Laws are specific to different countries and differ at different levels. Sugar glider ownership may legal at the country, state or province level, but could be illegal at the city or neighborhood level.

Another complication is that within a specific level of government, such as on a state level, their may be more than one governmental body with conflicting laws regarding sugar gliders. In this scenario where the legality is ambiguous, a lawyer should be consulted.

Laws change and this article may not reflect current laws. In no way should any of this be taken as legal advice.

United States

In the United States sugar gliders are considered to be wild or exotic animals because their life cycle, habits, and potential threat to native species is unknown. Because of this some states choose to make it illegal to own them and the national government stipulates that you must be licensed to breed them. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulates licensing of breeders through the Animal Welfare Act. If you have questions about legality in your specific area, you might contact your local Fish & Wildlife Office or whatever the local governing body is that regulates animals.

Owners who would like more information on the breeding requirements or legalities of this animal in the US should contact USDA-APHIS-Animal Care. Which office to contact depends on which state you live in. Currently there is an Eastern and Western region. Please view the map at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/acorg.html to determine which office you need to contact. Contact information is provided on that page as well. USDA-APHIS-AC provides an online form to request an application for licensing.

Alabama

Legal

Alaska

IllegalAlaska Department of Fish and Game

Arizona

Legal (According to Bill Van Pelt, Nongame Bird and Mammal Program Manager of the Arizona Game and Fish Department)

Arkansas

Legal

California

Illegal California Department of Fish and Game

Colorado

Legal

Connecticut

Unknown

Delaware

Unknown

Florida

Legal

Additional Information: From the Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission Law and Code Manual

Page 234. 68A-6.0022 (2)
"No permit shall be required to possess the following wildlife for personal use, unless possession of a species is otherwise regulated by other rules of the Commission: "

Page 234. 68A-6.0022 (2) (c)
"Honey possums, sugar gliders, brushtailed possums."

Page 244. 68A-6.004 (4) (i)
"Marsupials. In addition to requirements of this section, each enclosure shall be equipped with a shelter(s) or next box(es) that shall accommodate all the animals in the enclosure simultaneously. When vegetation or landscaping is available to serve as protection from the elements, access to a shelter shall also be provided during inclement weather conditions. Such shelter shall be attached to or adjacent to the paddock, habitat, or enclosure. Each paddock, habitat, or enclosure shall have an accessible device to provide physical stimulation or manipulation compatible with the species. Such device shall be noninjurious, and may include, but is not limited to, browsing and grazing material."

Page 244. 68A-6.004 (4) (i) 5. b. (I)
"For one or two animals, a cage or enclosure 4 feet by 4 feet, 4 feet high. For each additional animal, increase cage size by 25 percent of original floor area."
Page 244. 68A-6.004 (4) (i) 5. b. (II)
"Each cage shall have perching area(s) and next box(es) that shall accommodate all animals in the enclosure simultaneously. Each cage shall have a horizontal climbing apparatus."

Georgia

The exotic species listed below, except where otherwise noted, may not be held as pets in Georgia. This list is not all inclusive.

Marsupials (wallabies, kangaroos, sugar gliders, etc.); all species

Note: Sugar gliders are legal as pets if the owner possesses valid documentation that the animal originated from a source inspected and regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture.

http://www.georgiawildlife.org/documentdetail.aspx?docid=6&pageid=3&category=default

Hawaii

Illegal

Idaho

Legal

Illinois

Legal

Indiana

Legal

Iowa

Legal

Kansas

Unknown

Kentucky

Legal

Louisiana

Legal

Maine

Unknown

Maryland

Legal A license is needed to sell Sugar Gliders(Obtained from the USDA), but owning sugar gliders is legal.

Massachusetts

Illegal

Michigan

Unregulated by the state, thus legal, but also check city laws. 20090528:"There is no permit or other authorization required from the DNR in order for you to possess a sugar glider in Michigan."

Minnesota

Unknown statewide

: St. Paul Illegal due to city ordinance as of Dec 26, 2007 according to Startribue.com

Mississippi

Legal

Missouri

Legal

Montana

Unknown

Nebraska

Unknown

Nevada

Legal

New Hampshire

Unknown

New Jersey

Unknown

New Mexico

Illegal unless a special permit for exotics is obtained.

New York

Legal except in the five NYC boroughs where they are illegal

North Carolina

Legal

North Dakota

Legal

Ohio

Legal

Oklahoma

Legal

Oregon

Legal [http://www.dfw.state.or.us/oars/56.pdf ]

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania requires a permit for wild life ownership. Please call Pennsylvania Game Commission for permit details. Their website can be found at http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/

The following is from Chapter 29. Special Licenses and Permits, Subchapter D. Permits Relating to Wildlife, Sec. 2963. Exotic wildlife possession permits.

(a) Authorization. - The commission may issue permits to persons to possess exotic wildlife which shall authorize the holder to purchase, receive or possess exotic wildlife from any lawful source from within or without ¹ this Commonwealth.

(b) Shelter, care and protection. - No permit provided for in this section shall be granted until the commission is satisfied that the provisions for housing and caring for such exotic wildlife and for protecting the public are proper and adequate and in accordance with the standards established by the commission.

: (1) Possess, purchase or receive exotic wildlife, without first securing a permit to possess exotic wildlife issued under this section or regulations pertaining to this section.
: (2) Release exotic wildlife into the wild.
: (3) Fail to exercise due care in safeguarding the public from attack by exotic wildlife.
: (4) Recklessly engage in conduct which places or may place another person in danger of attack by exotic wildlife.

(d) Penalty. -

: (1) A violation of this section relating to permits is a summary offense of the third degree.
: (2) Any other violation of this section is a summary offense of the fifth degree.
: (3) Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense, but under no circumstances shall the accumulated penalty for purposes of a field receipt exceed $300. There shall be no limit on any accumulated penalty a court may assess.

(e) Discretion of director. - In addition to the penalties provided, the director may, for any violation of this section, revoke or suspend any permit and order the disposal of any exotic wildlife held. Cross References. Section 2963 is referred to in section 2965 of this title.

Rhode Island

Legal

South Carolina

Legal

South Dakota

Legal

Tennessee

Legal

Texas

Legal

General exotics are not allowed in many cities

Utah

Legal
*Only with a permit/license which costs $55.00 the first year and $25.00/year to renew.
Illegal
*In Salt Lake County. It is also illegal in Salt Lake County to possess any other animal that is not native to North America

I recently (06/28/2013) spoke with the USDA Salt Lake Office, DNR and DWS offices as well as the Salt Lake County humane society. There are no restrictions in relation to owning sugar gliders in the state of utah by any of these local agencies. There are regulations for licensing for breeding in the state of Utah. That is regulated through the Utah USDA office.

Vermont

Unknown

Virginia

Legal

Washington

Legal

West Virginia

Legal

Wisconsin

Unknown

Wyoming

Legal

Canada:

GLIDERS ARE ILLEGAL TO HAVE IN THE FOLLOWING PROVINCES AND/OR CITIES

OTTAWA ONTARIO
MAPLE RIDGE-B.C.
BURLINGTON ONTARIO
AJAX ONTARIO
BELLEVILLE ONATRIO
BOWMANVILLE ONTARIO
CLARINGTON ONTARIO
Timmins-ontario
Cochrane-ontario
brampton-ontario
Brantford-ontario
BARRIE-Ontario
North Bay-ontario-not confirmed
Peterborough -not confirmed
WHITBY ONTARIO-not confirmed
Minden-ontario (this town does not have speicifc animal by-laws,however they donnot allow exotics in residential areas so caution is recomended,and preferably individual,written aceptions to individuals by request owning exotics.)

GLIDERS ARE OK TO HAVE (legal) IN THESES PROVINCES AND/OR CITIES

Alberta
BC
NFLD
Labrador
Quebec (except for ottawa) -ontario
Toronto-ontario
Missisauga - ontario
Oshawa -ontario (while it is not specified on the bylaw gliders are omitted from the listing)
HAMILTON ONTARIO-limit of 2 per household
Stoney Creek Ontario-limit of 4 per household
KITCHENER ONTARIO-possible limits on number of pets per household
Tweed- ontario
Oakville-ontario
Perth, Smith Falls,surrounding area -Ontario
Madoc-ontario
Kingston-ontario
St. Catherines
Pelham region
Niagara on the Lake
Niagra Falls- ontario
Cambridge- ontario
Pt Colbourne
Thorold
Oro-Medonte
Orillia-Ontario

Australia:

To keep protected species in Australia, you must have the appropriate licence. These vary majorly from state to state and in fact, in some states you may not keep protected species at all. Here are each state's wildlife licence law pages & applications for reference.

Please note, even with the appropriate licence, wildlife may not be taken from the wild.

Victoria

Private Wildlife Licence :- Victorian Licencing This form explains the regulations/costs and what type of wildlife you may keep under this licence.

South Australia

Fauna Permits :- South Australian Licencing

New South Wales

Only three native mammals can be kept as pets in N.S.W: dingos, spinifex hopping-mice and plains rats. You'll need a licence for the last two of these. Find out more. N.S.W Licencing

Western Australia

This is the Nature Base site for the WA Government. Western Australian Licencing It appears you may only keep some reptiles in captivity. Unable to find reference to other animals. If someone has any further information on this, please let us know so we can keep this site up to date.

Australian Capital Territory

ACT licencing. Sugar gliders cannot legally be kept in captivity.

Tasmania

Tasmania Licencing It appears from this website, the only permit you can get is to care and rehabilitate wildlife back into the wild. You may not keep wildlife in captivity. If anyone has any further information on this, please let us know.

Queensland

Queensland Wild Life Demonstrator Licence In Queensland, you may keep protected animals, which includes the sugar glider, by acquiring a demonstrators licence. There are restrictions and requirements for this licence. One of the main requirements is that you "hold demonstrations at places other than your own home at least once a month and keep records of these demonstrations." This license is designed to promote wildlife conservation. There may also be local government restrictions that further restrict the type of animal you may keep as well as the number of animals.

Northern Territory

Northern territory Legal with permit. You will need to call the department there for further info. They don't advertise it on their website.

Works Cited

"without." Def.5. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 22 Dec. 2007. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/without>.

Notes

¹^ The usage of the word ''without'' means ''beyond the compass, limits, range, or scope of (now used chiefly in opposition to within)''(Dictionary.com) and gives an appropriate example of usage; ''whether within or without the law''(Dictionary.com). This means animals can be obtained from sources outside of the state so long as the Pennsylvania resident purchasing the animal already has a permit.