Americans with Disability Act ADA Business Brief: Service Animals PDF Format Service Animals HTML Format
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SERVICE ANIMALS IN PLACES OF BUSINESS
July 26, 1996
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the National
Association of Attorneys General have formed a Disability Rights Task Force to
promote and protect the rights of individuals with disabilities.
We have found that many businesses across the country have prohibited
individuals with disabilities who use service animals from entering their
premises, in many instances because of ignorance or confusion about the animal's
appropriate use. This document provides specific information about the legal
requirements regarding individuals with disabilities who use service animals. It
was prepared by the Task Force to assist businesses in complying voluntarily
with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state laws.
Twenty-four state attorneys general* are distributing a similar document
(including state specific requirements) to associations representing
restaurants, hotels and motels, and retailers for dissemination to their
members.
We encourage you to share this document with businesses and people with
disabilities and their families in your community.
Deval L. Patrick
Scott Harshbarger
Assistant Attorney GeneralAttorney
General
Civil Rights DivisionState
of Massachusetts;
U.S. Department of JusticePresident,
National Association of Attorneys General
Q: What are the laws that apply to my business?
A: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), privately owned businesses
that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs,
theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities, are prohibited from
discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires these
businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto
business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed.
Q: What is a service animal?
A: The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other
animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a
disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals
under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a
state or local government.
Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with
a disability cannot perform for him or herself. "Seeing eye dogs" are one type
of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of
service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service
animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day
activities. Some examples include:
_____Alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds.
_____ Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with
mobility impairments.
_____Assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance.
Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just a pet?
A: Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some,
but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you
are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who
has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability.
However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to
be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability.
Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for
providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. Although a
number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on
proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany
the person with a disability.
Q: What must I do when an individual with a service animal comes to my
business?
A: The service animal must be permitted to accompany the individual with a
disability to all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to
go. An individual with a service animal may not be segregated from other
customers.
Q: I have always had a clearly posted "no pets" policy at my establishment.
Do I still have to allow service animals in?
A: Yes. A service animal is not a pet. The ADA requires you to modify your "no
pets" policy to allow the use of a service animal by a person with a disability.
This does not mean you must abandon your "no pets" policy altogether but simply
that you must make an exception to your general rule for service animals.
Q: My county health department has told me that only a seeing eye or guide
dog has to be admitted. If I follow those regulations, am I violating the ADA?
A: Yes, if you refuse to admit any other type of service animal on the basis of
local health department regulations or other state or local laws. The ADA
provides greater protection for individuals with disabilities and so it takes
priority over the local or state laws or regulations.
Q: Can I charge a maintenance or cleaning fee for customers who bring service
animals into my business?
A: No. Neither a deposit nor a surcharge may be imposed on an individual with a
disability as a condition to allowing a service animal to accompany the
individual with a disability, even if deposits are routinely required for pets.
However, a public accommodation may charge its customers with disabilities if a
service animal causes damage so long as it is the regular practice of the entity
to charge non-disabled customers for the same types of damages. For example, a
hotel can charge a guest with a disability for the cost of repairing or cleaning
furniture damaged by a service animal if it is the hotel's policy to charge when
non-disabled guests cause such damage.
Q: I operate a private taxicab and I don't want animals in my taxi; they
smell, shed hair and sometimes have "accidents." Am I violating the ADA if I
refuse to pick up someone with a service animal?
A: Yes. Taxicab companies may not refuse to provide services to individuals with
disabilities. Private taxicab companies are also prohibited from charging higher
fares or fees for transporting individuals with disabilities and their service
animals than they charge to other persons for the same or equivalent service.
Q: Am I responsible for the animal while the person with a disability is in
my business?
A: No. The care or supervision of a service animal is solely the responsibility
of his or her owner. You are not required to provide care or food or a special
location for the animal.
Q: What if a service animal barks or growls at other people, or otherwise
acts out of control?
A: You may exclude any animal, including a service animal, from your facility
when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of
others. For example, any service animal that displays vicious behavior towards
other guests or customers may be excluded. You may not make assumptions,
however, about how a particular animal is likely to behave based on your past
experience with other animals. Each situation must be considered individually.
Although a public accommodation may exclude any service animal that is out of
control, it should give the individual with a disability who uses the service
animal the option of continuing to enjoy its goods and services without having
the service animal on the premises.
Q: Can I exclude an animal that doesn't really seem dangerous but is
disruptive to my business?
A: There may be a few circumstances when a public accommodation is not required
to accommodate a service animal--that is, when doing so would result in a
fundamental alteration to the nature of the business. Generally, this is not
likely to occur in restaurants, hotels, retail stores, theaters, concert halls,
and sports facilities. But when it does, for example, when a dog barks during a
movie, the animal can be excluded.
If you have further questions about service animals or other requirements of the
ADA, you may call the U.S. Department of Justice's toll-free ADA Information
Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or
800-514-0383 (TDD).
DUPLICATION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS ENCOURAGED.
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