#FindOutMore: ADA Rules Guide what Can and Cannot be Asked About Service Animals
Most people know that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires government entities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public to allow service animals in all places where the public is allowed.
What most people do not know, however, is that the ADA also has requirements about what can and cannot be asked about a service animal and the person whom it accompanies. People with visual impairments often are not aware of these rules either.
For example, a person who appears with a service animal cannot be asked to state their physical impairment, asked to provide medical documentation, asked to produce an identification card or training documentation for the animal, or asked to have the animal demonstrate the performance of its work.
According to the ADA, two questions may be asked of a person with a service animal when that service is not obvious. Those questions, as written by the U.S. Department of Justice, are:
- “Is the dog [animal] a service animal required because of a disability?”
- “What work or task has the dog [animal] been trained to perform?”
Sights for Hope encourages every person who lives with a visual impairment to be mindful of their rights and supports efforts in its communities to be aware and respectful of those rights.
Image: A golden retriever service dog standing next to a man with a white cane