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Kentucky State Service Dog Laws
This is a summarized version of state laws regarding service dogs in Kentucky. Please refer to the full statutes for detailed information
(2) If a person is accompanied by an assistance dog, neither the person nor the dog shall be denied admittance to any hotel, motel, restaurant, or eating establishment, nor shall the person be denied full and equal accommodations, facilities, and privileges of all public places of amusement, theater, or resort when accompanied by an assistance dog.
(3) Any person accompanied by an assistance dog shall be entitled to full and equal accommodations on all public transportation if the dog does not occupy a seat in any public conveyance nor endanger the public safety.
(4) No person shall be required to pay additional charges or fare for the transportation of any accompanying assistance dog.
(5) No person accompanied by an assistance dog shall be denied admittance and use of any public building nor denied the use of any elevator operated for public use.
(6) Any person accompanied by an assistance dog may keep the dog in his or her immediate custody while a tenant in any apartment or building used as a public lodging.
(7) All trainers accompanied by an assistance dog shall have in their personal possession identification verifying that they are trainers of assistance dogs.
(8) The rights, privileges, and accommodations granted to a person under this section shall not be enforceable if the person has not complied, at the time of seeking the accommodation, with the legal requirements to:
(a) Tag and vaccinate the assistance dog pursuant to KRS 258.015;
(b) Leash, unless the person's disability otherwise requires, and control the assistance dog at all times;
(c) Prevent the assistance dog from disrupting or fundamentally altering the provision of goods or services offered by the establishment regardless of whether the establishment is in a public place;
(d) Prevent the assistance dog from becoming a nuisance, urinating or defecating, or running at large; and
(e) License the assistance dog pursuant to KRS 258.135.
(9) Assistance dogs are exempt from all state and local licensing fees.
(10) Licensing authorities shall accept that the dog for which the license is sought is an assistance dog if the person requesting the license is a person with a disability or the trainer of the dog.
(11) Emergency medical treatment shall not be denied to an assistance dog assigned to a person regardless of the person's ability to pay prior to treatment.
(12) No person shall willfully or maliciously interfere with an assistance dog or the dog's user.
(13) It shall not be a violation of this section for an establishment to:
(a) Ask if the dog is an assistance dog and what tasks the dog performs for the person making the request to be accompanied by an assistance dog;
(b) Maintain a general no pets policy if the policy is not used to exclude assistance dogs; or
(c) Refuse admittance of an assistance dog if admittance jeopardizes the health and safety of others.
(14) Any establishment under subsection (6) of this section that would admit an animal under tenancy may request documentation if the disability or disability-related need is not readily apparent. Documentation shall be from a health care provider listed in subsection (1)(c)1.a. to f. of this section with whom the person requesting an assistance dog has an ongoing therapeutic relationship. Documentation shall identify the work or tasks that the assistance animal performs for the person that are directly related to that person's disability or therapeutic needs.
(15) The handler of an assistance dog shall be liable for damage caused by the assistance dog.
(16) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the admittance of an emotional support animal in establishments where assistance dogs are required to be admitted, except with regard to the establishments described in subsection (6) of this section, in which case the requirements of KRS 383.085 shall apply. Nothing in this section shall be construed to extend any other rights, privileges, or exemptions afforded to assistance dogs to emotional support animals.
Any person violating KRS 258.500(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (11), or (12) shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). No person shall be charged with a violation of KRS 258.500(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (11), or (12) if the requirements of KRS 258.500(7) and (8) are not met.
SDiT Access
Service dogs in training have equal access to public spaces as trained service dogs if:
Handler carries identification showing that they are a qualified service dog trainer
Kentucky only recognizes dogs as service animals, but must comply with the minimum standards set forth by the ADA that recognize dogs and miniature horses as service animals.
For the purposes of housing, Kentucky recognizes any species of animal as a service animal or emotional support animal
No person shall willfully or maliciously interfere with an assistance dog or the dog's user.
It shall not be a violation of this section for an establishment to:
(a) Ask if the dog is an assistance dog and what tasks the dog performs for the person making the request to be accompanied by an assistance dog;
(b) Maintain a general no pets policy if the policy is not used to exclude assistance dogs; or
(c) Refuse admittance of an assistance dog if admittance jeopardizes the health and safety of others.
A person is guilty of assault on a service animal in the first degree when, without legal justification or lawful authority:
(a) He or she intentionally kills or causes serious physical injury to a service animal;
(b) He or she intentionally causes physical injury to a service animal by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; or
(c) He or she wantonly causes serious physical injury to a service animal by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.
Assault on a service animal in the first degree is a Class D felony.
A person is guilty of assault on a service animal in the second degree when he intentionally and without legal justification or lawful authority causes physical injury to a service animal.
Assault on a service animal in the second degree is a Class B misdemeanor.
KRS 525.200 and 525.205 shall apply whether or not the service animal is on duty or off duty
In any case in which a defendant is convicted of a violation of the provisions of KRS 525.200 or 525.205, the defendant may be ordered to make restitution to the person or agency owning the animal for any veterinary bills, replacement costs of the animal if it is disabled or killed, and the salary of the animal handler for the period of time his services are lost to the agency or self-employment.
Health Codes
A studio shall not permit the presence of a pet or other animal in the studio, except for a service animal
Misrepresentation of a dog as an assistance dog to gain accommodation under KRS 258.335(2) is a violation with a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000).
It shall be unlawful for any person to misrepresent a dog as an assistance dog as part of a request for an accommodation granted under KRS 258.500, regardless of whether the misrepresentation is communicated verbally, in writing, or nonverbally by placing a harness, collar, vest, or sign on the dog that falsely indicates it is an assistance dog.