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Service Animals

What Is A Service Animal?

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is any guide dog, signal dog, or another animal individually trained to provide assistance to a person with a disability. Animals that meet this definition are considered service animals whether or not they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government. Service animals are working animals and are not considered pets.

A service animal:

  • guides people who are blind
  • alerts people who are hearing impaired
  • pulls wheelchairs
  • alerts and protects a person who may have seizures
  • performs other special tasks
 

The Americans With Disabilities Act

The ADA is a federal law that requires businesses and organizations that serve the public to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go.

Examples of these businesses and organizations include:

  • restaurants or hotels
  • taxis and shuttle buses
  • grocery and department stores
  • hospitals and medical offices
  • theaters
  • health clubs
  • parks and zoos
  • government offices that serve the public
 

Conducting Business With Service Animals

Businesses and organizations that serve the public have a responsibility to serve all their customers equally well. However, most business owners and office workers have little experience interacting with people who have disabilities and are accompanied by their service animals. If this is the case, you may be asked questions about your animal since most businesses do not allow animals in the building.

Businesses are not required to provide care or food for a service animal or to provide a special location for the animal to relieve itself. You are required to be responsible for your animal’s actions. You may be liable for damage caused by your animal.

 

Questions You May Be Asked

You should be prepared to answer either of the following questions:

  • Is your animal a service animal?
  • What tasks has the animal been trained to perform?
 

Questions You May Not Be Asked

These questions may not be asked:

  • Does your service animal have an ID card?
  • Has your animal been certified as a service animal?
  • What is your disability?

NOTE: Although some service animals wear identifying harnesses or special collars, there is no requirement that service animals be identified.

 

How Should You Be Treated?

You should expect to be treated with the same care and concern as any other customer. You may not be charged a deposit or surcharge so your animal may accompany you. You cannot be segregated from other customers because you are accompanied by your service animal. You should not expect faster or better service because you are accompanied by your service animal.

You should not be asked to remove your animal from the office unless:

  • the animal is out of control and you are not trying to control it, or
  • the service animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of other people. If this happens, you have the option of conducting your DMV business without having your animal on the premises.

NOTE: County/city ordinances regarding leash laws apply to service animals as well as pets. If local county/city ordinances require, service animals must be leashed when inside a DMV office.

 

Helpful Websites

Here are some websites for additional information about service animals in places of business:

www.ada.gov

www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm

Featured Article

April 3, 2025

Distracted Driving Awareness Month

WHAT: Distracted Driving Awareness Month Press Conference

WHEN: Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Vermont State Police Westminster Barracks, 1330 Westminster Heights Road, Westminster

DETAILS:

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s State Highway Safety Office (SHSO), and Vermont highway safety advocates are launching a high-visibility enforcement effort from April 10-14, 2025, to deter distracted driving. Law enforcement officers nationwide will work together to enforce laws regarding texting and distracted driving, and to remind people to drive with their full attention.

To support this effort, the SHSO will hold a Distracted Driving Awareness Press Conference with representatives from the SHSO, Vermont State Police and other Vermont and New Hampshire law enforcement agencies, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the American Automobile Association (AAA), and the cellular service carrier AT&T. The goal of the press conference is to bring together public and private stakeholders who dedicate their work to keeping Vermont’s roads safer for all road users and to raise awareness about the risks of distracted driving.

According to NHTSA, in 2022, 3,308 people were killed and an estimated additional 289,310 people injured in traffic crashes involving distracted drivers. Due to data collection limitations, however, we know that these are underestimations. In Vermont, during the past five years (2020-2024), there have been 33 fatalities attributed to distracted driving, which means that 9.6% of all vehicle-related fatalities in Vermont involved a distracted driver.