Role:

An emotional support animal (ESA) is an animal that provides disability-related emotional support, comfort, or assistance.

In housing settings, an assistance animal may qualify as a reasonable accommodation when applicable legal requirements are met (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], 2020). Unlike service animals, an ESA does not need to be individually trained to perform a specific task in order to provide disability-related support within the housing context.

However, ESAs do not have the same public-access protections as service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

An ESA does not automatically have the right to:

• Enter businesses, restaurants, or stores that prohibit pets

• Accompany an individual in public spaces where pets are not permitted

• Attend a workplace, educational, or other settings without applicable permissions or accommodation processes

• Receive public-access rights solely because an individual has an ESA letter

• Obtain legal recognition through online registrations, certificates, or identification cards

Qualifications:

Pennsylvania does not have a state certification or registration process for designating an animal as an emotional support animal. Individuals do not register ESAs with the Commonwealth, and an ESA letter is not a certification or registration of an animal.

Instead and when clinically appropriate, a qualified health care or mental health professional with sufficient knowledge of the individual may provide documentation regarding a disability-related need for an assistance animal. This documentation focuses on the individual’s clinical needs and functional limitations—not on certifying or approving the animal.

Individuals should also be aware that assistance animals remain subject to applicable animal-related laws and requirements, including:

• Licensing requirements

• Vaccination requirements

• Local animal-control regulations

For example, Pennsylvania requires dogs to be licensed according to state requirements. Dog licensing is separate from disability accommodation laws (Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, n.d.).

Roles:

A therapy animal is an animal that participates in structured visits or programs designed to provide comfort, companionship, emotional support, or therapeutic interactions with multiple individuals.

Therapy animals may participate in settings such as:

• Hospitals

• Schools

• Nursing homes

• Behavioral health programs

• Residential treatment facilities

• Community organizations

Therapy animals typically work as part of a program or organization and may complete evaluations, training requirements, or registration processes through private therapy-animal organizations.

It is important to understand that private therapy-animal certifications or registrations do not provide the same legal protections as service animals under the ADA.

Therapy animal access is generally based on permission from the facility, organization, or program where the animal is participating. Therapy animals do not have automatic public-access rights.

Qualifications:

Pennsylvania does not have a state certification or registration process that universally designates an animal as a therapy animal.

Therapy animals may participate in evaluation, training, or registration programs operated by private organizations, healthcare facilities, schools, and other community programs.

These programs may establish that an animal and handler have met the requirements of that particular organization or setting. However, private therapy-animal registration or certification does not create service-animal rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Therapy animals generally participate in structured programs where they provide comfort, companionship, or supportive interactions to other people.

Whether a therapy animal may enter a particular location depends on the policies and permission of that facility or program. A therapy animal does not automatically have the right to accompany its handler into businesses, restaurants, schools, workplaces, or other locations that do not permit animals. Access is generally based on permission from the facility, organization, or program where the animal is providing services.

A therapy animal is also different from a service animal. Under the ADA, an animal whose role is solely to provide comfort, emotional support, companionship, or general well-being is not a service animal.

Individuals should also be aware that therapy animals remain subject to applicable animal-related laws and requirements, including licensing, vaccination, and local animal-control requirements.

Roles:

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is generally a dog that has been individually trained to perform specific work or tasks directly related to a person’s disability (U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ], n.d.-a).

Examples of service animal tasks may include:

• Retrieving medication or needed items

• Providing mobility assistance

• Alerting an individual to certain medical events

• Alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds

• Interrupting or redirecting disability-related behaviors

• Assisting during psychiatric episodes through trained, specific tasks

A psychiatric service dog may qualify as a service animal when it is individually trained to perform specific tasks related to a person’s psychiatric disability.

The key distinction is training and function. The animal must perform a trained task directly related to the person’s disability. The animal’s presence, companionship, or ability to provide emotional comfort alone does not qualify as a service animal under the ADA (DOJ, n.d.-a, n.d.-b).

Qualifying service animals generally have public-access protections under the ADA. However, a service animal may be excluded in limited situations, such as when the animal is not housebroken or is out of control and the handler does not take appropriate steps to address the behavior (DOJ, n.d.-a).

Qualifications:

There is no federal or Pennsylvania state certification or registration requirement for service animals under the ADA.

A qualifying service animal does not need:

• A government-issued certificate

• An ADA registration number

• A special vest or identification card

• Professional certification from an organization

The ADA does not require service animals to be trained by a professional organization. The determining factor is whether the dog is individually trained to perform specific work or tasks directly related to the person’s disability (DOJ, n.d.-a, n.d.-b).

The presence of an animal providing comfort or emotional support by itself does not meet the ADA definition of a service animal (DOJ, n.d.-a, n.d.-b).

Service animals are still subject to generally applicable requirements, such as applicable licensing and vaccination laws.