By Lenore T. Brakefield and Sophia Truong
Many individuals fail to recognize the legal distinction between service animals and emotional support animals. Understanding these differences is critical to navigating access rights in public accommodations such as restaurants and grocery stores, as well as in housing contexts. However, some individuals knowingly misrepresent their pets as service animals or emotional support animals, undermining protection for those who legitimately require such assistance. The discussion below examines the legal framework governing each category and the rights attached to them.
What are Service Animals?
Under Chapter 413 of the Florida Statutes, a service animal is trained to do work or perform specific tasks for an individual with a disability, including physical, sensory, intellectual, or other mental disability. Examples include guiding individuals with visual impairments, alerting individuals who experience seizures, or interrupting destructive behaviors in individuals with psychiatric disabilities. The tasks performed must be directly related to the individual’s disability. In Florida public accommodations, service animals are generally limited to a dog or miniature horse, and most importantly, service animals are considered working animals and not pets.
What are Emotional Support Animals?
In contrast, under Chapter 760 of the Florida Statutes, emotional support animals do not need any specialized training. Its sole function and presence are to provide comfort or therapeutic emotional support that alleviates effects of a person’s symptoms or effects of a disability. Therefore, emotional support animals do not qualify as service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Florida’s public-accommodation law.
What are the Main Differences?
Under the ADA, service animals are allowed to be with their individuals and enter places that do not generally allow animals. For example, service animals are allowed to enter stores, restaurants, hospitals, hotels and other places open to the public. When entering a business or state/local government facility and when the animal’s role is not obvious, employees may ask certain information using two questions: “[i]s the dog a service animal required because of a disability? What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?”
However, employees may not demand a certificate, identification card, special vest, or even proof of professional training. Additionally, under Chapter 413 of the Florida Statutes, employees may not demand the individual’s diagnosis or require the animal to demonstrate its task.
Service animals’ access is not unlimited. The handler must keep the service animal under control using a leash, harness, or tether, unless a disability prevents their use, in which case the handler must use voice commands, signals, or other effective controls. However, a business may require the service animal to leave if the animal is out of control and the handler does not use corrective measures to control it, if it is not housebroken, or if its behavior poses a direct threat to others.
Florida emotional support animal laws are based on federal protections, particularly the Fair Housing Act (FHA), which requires landlords to make reasonable accommodations for tenants with emotional support animals. Housing providers may request reliable supporting information when the disability or need is not apparent. Additionally, emotional support animals do not receive an automatic right to enter grocery stores, retail stores, indoor restaurants, or other public businesses. They are primarily protected in housing. Outside of housing accommodations, they are considered pets and do not qualify for additional rights.
This distinction is especially important in places where food is sold or prepared. Restaurants must generally allow legitimate service animals in public dining areas despite ordinary restrictions on animals. Florida also permits local governments to authorize emotional support animals in specifically designated outdoor restaurant areas, subject to permits and sanitation safeguards. Outside those exceptions, emotional support animals are prohibited, particularly from indoor food-service areas.
Penalties for Misrepresentation
A person cannot turn a pet into a service animal merely by purchasing a vest or certificate online. Under Chapter 413 of the Florida Statutes, a person who knowingly misrepresents themselves as using a service animal or being qualified to use a service animal commits a second-degree misdemeanor. Penalties can include (1) a fine of up to $500.00, (2) up to 60 days in jail, and (3) 30 hours of community service for an organization that serves individuals with disabilities to be completed within 6 months.
Respecting and understanding these distinctions serve multiple critical functions: it protects public health and safety, ensures compliance with business policies, and upholds both state and federal laws. Maintaining these boundaries preserves essential access rights for individuals with disabilities whose professionally trained service animals enable them to participate safely and independently in their daily lives.
About the Authors
Lenore Brakefield is a Partner at Woodward, Pires & Lombardo, P.A. and a Naples native. She focuses her practice on civil and commercial litigation, local government law, real estate law, community association law, and transactional matters.
Sophia Troung is a law clerk at Woodward, Pires & Lombardo, P.A. and co-writer of this article. She is entering her second year at Cleveland State University College of Law and has a strong interest in real estate law and business law. Have questions about service animals, emotional support animals, or your legal rights? Contact our attorneys at Woodward, Pires & Lombardo, P.A. at (239) 649-6555 or our Marco Island office at (239) 394-5161 to schedule a consultation and learn how we can help protect your rights and interests.
Woodward, Pires & Lombardo, P.A.
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Naples, FL 34103
239-649-6555
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