The Los Angeles city attorney's office confirmed Thursday that the 29-year-old singer was charged last week with two counts stemming from his possession of a pet Capuchin monkey without a permit.
Brown posted a picture to his 44 million Instagram followers in January showing his 3-year-old daughter, Royalty, cuddling with the monkey, named Fiji.
California fish and wildlife agents took the monkey away soon after.
Brown is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 6. An after-hours email seeking comment from his attorney Mark Geragos was not immediately returned. If convicted, Brown could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Brown has been in repeated legal trouble since pleading guilty to the felony assault in 2009 of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. He completed his probation in that case in 2015.