An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Please allow four weeks to process your permit. If after four weeks you still have not received your permit, please call 800-858-1549.
All shipments of wildlife, except for amphibians and reptiles, must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection issued by a veterinarian (301 KAR 2:081/082).
301 KAR 2:081. Transportation and holding of live native wildlife
A captive wildlife permit shall be obtained prior to possessing live native wildlife (exceptions listed below). A person shall only obtain native wildlife through legal means, including trapping during the legal season for the species, or from a properly permitted commercial breeder.
It is illegal to remove young wildlife from the wild. You are risking citation, and a permit will not be issued for illegally taken wildlife. These animals should be left in the wild or returned there, and legal recourse for injured and orphaned wildlife is the prompt transfer of these animals to a permitted wildlife rehabilitator.
The captive wildlife permit is issued as “commercial” or “noncommercial". A commercial captive wildlife permit shall be required for a person to use native wildlife for any commercial activity, including to sell, offer to sell, trade, barter native wildlife, or exhibit. **Important** A person shall not buy, sell, offer to buy or sell, or trade or barter native wildlife obtained from the wild; only captive-bred native wildlife may be commercially offered.
Exceptions to the requirement of a captive wildlife permit:
In order to hold federally protected birds (Migratory Bird Treaty Act), including raptors, songbirds, and waterfowl, a person shall have both a state captive wildlife permit and a federal permit. Information on the United States Fish & Wildlife Service Migratory Bird permits.
With limited exemptions, the following shall not be imported or possessed:
Noncommercial captive wildlife permits are valid for a period of three (3) years from the date of issuance.
Commercial captive wildlife permits are valid for a period of one (1) year from the date of issuance.
An applicant for a captive wildlife permit a person shall:
Captive wildlife permit holders shall maintain accurate records for all captive-bred and wild-captured wildlife for five (5) years and shall allow these records to be inspected by a Department representative upon request. Section 3 of 301 KAR 2:081 details the information required to be recorded.
In addition to obtaining a transportation permit from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the applicant is responsible for ensuring that the shipment is in compliance with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s entry and avian influenza requirements. (302 KAR 20:020, 20:040, 20:250) In light of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza occurrences in the U.S., birds must originate from a National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) avian influenza H5/H7 certified flock. The NPIP flock number shall be recorded on the Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) per 301 KAR 2:084.
In light of the recent threat of the introduction of the salamander chytrid fungus into the U.S., the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued an interim rule under the Lacey Act by which the importation, transportation, or acquisition of any live or dead specimen of the following genera is prohibited: Chioglossa, Cynops, Euproctus, Hydromantes, Hynobius, Ichthyosaura, Lissotriton, Neurergus, Notophthalmus, Onychodactylus, Paramesotriton, Plethodon, Pleurodeles, Salamandra, Salamandrella, Salamandrina, Siren, Taricha, Triturus, and Tylototriton.
A wildlife transportation permit shall be obtained for all shipments of wildlife (native or exotic) prior to:
There are two types of wildlife transportation permits:
All shipments of wildlife, except reptiles and amphibians, shall be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection. This is not required with your application; it must be with the wildlife during shipment and available if stopped for inspection.
With limited exceptions, the following shall not be imported or possessed:
The following shall not be imported or transported through Kentucky:
Individual wildlife transportation permits are valid for only the range of dates authorized upon issuance.
Annual wildlife transportation permits are valid for a period of one (1) year from the date of issuance.
An applicant for a wildlife transportation permit shall be at least 18 years old and submit an application fee ($25 individual, $250 annually) and complete the individual wildlife transportation permit application or annual wildlife transportation permit application.
**Online Option** An applicant for an individual wildlife transportation permit may also utilize our online application system to quickly complete their application at any time, provide payment by credit/debit card, and have a printable permit without delay. Proceed to the online application.