Tennessee Service Dog Laws: Access, Housing, Penalties and What Businesses Can Ask

A plain-English guide to the Tennessee statutes and federal rules that apply to service dogs in Nashville and across the state, written by the trainers who prepare them.

• No certification or registry exists
• Two questions only
• Removal only for out-of-control or not housebroken
• Misrepresentation: Class B misdemeanor + 100 hours
• Psychiatric disabilities included

What counts as a service dog in Tennessee

Tenn. Code Ann. 39-14-216 defines a service animal as any animal individually trained, or being trained by a recognized training agency or school, to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other mental disability. The work or tasks must be directly related to the handler's disability. The statute lists examples: guiding a person who is blind, alerting a person who is deaf, pulling a wheelchair, assisting during a seizure, retrieving medicine or a phone, providing balance support, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.

The same section is explicit about what does not count: the crime-deterrent effect of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort or companionship are not work or tasks. That is the legal line between a service dog and an emotional support animal.

Public access: Tenn. Code Ann. 62-7-112 and the ADA

Under 62-7-112, a proprietor or employee of a place of public accommodation (stores, restaurants, hotels, theaters, public transportation, schools and any establishment that serves the general public) may not refuse entry to a person with a disability because the person is accompanied by a dog guide. The statute adds three rules that matter in daily life:

1. No documentation can be required. A business may not demand proof that the dog has been certified, trained or licensed.
2. The dog must be under the handler's control.
3. Removal is allowed only in two situations: the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action, or the dog is not housebroken.

Violating 62-7-112 is a Class C misdemeanor. A 2013 Tennessee Attorney General opinion (No. 13-59) concluded the statute should be read consistently with the broader federal ADA, so psychiatric service dogs and other task-trained dogs are covered the same way.

The ADA adds the national rules every Nashville business follows: when it is not obvious what the dog does, staff may ask only whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability and what work or task it has been trained to perform. They may not ask about the diagnosis, require medical documentation or an ID card, or ask the dog to demonstrate the task. The business may not charge a pet fee, but may charge for damage the dog causes, which 62-7-112 confirms as well.

Service dogs in training

Tennessee goes further than federal law here. 62-7-112 admits a dog guide in training when it wears a harness and is held on a leash, or is held on a leash, by a trainer from a recognized training agency or school, and the trainer presents the school's credentials on request. The business may ask what task the dog is being trained to perform. The definition covers dogs still in the socialization stage authorized by an accredited school.

Housing: Tenn. Code Ann. 66-7-111 and the Fair Housing Act

Rental housing follows different rules. The federal Fair Housing Act requires landlords to make reasonable accommodations for assistance animals, which include both service animals and support animals, even in no-pet buildings and without pet fees. Tennessee Code 66-7-111 sets the state procedure for requesting a service animal or support animal in residential rental property and allows a landlord to request supporting documentation for a support animal. Providing false documentation under that section is one of the acts covered by the misrepresentation statute below.

Penalties for faking a service dog: Tenn. Code Ann. 39-16-304

Tennessee made misrepresentation a crime in 2019 and tightened it in 2023. A person commits the offense who knowingly: fraudulently claims a disability or disability-related need to keep a service or support animal in rental housing; provides a landlord with documentation that falsely states an animal is a service or support animal; or fraudulently represents, or provides documentation falsely stating, that an animal is a service animal or service animal in training to an employee of a public accommodation.

The offense is a Class B misdemeanor. In addition, the court orders 100 hours of community service for an organization that serves individuals with disabilities (or another organization at the court's discretion), to be completed within six months.

Harming or interfering with a service dog: Tenn. Code Ann. 39-14-216

Knowingly or recklessly harming a service animal, or allowing your own animal to harm one, is a Class A misdemeanor. Knowingly interfering with a service animal while it works, or allowing your animal to interfere, is a Class C misdemeanor. Courts must also order full restitution, including the value of the dog, retraining costs, veterinary bills, the handler's medical expenses and lost wages while the handler is without the dog.

What this means if you are training a service dog in Nashville

That is why the training path at Off Leash K9 Training Nashville runs in this order: candidate evaluation (temperament, health, drive), foundation obedience on and off leash, public-access manners in stores, restaurants and transit, then task training specific to your disability, proofed until it is reliable. The program is led by Head Trainer Jacob Robinson, a nine-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former MARSOC multi-purpose canine handler. Details on the service dog training page.

If a Nashville business turns you away

1. Stay calm and answer the two questions. Most refusals end when staff hear a clear task description.
2. Cite the law. Tenn. Code Ann. 62-7-112 and the ADA. You can offer to have the dog lie down quietly.
3. Document it. Business name, date, who you spoke to, what was said.
4. Report it. ADA complaints go to the U.S. Department of Justice at ada.gov; a 62-7-112 violation is a state misdemeanor you can report to local law enforcement.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. 62-7-112 (2025), 39-14-216 (2025), 39-16-304 (2025), 66-7-111; U.S. Department of Justice ADA guidance on service animals. General information only; consult an attorney for your situation.