The Massachusetts Service Animal Law limits the definition of service animal to a dog that accompanies an individual with a sensory and or physical disability. Federal law allows for a broader definition of service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA defines service animals as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” Both laws obligate state and local governments and any places that are open to the public to permit service animals to accompany people with disabilities anywhere members of the public are allowed to go.

Only dogs meet the definition of service animal under the ADA, with the exception of miniature horses.

Examples of services include:

Guiding a person who is blind

Alerting a person who is deaf

Interrupting a compulsive behavior

Retrieving objects

The definition of "service animal" includes psychiatric service dogs that are trained to recognize and respond to psychiatric disability symptoms. For example, a dog who is trained to help its owner with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) avoid environmental triggers to her disability symptoms would be considered a psychiatric service animal.



However, animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support are not service animals. Emotional support or companion animals may have to be allowed in other places, such as in housing.



People are not required to possess any certification or identification for a service animal. Service animals are not required to wear a vest or badge.

Although there are rigorous, formal service animal training programs, Americans with disabilities have the right to train their animal themselves.

An individual with a disability accompanied by a service animal may not be asked to provide documentation of a disability, to answer questions regarding his or her disability, or to have the service animal demonstrate its work.

Only when the individual’s disability is not obvious, staff may ask the following two questions to determine whether an animal is a service animal:

Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability? What task or service is the animal trained to perform?

The law requires staff to take the individual at their word.

Rights & Responsibilities

Service animals:

Are permitted to go wherever their handler is permitted to go.

Are allowed even if others have fears of or allergies to dogs.

Must be under the handler’s control at all times. In most cases this means on a harness or leash.

Must be housebroken.

May not pose a legitimate, direct threat to health or safety.

Do not have to be allowed to sit on furniture meant for patrons, to eat from plates provided by a food service establishment, or to ride in shopping carts.

In Massachusetts, service animals in training have the same status as fully trained service animals.