Actually, they don't need to be licensed. The only thing a business can ask is what tasks is the service dog trained to be formed.

I do think it would be better off for everyone if there was a license though. I've known people with legitimate service dogs who have had that opinion even. They wish they had a document to prove their legitimacy, as they are constantly asked for a document that doesn't exist.

That requirement always felt weird. I can’t ask what disability a person has, but I can ask what the dog is supposed to do? Because if they say it helps alert to a seizure, I just learned they possibly have chronic seizures without actually asking that.

It's fair because it doesn't set a precedent in other areas. But yes, in practice it's odd.

Oh, thanks for correcting me, I thought there was a license involved in the US, or at least some kind of certification that the animal actually is trained, and that you didn't just slap a vest on your pet poodle...

as CADBOT says, there is no license (or even standards body who could lobby for / issue one). You're allowed to ask what tasks the animal performs, then deny service so long as accommodations are made.

The correct solution is for businesses to grow a backbone and do that for all animals all the time until people gaming the system with fake ESAs give up.

> Service animals have to be licensed

In the US this is not true by the ADA as licensing is a pretty prohibitive cost for many people with disabilities.

I would assume the cost of a license to be much, much smaller than the actual cost of raising and training a service animal?

Generally there are charities/non-profit organizations that will do a lot of the training and help with the ongoing costs of care.

I personally don't see the argument that a separate license is needed or helpful. It's an extra cost and step that's entirely unnecessary. If you want or need a service animal you obviously have to have some way to train it and care for it, but a license is extra. Also if it is ever lost or anything you could be turned away from any public place until it's resolved. I just see it causing more issues for people than it tends to solve.