Under the ADA, which question is permissible to ask about a visitor's service animal?

Under the ADA, which question is permissible to ask about a visitor's service animal?

• A. What work or task has the service animal been trained to perform?
• B. How old is the service animal?
• C. Is the service animal house-trained?
• D. What breed is the service animal?

Answer: (A)

Under the ADA, when a visitor brings a service animal, staff can ask only two questions. The one that’s appropriate is to ask what work or task the service animal has been trained to perform. This focuses on the specific function of the animal and how it helps the person with a disability, without delving into the person’s medical condition or requiring documentation. It stays about the animal’s actual ability to assist. The other inquiries—about the animal’s age, whether it’s house-trained, or what breed it is—aren’t relevant to the animal’s ability to perform a task and could probe information about the person’s disability or the animal’s background, which the ADA limits.

Under the ADA, when a visitor brings a service animal, staff can ask only two questions. The one that’s appropriate is to ask what work or task the service animal has been trained to perform. This focuses on the specific function of the animal and how it helps the person with a disability, without delving into the person’s medical condition or requiring documentation. It stays about the animal’s actual ability to assist.

The other inquiries—about the animal’s age, whether it’s house-trained, or what breed it is—aren’t relevant to the animal’s ability to perform a task and could probe information about the person’s disability or the animal’s background, which the ADA limits.