Restaurant and business service animal denials
A restaurant, store, or rideshare refused to serve you with your service animal. No current class action — most cases are individual. Tell us what happened.
What this case is about
Service-animal access is one of the most clearly established areas of ADA law. Under 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c), public accommodations (restaurants, stores, hotels, hospitals, malls, theaters, gyms, taxis, and many others) must permit service animals to accompany their handlers in all areas open to the general public. The law is clear: staff may ask only TWO questions — (1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? (2) What work or task has it been trained to perform? Staff may NOT ask for documentation, a vest, an ID, or a demonstration. Allergies and fear of dogs are NOT valid reasons to deny access. "No pets" policies do not apply to service animals. Cleaning fees specifically for service animals are illegal. Service animals must be permitted in food preparation areas. NOT covered: emotional support animals (covered under FHA for housing, not ADA for public accommodations); pets and untrained companion animals; animals other than dogs (miniature horses have limited additional coverage). Where to report: DOJ Civil Rights Division at ADA.gov; the business's corporate accessibility office; the state attorney general; for California, CRD for Unruh Act statutory damages ($4,000 per offense); for NYC, NYCCHR; and disability-rights organizations (NFB, NAGDU).
Who may qualify
You can report a problem if: - You use a trained service animal (a dog trained to perform work or tasks because of your disability). - A restaurant, store, hotel, hospital, mall, theater, gym, taxi, or other public-accommodation business refused you entry, kicked you out, demanded documentation, required a vest, charged you extra, or otherwise treated you differently because of your service animal. NOT eligible under this framework: emotional support animals (covered under FHA for housing, not ADA for public accommodations); pets and untrained companion animals. For Uber/Lyft specifically, see the rideshare listing.
What helps your case
Documentation: business identification (chain and specific location); date/time; staff identification; verbatim statements (particularly impermissible inquiries — demands for documentation, vest requirements, task demonstrations — and impermissible defenses — "no pets," "allergies," etc.); witness identification; proof of attempted patronage (receipt, dated photo, etc.); description of service animal's trained tasks (not required for class membership but useful for establishing handler relationship).
How to document what happened
On-site: contemporaneous documentation of impermissible inquiries (documentation/vest/task-demonstration demands) and impermissible defenses ("no pets" / allergies / fear). Manager engagement to escalate refusal up the chain. Photographic capture of business and entrance. Witness identification. Post-incident: narrative preservation within 24 hours; parallel administrative complaints (DOJ + state); coordinate with handler organizations for pattern documentation; for repeat violators or systemic patterns, retain private Title III counsel; for statutory-damages states (CA, NY, MA), state-law claims are typically the strongest leverage.
What if you don’t have documentation?
Reports may proceed without records. Channels: DOJ § 36.502; state AG; state civil-rights agencies (CRD for CA, NYCCHR for NYC, MA AG for Massachusetts, etc.); NAGDU, Guide Dogs for the Blind, NFB for handler advocacy; private Title III + state-law counsel for monetary-damages-supported claims.
What this case doesn’t cover
Outside scope: rideshare-specific refusals (see rideshare-wheelchair-service-animal-denials); air travel (ACAA + 14 C.F.R. Part 382, with major 2020 service-animal rule change limiting in-cabin service animals to trained dogs); housing (FHA 42 U.S.C. § 3604 + ESA-distinct framework); workplace (Title I); educational settings (Title II/III + IDEA framework).
Legal theory
ADA Title III
Case facts
- Type
- Pattern of practice
- Affected states
- Nationwide
Who to contact
Nobody is running an intake for this one. You can still report what happened.
Government agency
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Takes complaints about businesses open to the public and about state and local government. It investigates and enforces, but it does not represent individuals and cannot advise you on your own claim.
Phone 800-514-0301
TTY 833-610-1264
civilrights.justice.gov/report
Filing a complaint is not the same as having a lawyer, and it does not pause any legal deadlines. If you may want to bring a case, talk to an attorney about your dates as well as filing.
Every state has one. They are free, they take intake directly, and unlike a federal agency they can represent you. Find yours
Key dates
- Status
- Well-established law; ongoing individual enforcement
- ADA enacted
- 1990
- Two permissible questions
- Established by 2010 regulatory revision
- Current service-animal regulations
- 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)