Roof Rat Laws › United States › Georgia
Summary. Despite Georgia’s reputation for strict exotic-pet laws, the roof rat is explicitly carved out: the state’s Wild Animal license rule (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 391-4-8-.05) lists the rodent order as ‘all species except … Rattus rattus …,’ naming the roof rat among the species that need NO Wild Animal License. So you can legally keep, breed, and give away a captive-bred roof rat with no DNR license, and pet rodents are exempt from Georgia’s import veterinary-certificate (CVI) rule. The only caveat is commercial scale: selling more than 30 self-raised animals a year (or running a business) requires a Georgia Dept of Agriculture pet-dealer license.
legal note
This is a research aid, not legal advice; rules change and are interpreted by local officials. Verify with the official source before acting.Status by activity
Keeping / owning Legal
Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-07
Georgia’s Wild Animal license requirement (O.C.G.A. §27-5-5) applies only to species the Board of Natural Resources lists by rule. Rule 391-4-8-.05’s Order Rodentia entry reads ‘All species except … Rattus rattus …,’ naming the roof/black rat among the species that do NOT require a Wild Animal License. So no DNR license or permit is needed to keep one as a pet. Gemini DR-verified: R. rattus is named in the Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-8-.05 wildlife-license exemption (alongside R. norvegicus) -> treated as a standard pet by the GDA, not regulated wildlife.
Sources: Georgia DNR / Secretary of State, Georgia General Assembly, Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division
Breeding Legal
Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-07
Breeding a roof rat needs no permit: R. rattus is off Georgia’s regulated wild-animal list (r. 391-4-8-.05), so if keeping is unlicensed, hobby breeding is likewise unregulated by DNR, and there is no state breeding license for an exempt rodent. The only breeding-adjacent touchpoint is the Dept of Agriculture pet-dealer threshold, which governs commercial SELLING (captured under ‘Selling or giving away’), not breeding itself: selling/exchanging/adopting-out more than 1 litter OR more than 30 adults per 12 months requires a GDA Pet Dealer License (40-13-13-.07), where ‘giving away’ counts as ‘offers for adoption.’
Sources: Georgia DNR / Secretary of State, Georgia General Assembly (Animal Protection Act)
Selling or giving away Legal with a permit
Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-07
DNR places no sale restriction on R. rattus (it is exempt from the wild-animal list). But the Georgia Animal Protection Act defines ‘pet’ to include ‘rodent,’ so selling above the statutory threshold makes you a ‘pet dealer’ needing a Dept of Agriculture license: the exemption covers a person who ‘sells only animals that he or she has produced and raised, not to exceed 30 animals a year’ and isn’t otherwise a licensed business. Casual sale/giving below that threshold needs no license. Gemini DR-verified: a GDA Pet Dealer License is required above the >1-litter / >30-adult hobbyist exemption; rodents are exempt from outgoing sales-record keeping.
Sources: Georgia General Assembly (Animal Protection Act), Georgia Dept of Agriculture
Transport & import Legal
Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-07
Georgia’s import Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) requirement covers ‘all pets except fish and rodents,’ so rodents, including R. rattus, are exempt from the import CVI. No state import permit or health certificate is required for a pet roof rat. (Federal USFWS Form 3-177 still applies to international movement, see United States.) Gemini DR-verified: rodents are exempt from the CVI requirement for pets entering Georgia (40-13-2-.19(4)); intrastate unrestricted. (Federal: international import = USFWS Form 3-177 + CDC African-rodent embargo.)
Restrictions & responsibilities
- Stay under 30 self-raised animals/year to remain exempt, or apply for a GA Dept of Agriculture pet-dealer license
Forms: Georgia Pet Dealer Licenses · Where: Georgia Dept of Agriculture (Companion Animal/Equine Division) · Fees: Set by the Department
Source: Georgia General Assembly (Animal Protection Act), Georgia Dept of Agriculture
Official sources
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 391-4-8-.05, Wild Animals, License Required (Order Rodentia exemption naming Rattus rattus), Georgia DNR / Secretary of State
- O.C.G.A. §27-5-5, Wild animals for which a license or permit is required, Georgia General Assembly
- Bringing Animals into Georgia, import CVI rule (‘all pets except fish and rodents’), Georgia Dept of Agriculture (State Veterinarian)
- O.C.G.A. §4-11-2, Definitions (‘pet dealer,’ 30-animal exemption, ‘pet’ includes rodent), Georgia General Assembly (Animal Protection Act)
- Pet Dealer Licenses, Georgia Dept of Agriculture
- Guide to Legal Pets, Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division
Search terms: Rattus rattus, roof rat, black rat, ship rat.
Last reviewed 2026-06-07, which is when a person last read this page against its sources. Spotted an error, or know the law has changed? Email blonderoofrat@gmail.com. And if you write to the agency yourself and get an answer in writing, please forward it. Written agency replies are how 31 of these pages stopped being research and became confirmed.