Nevada Laws on Service Dogs, Horses, and Emotional Support Animals

Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Nevada law, people with disabilities have the right to have their service animals in public places, such as restaurants, hotels, stores, and other places that are open to the public.

Nevada's service animal laws are similar to the ADA. But when they differ, you don't lose your rights because public accommodations in Nevada must follow both state and federal law.

Below, we explain which animals qualify as service animals in Nevada and where service dogs and other service animals are allowed. We'll also discuss how state and federal laws treat emotional support animals (ESAs).

What Counts as a Service Animal in Nevada?

Nevada's disability law uses the ADA's definition of a service animal: a dog or miniature horse trained to perform tasks or do work for the benefit of a person with a disability. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 426.097.) Under state law and the ADA, the tasks or work the animal does must be directly related to the person's disability, and a miniature horse can sometimes qualify as a service animal. (28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(9).)

In addition to guide dogs (seeing-eye dogs) and hearing dogs, examples of service animals that must be allowed into public accommodations under the ADA include:

• psychiatric service animals, which help their handlers manage mental and emotional disabilities by, for example, interrupting self-harming behaviors or providing calming pressure during anxiety
• seizure alert animals, which let their handlers know of impending seizures and might guard their handlers during a seizure, and
• allergen alert animals, which alert their handlers to the presence of dangerous substances (like eggs or peanuts).

Other examples of work or tasks a service animal might do include retrieving items like medicine or the telephone or providing physical support and assistance with balance for someone with mobility disabilities.

Under state and federal law in Nevada, service animals aren't considered pets, and these laws don't require public accommodations to admit pets or companion animals.

Are Emotional Support Animals Covered by the Law in Nevada?

Emotional support animals (ESAs) aren't trained to perform specific tasks related to their handlers' disabilities. Instead, they may provide a sense of safety, companionship, and comfort to those with psychiatric or emotional disabilities.

Although these animals often have therapeutic benefits, they don't meet the state or federal definition of service animals. So, your right to bring your ESA to public places isn't protected by Nevada law or the ADA. But there are state and federal laws that protect the right to have an emotional support animal in your home. (More below.)

How Are Public Accommodations Defined in Nevada?

State law in Nevada defines places of public accommodation very broadly to include all of the following:

• hotels and other lodging establishments (except the proprietor's own home if five or fewer rooms are rented out)
• restaurants, bars, and cafeterias
• theaters, auditoriums, and stadiums
• stores, including grocery stores and bakeries
• service facilities, like laundromats and car repair shops
• hospitals and professional offices
• funeral parlors
• zoos and amusement parks
• schools and daycare centers
• food banks and homeless shelters
• golf courses and gymnasiums,
• public transportation terminals, depots, and stations, and
• any other place where the public is invited. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 651.050(4).)

The ADA also defines places of public accommodation very broadly, covering all the categories described above. (28 C.F.R. § 36.104.)

Both the ADA and Nevada law exempt private clubs, except in areas open to the public (like an event space that can be rented for use by nonmembers). The ADA also exempts religious organizations, even when they operate secular facilities or services (like a daycare that accepts children not affiliated with the institution).

What Are the Public Accommodation Rules for Service Animals in Nevada?

Like the ADA, Nevada law protects the rights of people with disabilities to bring their service dogs or miniature horses to any public accommodation. It also requires public accommodations to admit service animals in training. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 651.075.)

Under the ADA and Nevada law, the staff of a public accommodation can't ask you questions about your disability or demand to see certification, identification, or other proof of your animal's training or status. If it's not apparent what your service animal does, the establishment can ask you only whether it's a service animal and what tasks it performs for you.

State law and the ADA prohibit public accommodations from charging a special admission fee or requiring you to pay any other extra costs to have your service animal with you. But you can be required to pay for any damage your animal causes.

The ADA and Nevada's public accommodations law allow a public accommodation to exclude your service animal if it poses a direct threat to health and safety. For example, the law allows a facility to ask you to remove your dog if it's aggressively barking and snapping at other customers. Your animal can also be excluded if it's not housebroken or it's out of control and you can't or won't take action to control it. (28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(2).)

What Are the Rules for Service Animals and ESAa in Nevada Housing?

Under federal and state housing laws in Nevada, people with disabilities must be allowed full and equal access to all housing facilities. That includes requiring housing providers to make reasonable accommodations—like allowing you to have a service animal if you need one.

Nevada's housing discrimination law prohibits landlords from refusing to rent to someone with a disability solely because that tenant has an animal that supports, assists, or provides services to the tenant. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118.105.) The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) also prohibits discrimination in housing accommodations against people with disabilities, including those who have:

• service dogs
• miniature horses, and
• emotional support animals.

To qualify for this FHA protection, you must have a disability and a disability-related need for your animal. In other words, your animal must perform tasks or services or alleviate the emotional effects of your disability to be covered by the FHA.

Nevada state law allows your landlord to require proof that the animal provides the necessary support, assistance, or services. You can furnish that proof with a statement from your health care provider saying your animal is necessary to alleviate the symptoms of your disability.

The FHA also allows housing providers to ask for documentation of your disability or your need for your animal, but only if it's not apparent. So, a landlord can't ask a blind person to document the need for a guide dog but could ask a deaf tenant to document the need for an emotional support cat.

The FHA and Nevada law prohibit housing providers from charging you extra for having a service animal (although landlords can ask you to pay for damage your animal causes). If your lease or rental agreement includes a "no pets" provision, it doesn't apply to your service dog or emotional support animal.

(To get more information about service animals and ESAs in housing, see the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).)