Originally published 2024-10-24. Reviewed and updated by Anything Pawsable on October 4, 2026.
Service dogs, therapy dogs, emotional support animals, and facility dogs do different jobs. Their role and training determine which rules apply. A dog can perform more than one role, so a label alone does not settle its legal status.
Service dogs
Under the ADA, a service dog is individually trained to do disability-related work or tasks. It must be housebroken and under its handler’s control. Covered public accommodations generally allow service dogs where customers may go. Religious organizations and some restricted environments use different rules.
Therapy dogs
Therapy dogs typically visit people to offer comfort as part of an invited program. A therapy-dog credential does not itself grant ADA public-access rights. Follow the host facility’s permission and program requirements.
Emotional support animals
ESAs provide comfort without the ADA’s trained-task requirement. They do not have ADA service-animal public access. Assistance-animal accommodation in covered housing is a separate process. Airlines are not required to carry ESAs as service animals, but may accept them under their pet policies.
Facility and courthouse dogs
Facility dogs work with professionals in settings such as treatment programs or courts. Permission and any applicable local rules govern those placements. Working in a facility does not by itself grant broad ADA service-dog access.
Voluntary registries and identification materials do not create access rights. For a public-access question, start with the dog’s individually trained disability-related work or tasks and the rules for the setting.
A safe, successful service-dog partnership needs a trained dog and a prepared human handler. Service Dog Standards works alongside the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), providing training and behavior standards and foundational education about both partners’ responsibilities. Experienced trainers use that foundation to prepare clients for individual instruction and the care, practice and public behavior the partnership requires.