Massachusetts Law About Service Animals

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Massachusetts Law, service dogs are allowed in all areas of public accommodation—including restaurants, stores, hotels, and hospitals—where the public is allowed to go. Service animals must be individually trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability, with handlers retaining control via harness, leash, or tether, unless this interferes with their work.

Key Public Accommodation Rules

• Definition: Only dogs (and, in specific cases, miniature horses) trained to do work or tasks for a person with a disability are considered service animals under the ADA. Emotional support animals are not covered by this definition and may be excluded.
• Allowed Access: Service dogs can accompany their handlers anywhere the public is allowed, including areas where pets are typically banned (e.g., in restaurants, they can go into the dining area).
• Limitations: A service animal can be excluded if it poses a direct threat to safety (e.g., a, sterile operating room) or is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it.
• Permitted Questions: If it is not obvious what the service animal does, staff may only ask two questions:
  1. Is the animal required because of a disability?
  2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?
• Prohibited Actions: Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, or require special identification card or training documentation for the dog.
• Fees: A service animal cannot be subjected to pet surcharges.

If a service animal is excluded, the individual must still be offered the opportunity to access goods or services without the animal present.

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

Assistance animal owners in Massachusetts are not required to possess any certification or identification. However, “[a]ll dogs, whether pets or assistance animals, need to be registered with their town/city, but there is no official registry of assistance animals.”

Should you be denied access to a place of accommodation or at your residence, for possessing a service or emotional support animal, contact the Law Offices of Renee Lazar at 978-844-4095 to schedule a FREE one hour no obligation consultation.

mass.gov