Snake Removal Laws in Michigan: What’s Legal, Protected, and Punishable

Michigan is home to eighteen snake species, and only one of them carries venom, yet removing the wrong snake from your yard can still land you in legal trouble. Snake removal laws in Michigan protect eight native species from being killed or relocated without cause, and violating those protections can mean fines, misdemeanor charges, or a revoked license. Whether a garter snake is sunning itself on your patio or you have spotted something that looks like a rattlesnake near the garage, knowing what the law actually allows you to do matters before you reach for a shovel or a bucket.

This guide walks through when you can legally remove or relocate a snake yourself, which species are off-limits, what permits apply, and when it makes more sense to call a licensed wildlife removal operator instead.

Is It Legal to Remove or Relocate a Snake Yourself in Michigan

For most snakes you encounter around a Michigan home, you have more legal room to act than you might expect. Up to three snakes per day, other than those legally protected, can be removed year-round using a valid Michigan fishing license. That license requirement often surprises homeowners, since most people do not associate reptile handling with fishing regulations.

What you cannot do is use certain tools to remove a snake, even a nonprotected one. It is illegal to use firearms, including spring, air, or gas propelled versions, along with a bow and arrow, blowgun, or crossbow for removal. The DNR’s preferred method is far simpler: if a snake is in an undesirable location outdoors, use a long tool such as a broom to gently encourage it to move away while keeping a safe distance, or allow it to leave on its own.

Relocating a snake is a separate legal question from removing one. It is illegal to relocate any snake in Michigan without a permit from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. This matters because moving a snake even a short distance, say from your garage to a nearby field, technically counts as relocation under state wildlife rules. For a broader look at how this fits into the state’s overall approach to nuisance animals, see this overview of wildlife removal laws in Michigan.

Pro Tip: Before touching any snake, back away and observe it from a distance. Most snake bites in Michigan happen when someone tries to catch, kill, or move a snake rather than simply leaving it alone.

Protected Snake Species in Michigan

Michigan’s snake population is more diverse than most residents realize. Eighteen species of snakes are found in Michigan, and they are an important part of the state’s ecosystems. Seventeen of these species are nonvenomous, with the only venomous snake being the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake, scientifically known as Sistrurus catenatus, is the species most homeowners worry about, but it is far less common than the harmless garter and water snakes that make up most sightings.

Eight species carry specific legal protection in Michigan, meaning you cannot kill or capture them without cause. The following snakes are legally protected wildlife in Michigan: black rat snake, Butler’s garter snake, eastern fox snake, copper-bellied water snake, Kirtland’s snake, queen snake, smooth green snake, and eastern massasauga rattlesnake. They may not be lethally removed unless they pose an immediate threat to human life.

Conservation status varies among these species. Five of Michigan’s species are currently listed as threatened, endangered, or species of special concern: the gray or black rat snake is a species of special concern, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake is threatened, Kirtland’s snake is endangered, and the copper-bellied water snake is endangered. Learning to tell these species apart before you act is worth the effort; a detailed breakdown is available in this guide to the types of snakes found in Michigan.

Snake	Protection Status	Venomous
Black Rat Snake	Species of Special Concern	No
Butler’s Garter Snake	Protected	No
Eastern Fox Snake	Protected	No
Copper-Bellied Water Snake	Endangered	No
Kirtland’s Snake	Endangered	No
Queen Snake	Protected	No
Smooth Green Snake	Protected	No
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake	Threatened	Yes

Permit Requirements for Snake Removal in Michigan

Regulation starts before you ever pick up a snake. Take and possession of Michigan’s native reptiles and amphibians are highly regulated. For the seventeen nonprotected, nonvenomous species, a fishing license is required to take reptiles and amphibians for personal use. No separate wildlife permit is needed for casual, limited removal of common species like garter snakes.

Protected species are a different matter entirely. You cannot catch any protected snake species without a permit from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The state bans taking and possessing certain species from the wild, with permits issued only for scientific research, conservation, or educational purposes. This means a homeowner who simply wants a Kirtland’s snake or copper-bellied water snake off their property does not qualify for a personal-use permit the way they might for a common garter snake.

Businesses that perform nuisance wildlife control face additional licensing hurdles. Any person undertaking wild animal damage or nuisance control must have one of the DNR’s wildlife damage and nuisance control permits, and permittees in the general classification are required to hold a pesticide applicator’s license in category 7A or 7D. Permittees in the restricted classification are barred from using pesticides at all. If you are weighing snake removal against other regulated animals on your property, it is worth comparing rules for other species, such as those covered in this guide to Michigan pet laws or the equivalent wildlife removal laws in Minnesota, since permit structures differ meaningfully from state to state.

When You Can Legally Kill a Snake in Michigan

Michigan’s law leans heavily toward leaving snakes alone, and the exceptions for killing one are narrow. For protected species, the rule is unambiguous: they may not be lethally removed unless they pose an immediate threat to human life. A snake sunning itself near a doorway does not meet that bar; a snake that has bitten someone or is actively cornering a person in a confined space might.

Method restrictions apply regardless of the situation. Shooting of snakes and other reptiles is prohibited under Michigan wildlife rules, and this ban extends beyond firearms. It is illegal to use firearms, including spring, air, or gas propelled versions, along with a bow and arrow, blowgun, or crossbow for removal. These restrictions mean that even in a legitimate self-defense scenario, your options for lethal force are far more limited than most people assume.

Common Mistake: Assuming a snake near your house, garage, or chicken coop automatically qualifies as an “immediate threat” under Michigan law. Proximity alone does not meet the legal standard; the snake generally must be posing active danger to a person.

Michigan’s broader wildlife take rules apply similar immediate-threat logic to other species, and comparing them can help clarify how narrowly the exception is meant to be read. The state’s coyote hunting laws in Michigan follow a comparable structure, while unintentional roadway deaths are treated differently under the state’s roadkill laws in Michigan, since accidental killing is not prosecuted the same way as intentional lethal removal.

Rules for Venomous Snake Removal in Michigan

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake is the one species most likely to trigger a call to animal control, and it carries the strictest protections in the state. It is Michigan’s only venomous snake, and it is a threatened species protected by both state and federal law. You cannot kill this snake unless it poses an immediate threat to human safety or property. Instead, if you encounter this snake, you should leave it alone and report its location to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Identification matters more with this species than almost any other. Never attempt to handle a snake unless you are certain of the species. Massasaugas are relatively small and secretive rattlesnakes, and several harmless Michigan species, including hognose snakes and water snakes, are frequently misidentified as venomous because of their defensive hissing or flattened heads.

Important Note: Some sources describe the eastern massasauga rattlesnake as a species of special concern, while Michigan’s DNR classifies it as threatened statewide. If you are unsure which classification applies to a snake you have found, contact the DNR directly rather than relying on informal descriptions.

Ownership of venomous snakes, whether native or exotic, sits under separate rules from wild removal. While the state does not ban all reptile ownership, venomous species, including certain snakes, lizards, and amphibians, require permits from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Anyone bringing an exotic venomous snake into the state should also review the state’s pet import laws in Michigan before assuming ownership is straightforward. Residents relocating from rattlesnake-dense regions may also find it useful to compare rules in the wildlife removal laws in Arizona, where venomous snake encounters are far more routine.

Hiring a Licensed Wildlife Removal Operator in Michigan

Not every snake situation is a do-it-yourself job, and Michigan law recognizes that. If a snake is repeatedly entering a home or outbuilding, consider contacting a nuisance animal control company for safe removal. A licensed operator can identify protected or venomous species accurately and handle removal without triggering the penalties that come with an unpermitted take.

Injured or orphaned snakes require a different kind of professional entirely. Only licensed wildlife rehabilitators may possess abandoned or injured wildlife in Michigan, so a nuisance control operator is not automatically authorized to care for a hurt snake long-term. Before hiring anyone, it helps to know how the state’s permit system actually distinguishes between operators:

• Individual landowner permits allow property owners to address damage on their own land under specific conditions.
• Business-level permits work differently: landowner permits differ from the wildlife damage and nuisance control permits issued to businesses, agencies, and organizations, because the latter group is pre-authorized to undertake control measures on specific species.
• Permit specialists at the DNR issue and oversee these permits and can confirm whether a company you are considering is properly licensed.

If you are comparing how professional licensing works elsewhere, states like California and North Carolina structure their programs quite differently. Michigan’s approach is outlined alongside comparable frameworks in the wildlife removal laws in California and the wildlife removal laws in North Carolina, both of which use tiered licensing systems similar in spirit to Michigan’s general and restricted classifications.

Penalties for Illegally Killing or Relocating a Snake in Michigan

Michigan’s wildlife statutes carry real consequences, and the baseline penalty applies broadly. An individual who violates the Wildlife Conservation Act, an order issued under it, or a condition of a permit issued under it is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not less than $50.00 or more than $500.00, or both, along with the costs of prosecution. A permit issued by the department must also be revoked as part of that violation.

Penalties escalate sharply when exotic or higher-risk species are involved, which matters if a “snake” situation crosses over into unlawful possession of a restricted or prohibited reptile. A person who violates permit conditions with respect to a restricted species is subject to a civil fine of not more than $5,000.00. A violation involving a prohibited species is a felony, punishable by up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of not less than $2,000.00 or more than $1,000,000.00.

Enforcement is not limited to fines after the fact, either. A law enforcement officer or animal control officer may seize a dangerous reptile and keep the animal until it is disposed of in accordance with the rules established under the act. Taken together, these overlapping penalties explain why fines, jail time, license revocations, and restitution payments can all follow from illegal wildlife removal activity in Michigan.

Key Insight: The gap between a $500 misdemeanor and a $1,000,000 felony fine comes down almost entirely to which species is involved. A misidentified massasauga or an unpermitted exotic snake can turn a minor nuisance call into a serious legal matter.

This article is intended for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Snake identification and permit rules can change, and specific situations, especially those involving venomous or protected species, should be confirmed directly with the Michigan DNR or a qualified attorney before you act.