Phoenix, AZ Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)
Key Facts
- Registration required
- Before keeping poisonous reptiles or wild carnivores
- Enforcing agency
- Director of the Police Department
- Penalty
- Up to $2,500 fine, 6 months jail
- Governing law
- City Code Section 8-6
Summary
Phoenix requires anyone keeping poisonous reptiles or dangerous carnivorous wild animals to register them with the Police Department before keeping them, per City Code Section 8-6.
No person shall keep or maintain any poisonous reptiles or dangerous carnivorous wild animals without first having registered such animals or reptiles with the Director of the Police Department, who may prescribe regulations to insure the safe penning or caging of such animals or reptiles.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance G-7524, passed June 17, 2026).
Full Breakdown
City Code Section 8-6 makes it unlawful to keep or maintain any poisonous reptile or dangerous carnivorous wild animal in Phoenix without first registering the animal with the Director of the Police Department. The Police Department may set regulations for safe penning or caging of registered animals. The ordinance does not set license fees or list specific banned species: it turns on the animal being poisonous (reptiles) or a dangerous carnivore, and registration is mandatory before the animal is kept, not after.
Violations & Fines
Keeping an unregistered poisonous reptile or dangerous carnivorous wild animal is a Class 1 misdemeanor under the City's general penalty clause, punishable by up to $2,500 and six months in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Phoenix ban owning venomous snakes or big cats?
Who enforces the wild animal registration rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Phoenix
Compare Phoenix to another location·View the Arizona animal ordinances overview
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