaking way to confirm in writing that pet roof rats are covered; and (2) if a written read is not enough, the formal §4.3 petition is a built-in channel for the durable fix. Because the statute never names the roof rat, the Legislature is not needed: the General Assembly already delegated the list to the agency, and the agency can fix it under powers the rule grants. The correct levers are therefore (a) a written clarification from the State Veterinarian and (b) a 903-4.3 rulemaking petition to add Rattus rattus to the exempt list.

Where to send it (more than one channel helps):

• Delaware Department of Agriculture, Poultry & Animal Health Section (State Veterinarian’s office) (executive / agency), deanimalhealth@delaware.gov
  This is the office that administers the exotic-animal permit program and maintains the exempt list. It is the right place to ask for a written clarification that captive-bred Rattus rattus is covered by the exempt ‘Rats’ entry, and it is the office that processes a 903-4.3 petition to add the species. Use the official contact-us page or the general section inbox, do not address an individual staff member by name.
• Delaware Department of Agriculture, Exotic Animals program page (permit guidance & exempt-list reference) (executive / agency), official contact page
  This is the Department’s own public exotic-animals page; it lists ‘Rats’ as exempt and explains the permit/exemption framework. Cite it in your letter as the basis for asking the State Veterinarian to confirm in writing that pet roof rats fall under that exempt entry.

A starting-point message, please put it in your own words; a short personal note carries far more weight than an identical form letter:

To the Delaware State Veterinarian, Poultry & Animal Health Section:

I am writing about how Delaware's exotic-animal exemption applies to the domestic roof rat (Rattus rattus). Your Department's exotic-animals webpage lists "Rats" among the exempt small pet rodents, but the regulation's exempt list (3 Del. Admin. Code 903-6.1.1) names only "Norway rats" (Rattus norvegicus). I am asking the Department to confirm in writing that a captive-bred, tame Rattus rattus kept as a pet is covered by that "Rats" exemption, the same as the listed Norway rat and other small pet rodents such as hamsters and gerbils.

This is a species-naming gap, not a difference in the animal. These rats are captive-bred for generations, hand-tame, kept indoors in escape-proof enclosures, and never released. They are pets, kept no differently from the fancy rat. The relevant question is domestication, not wild origin: the dog descends from the wolf and the house cat from a wild felid, yet both are recognized as domestic animals because of generations bred for tameness. The listed Norway rat is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated in the 19th century, and a captive-bred roof rat is domesticated in that same sense.

If the current exemption cannot be read to cover them, I respectfully ask the Department to add "Rattus rattus" to the exempt mammal list through the rulemaking process provided at 903-4.3. I am glad to supply documentation in support.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Your name]
[Your Delaware town/county]
[Your email]

Did you take action, or get a response? Tell us, it helps the next person, and we track what actually works.