ADA Definition of Service Dog, Rules and Rights
Service Dogs are given exclusive rights and responsibilities in accordance with the American Disability Act of 1990. The American Disability Association oversees the federal regulations for service dogs and individual states may have their own additional statutes. Please check the State Statute in which you reside or travel to learn about relevant nuances to the law in your area. It’s important to note that towns or businesses cannot make ordinances that are more powerful than ADA protected federal and state law. Occasionally town ordinances may be cited in a service dog situation. That is not a valid reason for denial of access or services. For direct information to ADA regulations as overseen by the Department of Justice visit ADA 2010 Revised Requirements: Service Animals, which the below information is derived from:
- A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability
- A service animal is a dog that is trained to do work or perform tasks specifically related to a person’s disability
- A service animal must be under the control of its handler. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless the individual’s disability prevents using these devices or these devices interfere with the service animal’s safe, effective performance of tasks. In that case the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.
- Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must permit service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go. Only in rare situations can access be denied when a safety concern presents such as an Intensive Care Unit in a Hospital Emergency Room.
Inquiries, Exclusions, Charges and other specific Rules:
- When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions:
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform
** As a service dog owner, be prepared to deal with these encounters. We recommend knowing these questions by heart along a script to answers such requests that fits your situation. Consider getting comfortable with a response that protects your own medical privacy and individual rights. Doing so makes it more likely to attain to smoother, positive outcomes instead of negative experiences with the public.
- Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task
- Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility
- A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove a service animal from the premises unless:
- The dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it
- The dog is not housebroken
** When there is a legitimate reason to ask a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence
- Establishments that sell or prepare food must generally allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibits animal on the premises
- People with disabilities cannot be isolated from other patrons, treated less favorably, or charged fees that are not charged to other patrons without animals. In addition, if a business requires a deposit or fee to be paid by patrons with pets, it must waive the charge for service animals
- Service dog owners are financially responsible for any damage done to a property by their service dog
- Staff are not required to provide care for or supervision of a service animal
For more information please visit the ADA website or call their toll-free number
800-514-0301 (Voice) and 800-514-0383 (TTY)
M-W, F 9:30am – 12:00pm and 2:30pm– 5:30pm EST, T 2:30pm – 5:30pm EST
