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

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

The DNR Wild Animal Possession Permit rule (312 IAC 9-11) requires a permit only for the exhaustively enumerated Class I, II, and III animals (rabbits and native squirrels; furbearers such as beaver, coyote, fox, raccoon, skunk; and dangerous wildlife such as bears, big cats, wolves, venomous reptiles, and large crocodilians). The roof rat and the genus Rattus appear on none of those lists. R. rattus is also absent from the exotic-mammal rule (312 IAC 9-3-18.5, which names 22 families, none of them Muridae) and the endangered-mammal list (312 IAC 9-3-19). Under 312 IAC 9-3-20, any mammal not identified in the article is an ‘exempted wild animal,’ which 312 IAC 9-1-6 defines as unprotected and possessable at any time. No state permit, facility inspection, registration, or fee is required to keep a roof rat, and the secondary-enclosure and perimeter-fence requirements for Class II and III animals (312 IAC 9-11-10) do not apply.

Sources: Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII), Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII), Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII), Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII), Indiana Code (via Justia)

Breeding   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

Breeding follows keeping. Because the roof rat is an exempted wild animal that needs no possession permit, no DNR permit attaches to breeding it, and the Game Breeder’s License (312 IAC 9-10-4) applies only to the listed native furbearers and game species, not to a non-listed pet rodent. Indiana’s only commercial-breeder statute, the Commercial Dog Breeder Regulation (IC 15-21), applies solely to dogs, so there is no state breeding license for rats regardless of the number of animals kept or produced. Federal oversight can apply separately: under the USDA Animal Welfare Act, breeders who sell rodents at wholesale or for research, testing, or exhibition may need a USDA Class A or B license, while those who sell only at retail face to face to the final owner are generally exempt.

Sources: Indiana General Assembly / Indiana State Board of Animal Health, Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII), Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII)

Selling or giving away   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

No Indiana statute licenses or restricts selling or giving away pet rodents. The sale of an exempted wild animal is not permitted, tracked, or taxed by the DNR (the only limit being that animals may not be sold for release into the wild). The July 1 2024 retail-pet-store and animal-care-facility registration added to IC 15-21 defines a ‘retail pet store’ as a business that sells dogs, with sourcing rules targeting dog sellers, so a seller dealing only in roof rats, fancy rats, mice, or other small rodents is outside that scheme and need not register with the Board of Animal Health. Sellers are not required to provide a state health certificate, origin documents, or microchips. Federal USDA Animal Welfare Act dealer licensing can apply to some commercial sellers (wholesale or to research, testing, or exhibition).

Sources: Indiana General Assembly / Indiana State Board of Animal Health, Indiana State Board of Animal Health, Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII), Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII)

Transport & import   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

In-state transport is unregulated. For import into Indiana, no state CVI is required for a pet roof rat: 345 IAC 1-3-4 requires an entry CVI for ‘domestic animals’ (a list in IC 15-17-2-26 that omits rodents) and, for wild animals, only for the families bovidae, camelidae, cervidae, equidae, and suidae, so the family Muridae is not covered. The DNR wild-animal import permit (312 IAC 9-10-20) applies only to a mammal imported for release or sale for release in Indiana, which does not include the pet trade. No state entry permit or border health test is mandated to bring a pet roof rat into Indiana, although a destination state or country may impose its own rules on export, so confirm the receiving jurisdiction’s requirements before moving an animal across a border. Releasing a roof rat into the wild is prohibited under 312 IAC 9-2-16.

Sources: Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII), Indiana Code (via Justia), Indiana Administrative Code (Indiana Register / IARP), Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII)

• Never release a roof rat into the wild (312 IAC 9-2-16); rehome, surrender to a rescue, or seek humane euthanasia if you can no longer keep it
• Do not sell or transfer a roof rat for release
• Check your city and county ordinances and any HOA covenants for local exotic or non-native pet limits before keeping or selling

Where: Local code enforcement / county zoning office; Indiana DNR for wildlife questions

Source: Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII), Indiana Administrative Code (via Cornell LII)