The Truth About Service Dog Certification and Registration

The Truth About Service Dog Certification & Registration

When people search for “service dog certification” or “service dog registration,” they often believe paperwork makes a dog a service dog. But that’s not true. What makes a dog a service dog is training—not a certificate or a registration.

🦮 What the Law Actually Says

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there is no official requirement for service dogs to be certified or registered. The law defines a service dog as one specifically trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability.

✅ No paperwork is required.
✅ No professional program is required.
✅ What is required: Proper training—usually at least 220 hours.

Unfortunately, many people still pay for fake “certification” or “registration” documents online. These do not make a dog a service dog and offer no legal protection. In fact, in 48 states, it is illegal to falsely claim a dog is a service animal.

🐕‍🦺 What Really Matters: Training

Service dogs must be trained to:

  • Perform specific disability-related tasks

  • Remain calm and focused in public

  • Ignore distractions like food, people, or noise

  • Help with daily tasks—not just offer comfort

💙 Meet MobilityDog

MobilityDog is a nonprofit committed to training highly skilled mobility service dogs and empowering individuals with disabilities to gain more independence and confidence.

Our process includes:

  • Careful selection of breeds with the right temperament and physical traits

  • Early socialization and obedience training

  • Mastery of commands like sit, stay, heel, and recall

  • Public access behavior training

  • Advanced mobility tasks, including:

    • Retrieving dropped items

    • Carrying objects for people using walkers or canes

    • Operating light switches, elevator buttons, and door handles

We start training from puppyhood and support both handlers and trainers through every step of the journey. Service Dogs are trained; there is no certification and no registry for service dogs. Buying a certification, registration, or having a doctor’s note DOES NOT MAKE your dog a service dog! Training and consistency throughout a service dog's working life make it a real service dog.

💬 Want to Learn More?

📧 Email us at info@mobilitydog.org
💻 Join a Zoom info session!

🎉 Or come meet us in person: MobilityDog Presents: A.R.F.! Accessibility Resource Fair The First Saturday of October at Pasadena City Hall!

REMEMBER The fake certifications and registrations serve no purpose. They do not provide any additional legal protections beyond what the ADA already guarantees. The key factor remains the dog’s training to perform specific tasks that assist its handler’s disability.

We are often asked “Is service dog registration legit?” and the answer is “No—they are not.”

It is also against federal law to ask for documentation for service dogs.

Despite the popularity of certification services, there is no such thing under ADA, DOJ, DOT, FAA Laws. For those relying on service animals, training—not paperwork—is what truly matters.

Mobility services dogs are trained to help people with mobility, movement, walking, transfers and other daily living tasks.  The size of the service dog needed depend on the size of the human and the task the dog performs.

MobilityDog trains dogs from the time they are puppies. MobilityDog, is committed to empowering individuals with mobility impairments by training highly skilled service dogs and supporting trainers and handlers through community.

The process begins with careful selection, prioritizing breeds known for their steady temperament and physical ability. Once chosen, the dogs undergo extensive training to master fundamental obedience commands, including sit, stay, come, down, heel, and recall.

Just as crucial as these commands is their behavior in public spaces. MobilityDog ensures its service dogs remain focused and composed, resisting distractions, avoiding food or attention-seeking, and demonstrating calm, controlled movement in any environment.

Beyond basic obedience, these service dogs are trained in specialized skills designed to assist individuals with mobility challenges.

They retrieve dropped or out-of-reach items, carry objects for handlers who use canes or walkers, and operate essential mechanisms such as light switches, door handles, and elevator buttons.

The rigorous and detailed training process enables service dogs to become indispensable companions, granting their handlers greater autonomy, confidence, and ease in navigating daily life.

To learn more about training service dogs you are welcome to email info@mobilitydog.org or come to a Zoom informational meeting.