Can a restaurant ask for my service dog's papers?

No. Staff may ask only whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability and what task it is trained to perform. Documentation may not be required.

Can a business refuse my service dog because someone is allergic?

Allergies and fear are not valid grounds for exclusion. The business should accommodate both people, usually by seating them apart.

Can my service dog be asked to leave?

Only if it is out of control and you do not take effective action, or if it is not housebroken. You must still be offered the service without the dog present.

Where a psychiatric service dog may go

Psychiatric service dogsLast reviewed Oct 25, 2026

Two questions, and they are both about the dog. Everything else is off limits, including the one people ask most.

The right

Under the ADA, a service dog may accompany its handler anywhere members of the public are allowed to go. Shops, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, taxis, government offices. The dog does not have to be left outside, kept in a carrier, or confined to a particular area, and a business may not segregate the handler because of it.

An emotional support animal has none of this. It is a housing concept, and it confers no public access rights at all.

The two questions

Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

That is the complete list, and it applies only where the dog's role is not obvious. Both questions are about the dog. Neither is about you.

What staff may not do

Ask about your disability, or ask you to prove you have one.
Require documentation, a certificate, a registration or an ID card.
Require the dog to demonstrate a task.
Require a vest, patch or tag.
Charge a surcharge, or impose a deposit, even where they charge for pets.
Refuse the dog because another customer is allergic or afraid. The answer there is to accommodate both, usually by distance.

When a dog can lawfully be removed

Two grounds, both about conduct. The dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, or the dog is not housebroken. In either case the business must still offer the handler the chance to come back without the dog, and the service itself may not be refused.

In practice the overwhelming majority of access problems are behaviour problems. A dog that lies quietly under a table is almost never challenged; a dog that barks, pulls or greets strangers is challenged constantly, and correctly.

Places with their own rules

Aircraft, which are governed by the Air Carrier Access Act rather than the ADA, with its own documentation rules.
Sterile areas of hospitals such as operating theatres and burn units, where exclusion is permitted.
Religious organisations, which are exempt from the ADA's public accommodation provisions, though many admit service dogs anyway.
Private clubs that are genuinely private, which are likewise outside the public accommodation rules.
Workplaces, which are Title I rather than Title III and work differently.

Common questions

Can a restaurant ask for my service dog's papers?: No. Staff may ask only whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability and what task it is trained to perform. Documentation may not be required.
Can a business refuse my service dog because someone is allergic?: Allergies and fear are not valid grounds for exclusion. The business should accommodate both people, usually by seating them apart.
Can my service dog be asked to leave?: Only if it is out of control and you do not take effective action, or if it is not housebroken. You must still be offered the service without the dog present.