Rhode Island Laws on Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals

Under Rhode Island's human rights laws and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities have the right to be accompanied by their service animals (or "personal assistance dogs") in restaurants, hotels, stores, theaters, and other public accommodations. Public accommodations (places) in Rhode Island must comply with both state and federal law.

Below, we explain which public accommodations are covered and which animals qualify as service animals under state and federal law. We'll also discuss how the laws in Rhode Island treat emotional support animals.

What Counts as a Public Accommodation in Rhode Island?

In Rhode Island, people with disabilities are entitled to full and equal access to public accommodations and can be accompanied by qualified service animals. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-9.1-1.) State law specifies that includes the following:

• all public conveyances (forms of transportation), such as buses and trains
• all educational institutions, from kindergartens to universities, and
• all places of dining, amusement, lodging, and gathering, including hotels, restaurants, and theaters.

Under the ADA, the definition of public accommodations is very broad and includes most businesses. (42 U.S.C. § 12181(7).) All of the following are public accommodations under the ADA:

• hotels and motels
• public transportation and terminals
• restaurants and bars
• stores, including bakeries and grocery stores
• museums, auditoriums, and stadiums
• schools and daycares, and
• social service centers.

Religious entities, such as churches, synagogues, and mosques, aren't considered public accommodations under the ADA, even if they offer secular services, such as a day-care center that admits children who aren't members of the religious institution.

Private clubs (member-controlled, selective, nonprofit groups with substantial fees, not designed to bypass civil rights laws) are also not covered by the ADA, except in facilities available to nonmembers. (28 C.F. R. § 36.102(e).)

What Counts as a Service Animal in Rhode Island?

In Rhode Island, public accommodations must allow you to be accompanied by your service animal (also called a personal assistance animal). Under the state's Civil Rights Law, a service animal is a dog that has been (or is being) trained as:

• a guide dog specially trained to aid a particular person who is blind or visually impaired
• a hearing dog specially trained to aid a particular person who is deaf or hearing impaired, or
• a service dog specially trained to aid a particular person with another type of disability. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-9.1-1.1.)

Under the ADA, a service animal is a dog or miniature horse that's trained to perform disability-related tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. (28 C.F.R. § 36.104.) In addition to guide dogs and hearing dogs, here are some examples of service animals that must be allowed into public accommodations under the ADA:

• psychiatric service animals, which help their handlers manage mental and emotional disabilities by, for example, interrupting self-harming behaviors, reminding handlers to take medication, checking spaces for intruders, or providing calming pressure during anxiety or panic attacks
• seizure alert animals, which let their handlers know of impending seizures and might also guard their handlers during seizure activity, and
• allergen alert animals, which let their handlers know of foods or other substances that could be dangerous (such as peanuts).

Emotional Support Animals Under Rhode Island Law

Neither the ADA nor Rhode Island's human rights law covers emotional support animals (ESAs). The presence of an emotional support animal provides a sense of safety, companionship, and comfort to those with psychiatric or emotional conditions.

Although these animals often have therapeutic benefits, they're not individually trained to perform specific tasks for their handlers, nor are they specially trained to assist a particular person. So, ESAs aren't considered service animals under Rhode Island law or the ADA. But, emotional support animals do qualify as "assistance animals" under federal housing laws. (See below.)

Rules for Your Service Animal in Rhode Island

Under the ADA, a public accommodation can't ask you about your disability or demand to see certification, identification, or other proof of your service animal's training or status. (28 CFR § 35.136(f).) If it's not apparent what your service animal does, the establishment can ask you only:

• whether your dog is a service animal, and
• what tasks it performs for you.

The ADA and Rhode Island law prohibit public accommodations from charging a special admission fee or requiring you to pay any other extra cost to have your service animal with you. But under Rhode Island law, you're responsible for any damage your animal causes to other people or the facility. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-9.1-2.)

The ADA allows a public accommodation to exclude your service animal if it poses a direct threat to health and safety. (So, a facility can kick out a guide dog that's aggressively barking and snapping at other customers.) Your animal can also be excluded if it isn't housebroken or it's out of control and you're unable to get it under control.

But if your service animal isn't allowed inside a public accommodation or you're asked to remove it, under the ADA, you still have the right to enter the facility and make use of its services. (28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(3).)

Assistive Animals, Service Dogs, and ESAs in Rhode Island Housing

Under Rhode Island's Fair Housing Practices Act, you must be allowed full and equal access to all housing with your personal assistive animal. Under this housing discrimination law, a "personal assistive animal" is one specifically trained by a certified animal training program to assist someone who has a disability with tasks of independent living. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4(e)(2).)

Rhode Island's housing law prohibits housing providers from charging you an extra fee or deposit to have a service animal. But your landlord can charge you for damage done by your animal.

The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in housing accommodations against those who use any type of "assistance animal."

Under the FHA, assistance animals include guide dogs, service animals, and emotional support animals. To qualify, you must have a disability and a disability-related need for the animal. In other words, to be considered an assistance animal under the law, your animal must:

• perform tasks or services, or
• alleviate the emotional effects of your disability.

People with disabilities must be allowed full and equal access to all housing facilities. So, housing facilities must allow assistance animals if the animal is necessary for someone with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the home.

The FHA bars housing providers from charging you extra for having an assistance animal (although you might have to pay for damage your animal causes). And if your lease or rental agreement includes a "no pets" provision, it doesn't apply to your assistance animal.

If your disability or need for an assistance animal isn't apparent, the Fair Housing Act allows housing providers to ask for proof that you need the animal. So, your landlord can ask you to document your need for an emotional support rabbit but can't ask a blind tenant for proof of needing a guide dog.

Under the Fair Housing Act, a housing provider can exclude an animal if it would fundamentally alter the essential nature of their operations or pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others. But such determination must be based on the individual animal's behavior and not it's size or breed.

(Get more guidance on service animals in housing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).)