Raccoons are not legal to own as pets in Colorado. State law classifies them as wildlife, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife prohibits private possession of any state-regulated wildlife species for personal keeping.1Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Wildlife Are Not Pets The ban holds even if you legally purchased or raised the animal in another state; bringing it across the state line is itself a violation.2Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-6-109 – Wildlife – Illegal Possession
Why the Law Treats Raccoons This Way
Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages raccoons as furbearers, the same regulatory category that covers mink, beaver, and bobcat.3Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Raccoon4Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Furbearers and Small Game, Except Migratory Birds The state keeps two lists of animals people can legally own without a CPW license, one for unregulated wildlife and one for domestic animals. Raccoons appear on neither. Regulations under 2 CCR 406-0-008 also restrict possession of terrestrial wildlife species determined to be detrimental to existing wildlife and habitat in Colorado.5Legal Information Institute. Colorado Code 2 CCR 406-0-008 – Possession of Terrestrial Wildlife
Colorado does issue Special Wildlife Licenses that authorize live possession, but they cover only rehabilitation of injured or orphaned animals, scientific collection, and falconry.6Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Special Wildlife Licenses None of them are a route to keeping a raccoon as a companion animal. A rehabilitation license is not a workaround either: rehabilitators work under strict conditions with the goal of returning animals to the wild, not housing them permanently.
Penalties for Owning or Importing a Raccoon
Possessing a raccoon without authorization is a misdemeanor under CRS 33-6-109. Conviction can bring a fine, up to a year in jail, and an assessment of license suspension points by CPW. The statute sets escalating penalty tiers by species, with the harshest fines reserved for endangered or threatened wildlife and large game.2Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-6-109 – Wildlife – Illegal Possession
Bringing a raccoon into Colorado is a separate violation under CRS 33-6-114. Illegally transporting native wildlife carries a $200 fine per incident plus five license suspension points. For nonnative or exotic wildlife, the fine runs between $250 and $1,000. CPW also has authority to seize and confiscate illegally held animals.
Legal Exotic Pet Alternatives in Colorado
If the appeal is an unusual pet rather than a raccoon specifically, Colorado’s unregulated wildlife list (most recently updated in March 2026) covers a range of species you can own without a CPW license.7Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Chapter W-11, As Approved March 2026 You still need to follow federal, state, and local rules on importation and disease.1Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Wildlife Are Not Pets Options include:
- Mammals such as African pygmy hedgehogs, sugar gliders, short-tailed opossums, and several wallaby and kangaroo species
- Reptiles and amphibians including many non-native tropical snakes (non-venomous), lizards (geckos, chameleons, iguanas, monitors), tortoises, and poison dart frogs
- Birds including all parrots and parakeets, plus toucans, mynahs, finches, and other tropical passerines
- Fish, including all tropical and subtropical species, goldfish, and koi
Raccoons are not on the list, and no amount of captive breeding or out-of-state paperwork changes that.
What About Wild Raccoons on Your Property
Wild raccoons are common across Colorado, and different rules apply to encounters with them. If raccoons are damaging your property, you can trap them with a live cage or box trap without a hunting or trapping license.8Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Common Human-Wildlife Conflict Species Relocation is allowed only if CPW is notified in advance, the release site is appropriate habitat, the landowner or managing agency at the release site consents, and the animal is released within two miles of where it was captured. That two-mile radius surprises a lot of people; it effectively means moving the raccoon down the road, not across the county. A trapped raccoon that isn’t relocated must be released on-site or dispatched by a legal method.
CPW does not remove healthy wildlife from private property, so raccoons denning in an attic, garage, or crawl space usually mean calling a private wildlife removal service. Outside of the property-damage exception, destroying a raccoon’s den or nest is illegal under CRS 33-6-128, which also prohibits harassing wildlife. A conviction is a misdemeanor carrying a $100 fine and ten license suspension points. The statute carves out an exception when den or nest removal is needed to prevent damage to property or livestock, or while lawfully trapping.9FindLaw. Colorado Code 33-6-128 – Damage or Destruction of Dens or Nests – Harassment of Wildlife
One boundary worth flagging: Colorado’s wildlife feeding ban names deer, elk, pronghorn, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and bears, and the underlying regulation restricts baiting coyotes and foxes where firearm discharge is prohibited.10Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Feeding Wildlife11Legal Information Institute. Colorado Code 2 CCR 406-0-021 – Feeding or Attracting Wildlife Raccoons aren’t named in either provision, though local ordinances may fill the gap, and if a bear or coyote is drawn by the same food, CPW can require you to secure attractants or face penalties.
Health Risks Behind the Ban
Raccoons are one of the primary rabies reservoir species in the United States. All mammals are susceptible, and unlike dogs, cats, and ferrets, which can be observed for ten days after a bite, there is no accepted observation protocol for raccoons. A bite or scratch typically means immediate post-exposure prophylaxis, a series of vaccine doses (and immunoglobulin for people not previously vaccinated) that routinely runs into thousands of dollars.12NCBI Bookshelf. Rabies – CDC Yellow Book, 2026 Edition Raccoons can also carry Baylisascaris procyonis, a roundworm whose eggs shed in feces and can cause serious neurological damage in humans. A raccoon that seems calm in a living room is still shedding parasites and potentially incubating disease, and that public health reality is a core reason Colorado keeps the species off the pet list.
If you come across a raccoon that looks disoriented, aggressive in daylight, or visibly injured, keep your distance and contact your local animal control agency or Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Do not approach, feed, or handle it.