Man in sunglasses and his golden retriever service dog outside an entrance to a business

Public Access (part I)

You cannot deny entry to someone with a service dog. Sometimes, you may not be sure if a dog entering your business is a service dog or not. In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions:

1.) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?

2.)What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.

Service dogs are not required to have a special patch or harness, although sometimes they do have an ID verifying them as a service dog, but these can be purchased rather easily off the internet and are not an official form of verification (but you cannot require it to admit entry).

Employees cannot refuse entry to a service dog team due to a customer with an allergy or fear of dogs. In that case, both the handler and the customer must be offered accommodations (like being seated at different locations).

…to be continued