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

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-15

Private possession of a captive-bred roof rat is legal. ORC 935.01(C) defines ‘dangerous wild animal’ as an exhaustive enumerated list (hyenas, gray wolves, lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, lynxes, cougars, bears, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, African wild dogs, Komodo dragons, alligators, crocodiles, certain other reptiles, and most nonhuman primates); no rodent and no member of the genus Rattus appears, so ORC 935.02’s ban does not reach it and no registration, permit, or liability insurance is required. Ohio uses a black-list rather than a white-list approach to pets, so a species that is neither restricted nor prohibited is legal to keep. The roof rat is also absent from ODNR’s prohibited/injurious-species list (OAC 1501:31-19-01) and is instead named a ‘nuisance wild animal’ in OAC 1501:31-15-03. General animal-cruelty law (ORC Chapter 959) applies.

Sources: Ohio General Assembly, Ohio General Assembly, ODNR Division of Wildlife, ODNR Division of Wildlife

Breeding   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-15

Breeding captive roof rats is unregulated at the state level. ODNR propagation licenses under ORC 1533.71 apply only to ‘game birds, game quadrupeds, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals,’ and ORC 1531.01 defines ‘game quadrupeds’ (cottontail rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, white-tailed deer, elk, black bears) and ‘fur-bearing animals’ (minks, weasels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, muskrats, fox, beavers, badgers, otters, coyotes, bobcats) with no member of the genus Rattus in either list, so no propagation license, fee, or annual report attaches. The Department of Agriculture’s commercial-breeder framework (ORC Chapter 956) regulates only dogs (it created the Commercial Dog Breeding program to address high-volume dog breeders); Ohio has no parallel small-mammal, exotic, or rodent breeder license, litter threshold, or female-animal limit. Federal USDA Animal Welfare Act licensing can reach a large-scale dealer who sells wholesale or sight-unseen, but direct-to-consumer and de minimis hobby sales are exempt, and rats of the genus Rattus bred for research are excluded from the AWA entirely.

Sources: Ohio General Assembly, Ohio General Assembly, Ohio General Assembly, USDA APHIS

Selling or giving away   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-15

Selling or giving away a captive-bred roof rat needs no state dealer or breeder license. ORC 956.21 provides that ‘No owner, operator, or manager of a pet store shall negligently display, offer for sale, deliver, barter, auction, broker, give away, transfer, or sell any live dog from a pet store in this state unless a license has been issued for the pet store by the director of agriculture,’ and the licensing scheme is confined to dogs: ORC Chapter 956 defines a regulated ‘pet store’ as a retail store that sells dogs to the public. A breeder or store that deals only roof rats (and no dogs) is not a regulated pet store and is exempt from the ORC Chapter 956 license, fees, and record-keeping. ODNR trade restrictions (OAC 1501:31-19-01) name invasive aquatic species, raccoon dogs, and triploid white amur, not the roof rat, so the species moves freely in commerce. General humane law (ORC Chapter 959) applies to the transaction.

Sources: Ohio General Assembly, Ohio General Assembly, ODNR Division of Wildlife

Transport & import   Unregulated / unclear

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-15

In-state transport of a lawfully held roof rat is unregulated. Interstate IMPORT is the open point. OAC 901:1-17-01 provides that ‘No person shall move or import any animal into the state of Ohio unless that animal meets the rules of this chapter and all applicable federal laws or is otherwise exempt,’ and the paperwork then depends on a classification the rules do not resolve for rodents. If the State Veterinarian treats a captive-bred roof rat as a ‘domestic animal’ (OAC 901:1-17-02(K): ‘animals that through long association with humans have been bred to a degree resulting in genetic changes affecting the temperament, color, conformation, or other attributes of the species’), only a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection issued within 30 days before entry is needed. If it is treated as a ‘nondomestic animal’ (OAC 901:1-17-02(R)), OAC 901:1-17-12(A) requires that the animal be ‘accompanied by a permit issued prior to entry and a certificate of veterinary inspection issued within thirty days prior to entry and is identified with official individual identification’ and be free of contagious disease. Because OAC 901:1-17-02 uses a genetic/phenotypic test rather than a species list, and the roof rat is less morphologically altered than the fancy rat, the classification is genuinely unresolved. Marked unregulated/unclear (rather than legal_with_permit) because the controlling fact, which rule applies, is unconfirmed; the realistic outcome is legal with a CVI, possibly an import permit. International movement is governed by federal CDC/USDA/USFWS rules.

Sources: Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health, USDA APHIS / CDC

• Before moving a roof rat into Ohio, ask the Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health, whether a captive-bred R. rattus is classified ‘domestic’ or ‘nondomestic’ under OAC 901:1-17-02.
• Obtain a CVI from a USDA-accredited veterinarian in the state of origin within 30 days before entry (a copy is forwarded to the Chief of the Division of Animal Health within 7 days of issuance).
• If the animal is treated as ‘nondomestic,’ first obtain an import permit from the Division of Animal Health and arrange official individual identification (ask whether a small-rodent exemption or alternative ID applies).
• No CVI or permit is needed for transporting a lawfully held rat within Ohio.

Forms: Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) / animal movement requirements · Where: Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health (Office of the State Veterinarian), Reynoldsburg. · Fees: No state fee stated for the CVI; the issuing veterinarian charges an examination/paperwork fee. Import-permit fee (if applicable) per the Division of Animal Health.

Source: Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Health

• Keep only captive-bred roof rats; do not attempt to keep a feral, wild-caught R. rattus as a pet.
• If you trap a wild rat, do not hold it past 24 hours; release (outside any city/village, with landowner permission) or euthanize.

Where: ODNR Division of Wildlife.

Source: ODNR Division of Wildlife

Source: ODNR Division of Wildlife