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

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

No Michigan statute bans or licenses keeping a roof rat, and three separate possession frameworks each exclude it. (1) The Large Carnivore Act (MCL 287.1101 et seq.) bans private possession only of big cats and bears, not small mammals. (2) NREPA Part 413 (MCL 324.41301 et seq.) makes it unlawful to possess a ‘prohibited’ or ‘restricted’ species, but the only prohibited mammals are nutria (Myocastor coypus) and wild/Russian boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus); R. rattus is on neither the prohibited nor the restricted list. (3) DNR captive-wildlife rules reach only ‘game,’ and MCL 324.40103 defines game through an exhaustive list (the only game rodents are squirrel, muskrat, beaver, and woodchuck), so rats are not game and no captive-game permit applies. The species is also not native or department-introduced wildlife under MCL 324.43508. General animal-cruelty and sanitary-condition law (MCL 750.50) still applies to how the animal is kept.

Sources: Michigan Legislature, Michigan Invasive Species Program (DNR/MDARD/EGLE), Michigan Legislature, Michigan Legislature, Michigan Legislature

Breeding   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

Breeding pet roof rats is unregulated at the state level. Michigan licenses dog breeding (large-scale dog kennels under the Pet Shops Act) but has enacted no parallel rodent-breeder or small-mammal-propagation license. Because R. rattus is not ‘game’ under MCL 324.40103, the DNR captive-game propagation permit (MCL 324.42703) does not apply, and because it is not a prohibited/restricted species under NREPA Part 413 there is no invasive-species breeding ban. There is no numeric or revenue threshold that turns a rodent hobbyist into a regulated dealer under state law. Federal USDA/AWA licensing can reach a large-scale breeder who ships wholesale or sight-unseen or sells to research, but direct-to-consumer retail sales and de minimis hobby breeding are federally exempt, and rats of the genus Rattus bred for research are excluded from the AWA entirely.

Sources: Michigan Legislature, Michigan Legislature, Michigan Legislature, USDA APHIS

Selling or giving away   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

Selling or giving away a roof rat is unregulated because of an explicit statutory carve-out. The Pet Shops Act (MCL 287.331 et seq.) requires an MDARD license to operate a ‘pet shop’ (a place where animals are sold, exchanged, or transferred), but MCL 287.331(d) defines the regulated ‘animal’ as ‘a mammal except livestock as defined in 1937 PA 284, MCL 287.121 to MCL 287.131, and rodents.’ Because the entire order of rodents is excluded, a person or business that breeds and sells roof rats is not a pet shop, needs no MDARD facility license or inspection, and is not bound by the Act’s health-certificate-for-buyers requirement (which applies to dogs, cats, and ferrets). Unlike some states (e.g. Kentucky), Michigan has no intrastate sale CVI rule that reaches rodents, so no health document is required for an in-state sale or gift. Selling a prohibited invasive species would be unlawful under NREPA Part 413, but R. rattus is not on that list. General cruelty law (MCL 750.50) still applies.

Sources: Michigan Legislature, Michigan Legislature

Transport & import   Legal with a permit

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

No wildlife transport permit applies (R. rattus is not game and not a prohibited/restricted species), but a movement health document does. To import a roof rat into Michigan from another U.S. state, MDARD’s published animal-movement policy for ‘Other Species (Rabbits, Rodents, Reptiles and Amphibians)’ requires that the rodent be accompanied by an official interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) filled out by a USDA-accredited veterinarian in the animal’s state of origin. Michigan does not issue an entry permit for nonnative domestic rodents, so no permit number is required on the CVI. Intrastate movement within Michigan is unregulated (no movement document, testing, or waybill). International import is governed by federal CDC/USDA APHIS rules at the port of entry (the CDC bars rodents of African origin). Releasing a roof rat into the wild is prohibited: NREPA Part 413 (MCL 324.41305) bars introducing a nonnative mammal, and MCL 324.41301(1)(f) defines ‘introduce’ to mean to ‘knowingly and willfully stock, place, plant, release, or allow the release of the organism in this state at any specific location where the organism is not already naturalized.’

Sources: Michigan Dept of Agriculture & Rural Development, Michigan Legislature, Michigan Legislature, USDA APHIS / CDC

• Before bringing the rat into Michigan, have a USDA-accredited veterinarian in the state of origin examine it and issue an official interstate CVI (the rat must be free of visual evidence of communicable disease).
• Carry the CVI with the animal during transport into Michigan.
• Do not request an entry permit number; Michigan does not issue one for nonnative domestic rodents.
• No CVI is required for movement that stays entirely within Michigan.

Forms: MDARD – Other Species (Rabbits, Rodents, Reptiles and Amphibians) import requirements · Where: Issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian in the state of origin; carried with the animal. Michigan Dept of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD), Animal Industry Division, administers the rule. · Fees: No state regulatory fee for the CVI; the issuing veterinarian charges their own examination/paperwork fee.

Source: Michigan Dept of Agriculture & Rural Development

Where: Your county/city; MDNR for the no-release rule.

Source: Michigan Legislature

Where: Enforced by local law enforcement / animal control.

Source: Michigan Legislature