Can I keep a rose-ringed parakeet (tota) at home in India?

No. The rose-ringed parakeet is listed in Schedule II, Part B of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 as amended in 2022. Catching, buying or keeping one is an offence, even if it was sold in a market or hand-reared. Contact your state forest department if you already have one.

Are budgies and cockatiels legal in India?

Yes. The Act's Schedule IV names the budgerigar, cockatiel and peach-faced lovebird among parrots not included in the CITES appendices, and they are not in Schedules I or II. You do not need wildlife registration for them. Buy from a pet shop registered with your State Animal Welfare Board.

Do I need a licence to keep an African grey parrot in India?

You need a registration certificate. The African grey is in Schedule IV, Appendix I. Under the Living Animal Species Rules, 2024 you must apply within 30 days of getting it, with import papers, and breeding Appendix I species needs a separate licence under section 49N.

What is the punishment for keeping a protected parrot?

Under section 51 of the Act as amended in 2022, the general penalty is imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both. Some offences carry higher penalties. Courts and forest officers decide each case, so take advice on a specific situation.

I found an injured parakeet. Can I keep it?

Care for it only long enough to get it help. Call your state forest department's wildlife office or a wildlife rescue group that works with it, and keep the bird warm, quiet and in a ventilated box. A native parakeet is a scheduled wild animal, so it should go back to the wild through them.

Petym Answers 7 min read

Is it legal to keep a parrot in India?

Updated October 2026By PetymFacts checked against official sources on 21 October 2026

Quick answer

It depends on the species. India's native parrots, including the rose-ringed parakeet (the common green tota) and the Alexandrine, are listed in Schedule II of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 as amended in 2022, and catching, buying or keeping one is an offence. Budgerigars, cockatiels and peach-faced lovebirds are not listed and can be kept.

Exotic parrots such as African greys, macaws and most conures and cockatoos are listed in Schedule IV, which follows the CITES appendices. You may keep one only if you register it with your state's forest department under the Living Animal Species Rules, 2024, with proof it was legally imported or bred.

Which parrots can you keep in India?

The answer turns on which schedule of the Act, if any, lists the species.

	Where it is listed	Can you keep it?
Rose-ringed, Alexandrine, plum-headed, blossom-headed, Malabar, slaty-headed, grey-headed, long-tailed and Nicobar parakeets; vernal hanging parrot Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)	Schedule II, Part B (birds)	No. These are wild animals under the Act.
Lord Derby's parakeet and red-breasted parakeet Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)	Schedule I, the highest protection	No.
Budgerigar, cockatiel, peach-faced lovebird Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)	Named in Schedule IV as not included in the appendices	Yes, no wildlife registration needed.
African grey, many macaws and Amazons Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)	Schedule IV, Appendix I	Only with registration, and breeding needs a separate licence.
Most other exotic parrots, cockatoos and conures Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change	Schedule IV, Appendix II (all parrots not listed elsewhere)	Only with registration under the 2024 Rules.

Read from the Schedules as published in the Gazette of India on 20 December 2022, checked 21 October 2026. Schedule IV mirrors the CITES appendices, which can change at each CITES conference.

Why is keeping a native parakeet illegal?

Because the Act treats a scheduled bird as a wild animal, and taking one from the wild counts as hunting.

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 defines a wild animal as any animal specified in its schedules and found wild in nature. Its definition of hunting is wide: it includes capturing, snaring and trapping a wild or captive animal, and in the case of birds, disturbing their eggs or nests. Section 9 says no person shall hunt any wild animal in the schedules, and since the 2022 amendment that section covers Schedules I and II.

The 2022 amendment, published in the Gazette of India on 20 December 2022, replaced the old six schedules with four. Native parrots that older articles describe as 'Schedule IV birds' now sit in Schedule II, Part B. If you read a news report or blog that quotes a different schedule number, it is probably using the numbering from before the amendment. The protection itself did not go away.

The general penalty in section 51 was raised by the same amendment: a person who breaks the Act can face imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both. Higher penalties apply to some offences, such as those in a sanctuary or national park.

What do people get wrong about pet parrots?

You may have read
A parakeet bought at a bird market is legal because it was on sale.
Myth
What the sources say
Sale does not make a scheduled bird legal. The Pet Shop Rules, 2018 cover only pet animals whose ownership and trade are not prohibited by any other law. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Gazette copy on AWBI's site)
You may have read
Hand-reared parakeet chicks are captive-bred, so they are fine.
Myth
What the sources say
The Act's hunting definition covers capturing birds and disturbing their nests and eggs. A native parakeet chick is still a Schedule II species. MP Forest Department (copy of the Act, pre-2022 text)
You may have read
Exotic parrots need no papers because they are not Indian.
Myth
What the sources say
Exotic parrots listed in Schedule IV must be registered with the state's Management Authority, with import or registration papers. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
You may have read
Budgies and cockatiels are banned like other parrots.
Myth
What the sources say
Schedule IV names the budgerigar, cockatiel, peach-faced lovebird and rose-ringed parakeet as not included in the CITES appendices. Of these, only the rose-ringed parakeet is protected, because it is native and in Schedule II. Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)

What do you need to keep an exotic parrot legally?

The Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, G.S.R. 145(E) of 28 February 2024.

Apply to the Management Authority or authorised officer electronically in Form I within 30 days of getting the bird. Owners at the start had six months from 28 February 2024. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Pay the application fee, which the Gazette sets at one thousand rupees (as published on 28 February 2024). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
For a bird acquired after the 2022 amendment, attach the import licence and CITES export permit, or the earlier registration certificate. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Expect a physical check of the bird and your home by the Deputy Conservator of Forests before a certificate is issued. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Report any chicks within seven days, and any sale or gift within fifteen days. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Have a registered vet check the bird at least once every six months and keep the record in Form IV. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Report a death with a vet's post mortem report, and report an escape to the forest office within 24 hours. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

What should you do if you already have a parrot?

If It is a budgie, cockatiel or peach-faced lovebird
No wildlife paperwork applies. Focus on good care: these are social birds that RSPCA says do better with the company of other birds. RSPCA
If It is an exotic parrot listed in Schedule IV
Register it with your state's forest department if you have not. A bird with no registration certificate is dealt with under section 49Q of the Act. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
If It is a native parakeet, such as a green tota
Contact your state forest department or Chief Wildlife Warden's office and ask how to hand it over for rehabilitation. Do not release a hand-reared bird yourself. Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)
If Someone offers you a parakeet or a nestling
Say no. Buying or receiving one keeps the trapping trade going, and catching scheduled birds is hunting under the Act. MP Forest Department (copy of the Act, pre-2022 text)

Where can you buy a legal pet bird?

From a pet shop registered with your State Animal Welfare Board. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2018 say no one may sell pet animals, including online, without a certificate of registration, which the shop must display. The shop must not sell birds without mature flight feathers.

For imported birds, the same rules make the shop owner responsible for checking that suppliers imported them with all approvals, including from the Director General of Foreign Trade and the Animal Quarantine and Certification Services. Ask to see the shop's registration and the bird's papers before you pay.

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Questions owners ask

Can I keep a rose-ringed parakeet (tota) at home in India?: No. The rose-ringed parakeet is listed in Schedule II, Part B of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 as amended in 2022. Catching, buying or keeping one is an offence, even if it was sold in a market or hand-reared. Contact your state forest department if you already have one.
Are budgies and cockatiels legal in India?: Yes. The Act's Schedule IV names the budgerigar, cockatiel and peach-faced lovebird among parrots not included in the CITES appendices, and they are not in Schedules I or II. You do not need wildlife registration for them. Buy from a pet shop registered with your State Animal Welfare Board.
Do I need a licence to keep an African grey parrot in India?: You need a registration certificate. The African grey is in Schedule IV, Appendix I. Under the Living Animal Species Rules, 2024 you must apply within 30 days of getting it, with import papers, and breeding Appendix I species needs a separate licence under section 49N.
What is the punishment for keeping a protected parrot?: Under section 51 of the Act as amended in 2022, the general penalty is imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both. Some offences carry higher penalties. Courts and forest officers decide each case, so take advice on a specific situation.
I found an injured parakeet. Can I keep it?: Care for it only long enough to get it help. Call your state forest department's wildlife office or a wildlife rescue group that works with it, and keep the bird warm, quiet and in a ventilated box. A native parakeet is a scheduled wild animal, so it should go back to the wild through them.

Keep reading

Caring for a pet birdDaily care and what a sitter does for birds kept legally.
Which birds are legal pets in India?Mynas, munias and other native birds, and the exotic list.
Animal cruelty law in IndiaThe PCA Act and how to report cruelty.
Pet travel rules in IndiaPapers for moving a pet, including birds.

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Sources

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