28 CFR Part 36 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities NPRM (2008 Title III NPRM)

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(2) Exceptions. A public accommodation may ask an individual with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises if: 

(i) The animal is out of control and the animal's handler does not take effective action to control it;

(ii) The animal is not housebroken or the animal's presence or behavior fundamentally alters the nature of the service the public accommodation provides (e.g., repeated barking during a live performance); or

(iii) The animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by reasonable modifications.

(3) If an animal is properly excluded.  If a place of accommodation properly excludes a service animal, it shall give the individual with a disability the opportunity to obtain goods, services, and accommodations without having the service animal on the premises.

(4) General requirements.  The work or tasks performed by a service animal shall be directly related to the handler's disability.  A service animal that accompanies an individual with a disability into a place of public accommodation shall be individually trained to do work or perform a task, housebroken, and under the control of its handler.  A service animal shall have a harness, leash, or other tether.

(5) Care or supervision of service animals.  A public accommodation is not responsible for caring for or supervising a service animal.

(6) Inquiries. A public accommodation shall not ask about the nature or extent of a person's disability, but can determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. For example, a public accommodation may ask if the animal is required because of a disability; and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. A public accommodation shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified or licensed as a service animal.

(7) Access to areas open to the public, program participants, and invitees.  Individuals with disabilities who are accompanied by service animals may access all areas of a place of public accommodation where members of the public, program participants, and invitees are allowed to go.

(8) Fees or surcharges.  A public accommodation shall not ask or require an individual with a disability to post a deposit, pay a fee or surcharge, or comply with other requirements not generally applicable to other patrons as a condition of permitting a service animal to accompany its handler in a place of public accommodation, even if people accompanied by pets are required to do so.  If a public accommodation normally charges its clients or customers for damage that they cause, a customer with a disability may be charged for damage caused by his or her service animal.

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