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

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

The Wildlife Code’s general prohibition (3 CSR 10-4.110) bars possessing any wildlife, ‘including wildlife raised or held in captivity,’ unless a rule allows it, but 3 CSR 10-9.110(2) provides that, except for federally endangered species and species on the prohibited (3 CSR 10-4.117) or Class II (3 CSR 10-9.240) lists, ‘mammals not native to Missouri’ may be ‘bought, sold, possessed, transported, and exhibited without permit.’ R. rattus is a non-native mammal, is not federally endangered, is not a Class II dangerous wild animal, and is not on the prohibited-species list (3 CSR 10-4.117 names genus Mastomys, not genus Rattus). No state wildlife permit, facility inspection, or fee applies to keeping one. General animal-cruelty law (RSMo Chapter 578) still applies.

Sources: Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), Missouri Dept of Conservation, Missouri Revisor of Statutes

Breeding   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

No state license reaches breeding pet rats. The Animal Care Facilities Act defines a regulated ‘animal’ as ‘any dog or cat’ (RSMo 273.325(1)), so the Dept of Agriculture has no jurisdiction to license, inspect, or set facility standards for rat breeders regardless of scale, and there is no rodent-breeder license, hobbyist threshold, or quota in Missouri. On the conservation side, the right to breed is best read as bundled with the unconditional right to ‘possess’ and ‘sell’ a permit-exempt non-native pet under 3 CSR 10-9.110(2). One textual quirk: the 9.110(2) verb list (bought, sold, possessed, transported, exhibited) omits ‘propagated,’ a word the very next subsection (9.110(3)) does use for fish and crayfish, while the baseline 3 CSR 10-4.110 prohibits propagating any wildlife unless allowed. Read strictly that leaves captive breeding textually unaddressed rather than affirmatively authorized, so this is routed to the MDC as an open clarification (see contacts), not treated as a ban. General cruelty/care law (RSMo Chapter 578) applies. Federal USDA/AWA licensing can reach only a large-scale wholesale/sight-unseen dealer; direct-to-consumer and de minimis hobby sales are exempt and rats of genus Rattus bred for research are excluded from the AWA.

Sources: Missouri Revisor of Statutes, Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), Missouri Revisor of Statutes, USDA APHIS

Selling or giving away   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

3 CSR 10-9.110(2) expressly authorizes non-native mammals to be ‘bought, sold … without permit,’ so no Class I/II/III Wildlife Breeder Permit or Commercial Wildlife Dealer Permit is needed to sell or give away R. rattus, provided the animal was lawfully sourced and not taken from the wild. On the agricultural side, the Animal Care Facilities Act’s pet-shop and dealer licensing turns on the ‘animal’ = dog or cat definition (RSMo 273.325), so a vendor, hobbyist, or storefront dealing only in rats is not a regulated ‘pet shop’ and needs no state dealer/animal-business license. Sale or free transfer of a roof rat within Missouri is treated as an ordinary transfer of personal property, subject only to general consumer-protection and tax law plus animal-cruelty law (RSMo Chapter 578).

Sources: Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), Missouri Revisor of Statutes, Missouri Revisor of Statutes

Transport & import   Legal with a permit

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

Intrastate transport within Missouri needs no permit: 3 CSR 10-9.110(2) expressly authorizes transporting non-native mammals without a Wildlife Code permit, so an owner may carry a roof rat for veterinary care, exhibition, or relocation inside the state with no documentation. Importation across the state line is the attached condition. The Dept of Agriculture governs animals entering Missouri under 2 CSR 30-2.010 and classifies a non-native rodent as an exotic/miscellaneous animal; 2 CSR 30-2.010(14)-(15) require that all miscellaneous and all exotic animals entering Missouri be accompanied by an official Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) issued within 30 days prior to movement, showing an individual listing of the scientific and common name and a description (sex, age, weight, coloration). No advance entry permit applies to a pet rodent. Export is governed by the destination state’s rules; international movement is governed by federal CDC/USDA/USFWS rules (the CDC bars rodents of African origin). Never release a roof rat to the wild (3 CSR 10-4.110 bars liberating captive wildlife without the director’s written authorization).

Sources: Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), Missouri Dept of Agriculture (via Cornell LII), Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), USDA APHIS / CDC

• Have a USDA-accredited veterinarian in the state of origin examine the rat and issue a CVI listing its scientific and common name and a physical description.
• Obtain the CVI within 30 days before crossing into Missouri.
• Carry the CVI with the animal during the move; the consignor and consignee physical addresses must appear on it.
• No telephonic entry permit is needed for pet rodents (advance entry permits are reserved for listed livestock).

Forms: Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) · Where: Issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian in the state of origin; Missouri Dept of Agriculture, Animal Health Division, oversees entry. · Fees: No state fee for the CVI; the issuing veterinarian charges an examination/paperwork fee.

Source: Missouri Dept of Agriculture (via Cornell LII), Missouri Dept of Agriculture, Animal Health Division

Source: Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII)

• Breed under the standard non-native-mammal possession exemption; no state breeder license exists for rats.
• If certainty is needed, ask the MDC in writing whether the omission of ‘propagated’ in 3 CSR 10-9.110(2) restricts captive breeding of permit-exempt non-native mammals, or whether it is implicit in the right to possess and sell.

Where: Missouri Dept of Conservation (Wildlife Code interpretation).

Source: Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII), Missouri Dept of Conservation (via Cornell LII)