Service Animals
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section
ADA
Service Animals
2010 Revised
Requirements
The Department of
Overview
Justice published revised final regulations implementing the
Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) for
This publication provides guidance on the term “service animal” and the service animal provisions in the Department’s revised regulations.
■
Beginning on March 15, 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III of the ADA.
■
A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
■
Generally, title II and title III entities must permit service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go.
title II (State and local government services) and title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities) on September 15, 2010, in the Federal Register.
These requirements, or
How “Service Animal” Is Defined
rules, clarify and refine issues that have arisen over the past 20 years and contain new, and updated, requirements, including the 2010
Standards for Accessible
Design (2010 Standards).
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.
Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section
ADA
Service Animals
2010 Revised
Requirements
The Department of
Overview
Justice published revised final regulations implementing the
Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) for
This publication provides guidance on the term “service animal” and the service animal provisions in the Department’s revised regulations.
■
Beginning on March 15, 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III of the ADA.
■
A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
■
Generally, title II and title III entities must permit service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go.
title II (State and local government services) and title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities) on September 15, 2010, in the Federal Register.
These requirements, or
How “Service Animal” Is Defined
rules, clarify and refine issues that have arisen over the past 20 years and contain new, and updated, requirements, including the 2010
Standards for Accessible
Design (2010 Standards).
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.
Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as