Service Dogs and Federal Buildings (US)

This is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the service dog community. Even I was mistaken about it, as years ago the Veterans Administration refused to allow psychiatric services dogs in their facilities while the Americans with Disabilities Act stated that service dogs did have access to public areas, same as their handler. So, after a rather lengthy online debate, I decided to express my thought and opinion.

In a nutshell, federal agencies are not required to follow the ADA guidelines. Federal agencies are required to follow Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which does not specifically allow service dogs like the ADA does. Meaning that they can deny entry for a service dog but have to make a way for the disabled person to obtain the same service normally allowed to the non-disabled. This reasonable accommodation simply means that they must take reasonable steps to provide ways to accommodate the person in need.

Section 504 forbids organizations and employers from excluding or denying individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services.

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For example, I am headed into federal court as a witness. I am refused entry with my service dog. What they can do is put me in a little room with a camera, microphone, speaker, and monitor connected to the courtroom so I can give my testimony. All legal.

The DOJ (ADA) stated, on a phone call, "Bringing a service dog into a federal court is not a preidentified accommodation. In order to bring a service dog into a federal courtroom, a reasonable accommodation request must be made to the disability clerk of the court under Section 504 of the American Rehabilitation Act of 1973."

The difference between the ADA and Section 504 seems minute but can be very noticeable from a service dog team perspective. So much so that the ADA frequently asked questions even make note of it.


While all of this may possibly cause service dog teams hardships, most federal agencies have their own policies in place, that for the most part, mirror the guidelines put forth by the Americans with Disability Act. The Veteran's Administration has just recently put in its own policies so that all service dogs are accepted. There was a time when psychiatric service dogs would be turned away as they were not considered service dogs by the VA.

What can we do?

When dealing with entering a federal building for an appointment I would suggest just calling ahead to let them know that you will be arriving with a service dog. Odds are you are not going to have any problems, but why even risk it?

New Development

I had a reader point out a regulation put out by the General Services Administration (GSA) 41 CFR § 102-74.425 which reads:

"No person may bring dogs or other animals on Federal property for other than official purposes. However, a disabled person may bring a seeing-eye dog, a guide dog, or other animal assisting or being trained to assist that individual."

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Now as of this writing, I am still researching it. This seems to conflict with what the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 direct. My guess is that this is focused on the property itself and not on the federal agency housed within it. But I will try to edit this as I find out more information.