ADA service animals: what counts, what staff can ask and when one can be excluded

What counts as a service animal under the ADA

The ADA rules for state and local governments (title II) and for businesses and nonprofits that serve the public (title III) share one definition: a service animal is any dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, whether physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or another mental disability. Other species, wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals under that definition (28 CFR 35.104; 28 CFR 36.104). Since March 15, 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III (ADA.gov service animal guidance).

The work or tasks must be directly related to the person’s disability. The regulations list examples, without closing the list (28 CFR 36.104):

• guiding people who are blind or have low vision, and other tasks for them;
• alerting people who are deaf or hard of hearing to people or sounds;
• non-violent protection or rescue work;
• pulling a wheelchair;
• helping a person during a seizure;
• alerting a person to allergens;
• fetching things such as medicine or the telephone;
• giving physical support and help with balance and stability to people with mobility disabilities;
• helping people with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.

The ADA does not require professional training: a person with a disability can train the dog themselves. A dog still in training is not a service animal under the ADA, although some state or local laws cover dogs in training (ADA.gov service animal FAQ, questions 5 and 6).

Miniature horses: a separate rule

A miniature horse is not a service animal under the definition, but the regulations give it a provision of its own. Where a miniature horse has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, the entity must make reasonable modifications to its policies to allow it (28 CFR 35.136, (i); 28 CFR 36.302(c), (c)(9)). Miniature horses generally stand 24 to 34 inches tall at the shoulders and generally weigh between 70 and 100 pounds (ADA.gov service animal guidance).

Whether one can come into a specific facility depends on four factors (28 CFR 36.302(c), (c)(9)(ii)):

• the horse’s type, size and weight, and whether the facility can accommodate them;
• whether the handler has sufficient control of the horse;
• whether it is housebroken;
• whether its presence compromises legitimate safety requirements needed to run the facility safely.

Once a miniature horse is admitted, the rules for service animals on leashes, care, questions, access to public areas and surcharges apply to it as well (28 CFR 36.302(c), (c)(9)(iii)).

When a service animal can be asked to leave

The regulations give two reasons to ask a person to remove a service animal (28 CFR 35.136, (b); 28 CFR 36.302(c), (c)(2)):

1. The animal is out of control and its handler does not take effective action to control it.
2. The animal is not housebroken.

Even then, the person must be offered the goods, services or program without the animal there (28 CFR 35.136, (c); 28 CFR 36.302(c), (c)(3)). Keeping control is the handler’s job: the animal must be harnessed, leashed or tethered, unless the person’s disability prevents it or a leash would interfere with the animal’s work, and then the handler controls it by voice, signals or other effective means (28 CFR 35.136, (d); 28 CFR 36.302(c), (c)(4)). Staff do not have to care for or supervise it (28 CFR 35.136, (e); 28 CFR 36.302(c), (c)(5)).

An animal can also be kept out where admitting it would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, or where legitimate safety requirements apply (ADA.gov service animal FAQ, question 25): a hospital may exclude it from operating rooms or burn units, where it could compromise a sterile environment (ADA.gov service animal guidance). Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service (ADA.gov service animal guidance).

Housing and flights have their own rules

Housing: the Fair Housing Act applies to virtually all types of housing, public and private (ADA.gov service animal FAQ, question 35). Its rules make it unlawful to refuse a reasonable accommodation in rules or policies that a person with a disability needs to have an equal opportunity to use a home, and their own example is a blind tenant with a guide dog in a building with a no-pets policy (24 CFR 100.204).

Flights: airlines are covered not by the ADA but by the Air Carrier Access Act (ADA.gov service animal FAQ, question 37), whose rules define a service animal as a trained dog of any breed and leave out emotional support animals and animals in training (14 CFR Part 382, 382.3).

Sources

Every figure in this guide comes from one of these official texts, which we read in October 2026.

1. 28 CFR 36.302(c), Service animals (public accommodations). U.S. Department of Justice, in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 75 FR 56251, September 15, 2010, as amended; current text read October 2026.
2. Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA. U.S. Department of Justice (ADA.gov), last updated February 28, 2020.
3. 28 CFR 36.104, Definitions (service animal). U.S. Department of Justice, in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, definition in force since March 15, 2011; current text read October 2026.
4. ADA Requirements: Service Animals. U.S. Department of Justice (ADA.gov), last updated February 28, 2020.
5. 14 CFR Part 382, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel. U.S. Department of Transportation, in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, current text, read October 2026.
6. 28 CFR 35.104, Definitions (service animal). U.S. Department of Justice, in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, definition in force since March 15, 2011; current text read October 2026.
7. 28 CFR 35.136, Service animals (state and local governments). U.S. Department of Justice, in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 75 FR 56178, September 15, 2010, as amended; current text read October 2026.
8. 24 CFR 100.204, Reasonable accommodations (Fair Housing Act). U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, current text read October 2026.