Service Dog ID Card

Service dog registration

Service Dog Registration with Service Dog Certifications provides you with a custom ID card and 24/7 access to our Service Dog Registry. Your Service Dog ID card will have your registration number listed so that a third party can look up your registered service dog’s information at any time, any place. To register your Service Dog, you will enter your name, your service dog’s name, and add the task your service dog performs for you in the form on this page.

Service Dog Registration, ID cards, Vests, and Certificates are helpful tools for identifying your service dog. However, it’s important to remember that Service Dog Registration and Service Dog Certification documents are obtained at the handler’s discretion and do not confer rights under the ADA. While Service Dog Registration is not required, you are required to train your service dog to perform a task for your disability. You may only register your dog if your dog is your Service Dog.

Do I disclose my disability in my service dog registration? 

You will never be asked to disclose your disability when you register your service dog. You should also never be asked to disclose your disability by airline employees, hotel staff, etc. You are not required to get a doctor’s note for a Service Dog (which is different from an emotional support animal). However, you can always decide to work with a licensed healthcare professional to see if they can write you a medical letter stating you have an ADA compliant disability.

Service dog ID card

Your service dog registration comes with a custom service dog ID card. This is a helpful tool because if it is not obvious what service your animal provides (for example, if you have a psychiatric service dog), then staff members are allowed to ask only two questions:
• Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
• What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

Your service dog ID card contains all the information staff are allowed to ask for. If it is obvious what service the dog provides, then staff at a public establishment may not make any inquiries regarding your disability or what your service dog is trained to do. You have no obligation to respond to questioning, and you can inform the questioner that they are violating your right to privacy under the ADA.

Is service dog registration required?

There is no service dog specific registration requirement under ADA rules. Service animals are however subject to local dog licensing and registration requirements. Entering your service dog in our registry is done on a completely voluntary basis for your convenience. Many service dog owners carry identification cards, registration information, or certificates and use tags, vests, and harnesses in order to signal that their dog is a working animal. Under the ADA, these items are not required for a service dog to gain access to public areas and do not confer any rights. The Department of Justice does not recognize certification or registration documents as proof that a dog is a service animal. Service dog owners commonly use these accessories to visibly inform members of the public and to curtail intrusive inquiries regarding their disability or service dog.

Service dog training

A service dog must be trained. Quoted from the ADA “A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability… The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.”

To train your dog to become your service dog, you can hire a local trainer to train your service dog for a fee, which will vary heavily based on the trainer and the training program. You are also able to train your service dog yourself through Service Dog Certifications’ Service Dog Training courses. You may review Service Dog training courses here.

Order your Service Dog ID today