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

• The Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (its Land Vertebrate Specialist, Plant Quarantine Branch) confirmed in writing on 15 June 2026 that the Conditionally Approved Rattus sp. (rat, domesticated) entry’s permit conditions apply specifically to Rattus norvegicus, and that the Branch has no established permit conditions authorizing the importation of Rattus rattus for private pet ownership.
• Because Rattus sp. is already on the Conditionally Approved list, Rattus rattus is not an unlisted animal, so the case-by-case special permit under HRS 150A-6.2(c) is not available for it. The Branch cannot issue an import permit for a pet roof rat.
• The only route is to ask the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity to establish permit conditions for domesticated Rattus rattus. The Department said this process takes about one to two years, is evaluated by advisory committees of subject-matter experts, and is not guaranteed to be approved.
• The Department further detailed the full process (June 2026) to establish import permit conditions for a Conditionally Approved animal: submit Form PQ-7 plus a completed Board Submittal Template (request the current template from the Plant Quarantine Branch) with supporting documents; the request is then reviewed by the Advisory Subcommittee on Land Vertebrates (biosecurity, containment, and risk-management), undergoes legal review by a Deputy Attorney General, is heard at a public Advisory Committee for Plants and Animals meeting, goes through draft minutes and any revisions, and is finally presented to the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity at a public meeting, which may approve, deny, or defer it.

Keeping / owning   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-15

No lawful pathway: a pet roof rat cannot be lawfully imported into Hawaii (see transport), and possession of a non-domestic animal without a valid import permit is unlawful under HAR 4-71 / HRS 150A. HDOA confirmed in writing (2026-06-15) that there are no established permit conditions for importing R. rattus and that the case-by-case special permit does not apply (R. rattus is already listed at the genus level), so no permit can currently issue. The Norway rat (R. norvegicus) has permit conditions and can be kept; the roof rat cannot, until the Board establishes conditions for it.

Sources: Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity, Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity, Hawaii State Legislature (via Justia), HDOA Plant Quarantine Branch

Breeding   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-15

Effectively prohibited as a consequence of the import bar: there is no lawful way to obtain or hold a pet R. rattus in Hawaii (no permit can issue), so there is no lawful animal to breed. If the Board later establishes R. rattus permit conditions, any breeding would be governed by those conditions.

Sources: Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity, Hawaii State Legislature (via Justia), Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity

Selling or giving away   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-15

Effectively prohibited as a consequence of the import bar: with no lawful pathway to import or possess a pet R. rattus, there is no lawfully held animal to sell or give away within Hawaii.

Sources: Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity, Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity

Transport & import   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-15

Import of a pet roof rat is currently not permitted. HDOA confirmed in writing (2026-06-15) that the Conditionally Approved Rattus sp. permit conditions apply only to R. norvegicus, that there are no permit conditions for importing R. rattus as a pet, and that the case-by-case special permit (HRS 150A-6.2(c)) is unavailable because R. rattus is already listed (not unlisted). The Branch therefore cannot issue an import permit. The only route is to petition the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity to establish permit conditions (about 1-2 years, not guaranteed). For any international movement, USFWS separately treats R. rattus as wildlife under 50 CFR 14.4. Never release a roof rat.

Sources: HDOA Plant Quarantine Branch, Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity, Hawaii State Legislature (via Justia), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (via Cornell LII)

• There is no current import permit for a pet R. rattus; do not attempt to import or acquire one
• To pursue change, ask the Plant Quarantine Branch how to petition the Board to establish permit conditions (Form PQ-7 + Board Submittal Template)
• Never release a roof rat

Where: Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity – Plant Quarantine Branch (1849 Auiki St, Honolulu, HI 96819)

Source: HDOA Plant Quarantine Branch, Hawaii State Legislature (via Justia), Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity

• Never release a roof rat into the wild (invasive pest + public-health vector; multiple state violations)

Where: Hawaii Dept of Agriculture & Biosecurity – Plant Quarantine Branch; Hawaii Dept of Health, Vector Control Branch

Source: Hawaii Dept of Health, Vector Control Branch, Hawaii State Legislature (via Justia)

In Hawaii, keeping a pet roof rat (Rattus rattus) currently has no lawful pathway, while the closely related fancy rat (the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus) can be imported and kept under established permit conditions. Hawaii’s Conditionally Approved Animals list (HAR 4-71) includes a genus-level entry for Rattus sp. (rat, domesticated), but the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity has confirmed in writing that the permit conditions the Board actually established for that entry apply specifically to the Norway rat, and that there are no established permit conditions for importing the roof rat as a pet. Because Rattus sp. is already listed, the roof rat is not an unlisted animal, so the usual case-by-case special permit is unavailable too. The result is a species trap created by which rat the conditions were written for: two domesticated, captive-bred, indoor pet rats of nearly identical risk are treated oppositely, one importable, one not.

The ask: Ask the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to begin the process of establishing import permit conditions for the domesticated, captive-bred roof rat (Rattus rattus), so it is treated like the already-permitted Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus). The Department itself identified this as the route: a request to the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity, evaluated by its advisory committees, to set permit conditions for the species (the Department offered to explain how to begin). 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 recognized as domestic animals because of generations bred for tameness. The Norway rat that already has conditions is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated in the 19th century, so a captive-bred roof rat is the same case one species over (https://blonderoofrat.com/how-the-sewer-rat-became-the-fancy-rat/). This is a long process (the Department says about one to two years and approval is not guaranteed), so it suits a committed keeper or an organized group; the ask is that the Board weigh establishing conditions, not that it reach a particular result.

Where the lever really is: Lever = the agency, specifically the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity acting through the Plant Quarantine Branch, not the legislature. No statute bans the roof rat; HRS 150A directs the Board to maintain the lists and set import permit conditions, and the Department has confirmed the missing piece is Board-established permit conditions for R. rattus. The fix is therefore a Board submittal to add those conditions (the Department offered to explain how to begin), reinforced through the advisory-committee review the Department described. Going to the legislature would be the wrong door; there is no anti-rat statute to repeal. The case-by-case special permit is NOT a usable lever here, because the Department confirmed it applies only to unlisted animals and R. rattus is already listed at the genus level. The process (agency-described, June 2026): (1) submit Form PQ-7 + a Board Submittal Template (request the current template from dab.pqlvs@hawaii.gov) with supporting documents; (2) Advisory Subcommittee on Land Vertebrates review (allow at least two weeks); (3) legal review by a Deputy Attorney General; (4) a public Advisory Committee for Plants and Animals meeting (recommendation); (5) draft minutes + any requested revisions; (6) a Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity public meeting for the final decision (approve, deny, or defer). It is a multi-step, expert-and-legal-reviewed petition (the Department earlier estimated roughly one to two years with no guaranteed outcome), but it is the real, agency-named pathway, the same kind of permit-condition process the Norway rat already cleared.

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

• Hawaii Department of Agriculture & Biosecurity – Plant Quarantine Branch (Land Vertebrate Specialist) (executive / agency), dab.pqlvs@hawaii.gov
  The Branch that administers the Conditionally Approved list and import permits, and the office that confirmed (its Land Vertebrate Specialist, 2026-06-15) that there are no R. rattus permit conditions. It offered to provide information on how to begin a request to the Board to establish them, so it is the right first contact to start the process. dab.pqlvs@hawaii.gov is the verified Branch inbox; phone (808) 832-0566.
• Hawaii Board of Agriculture & Biosecurity (via HDOA) (executive / agency), official contact page
  The body that establishes import permit conditions for a species. A request to set permit conditions for domesticated R. rattus is submitted for the Board’s consideration and is evaluated by its advisory committees of subject-matter experts. This is the decision-maker the Plant Quarantine Branch routes the request to.

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: Hawaii Department of Agriculture & Biosecurity, Plant Quarantine Branch

Re: Establishing import permit conditions for the domesticated roof rat (Rattus rattus)

I understand from the Department that the Conditionally Approved entry for Rattus sp. (rat, domesticated) currently carries permit conditions established only for the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), and that there are no permit conditions authorizing the importation of the domesticated roof rat (Rattus rattus) as a pet, so the Branch cannot currently issue a permit for one. I would like to begin the process of asking the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity to establish permit conditions for domesticated, captive-bred Rattus rattus, so it can be kept under the same kind of conditions as the Norway rat.

The animals in question are multi-generation, captive-bred, hand-tame roof rats kept strictly indoors in secure enclosures and never released. What makes an animal domestic is its breeding history, not its wild ancestry: the dog descends from the wolf and the house cat from a wild felid, yet both are recognized as domestic animals. The Norway rat that already has conditions is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated in the 19th century, so a captive-bred roof rat is the same case one species over.

Could you please tell me how to begin this request, what information the Board and its advisory committees would need, and the expected timeline? I understand approval is not guaranteed and the review takes time, and I am prepared to provide whatever husbandry, containment, and provenance information would help the Board weigh it.

Thank you for your time and help.

[Your name]
[Your city, Hawaii]
[Your email / phone]

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