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How to Register Your Dog as a Psychiatric Service Dog

How to Register Your Dog as a Psychiatric Service Dog - ServiceDogCertifications

Do you struggle with a psychiatric disability that significantly impedes your daily life? Do you need a dog at your side to help with your condition?

If so, you might be eligible for a psychiatric service dog (PSD). In this guide, we’ll provide a quick overview of qualifying your canine companion as a PSD and explain what registering a PSD means and whether you need to do it. 

Background

A PSD is a specialized service dog trained to perform specific tasks that assist individuals with mental or emotional disabilities. These tasks could include alerting the handler to an impending panic attack, calming the handler during periods of distress, retrieving medication, or waking the handler up.
In order to qualify for a psychiatric service dog, you need to meet two conditions: 1. You must have an ADA psychiatric disability, and 2. You must have a dog that has been fully trained to perform a job or task that directly helps with that disability.

How to Register Your Dog as a Psychiatric Service Dog

  1. Confirm Your Eligibility

    To qualify for a psychiatric service dog, you need to have a mental health impairment that limits a major life activity. If you’re unsure, a licensed healthcare professional can evaluate you and provide a PSD letter.

  2. Train Your Psychiatric Service Dog

    A service dog should be individually trained to perform tasks or jobs related to your disability.

  3. Take a Public Access Test

    Service dogs are expected to perform their duties effectively in public settings. To assess whether your dog is ready, consider a public access test to evaluate their behavior and performance in public environments.

  4. Register Your Service Dog

    Once you qualify, you can opt to register your dog with registries like ServiceDogCertifications. Although not mandatory, many handlers find it beneficial to have identifiers like a registered identification card, tags, or vests to signify their dog as an assistance animal, thus avoiding potential misunderstandings.

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The Benefits of Registering Your Psychiatric Service Dog

navigating public spaces. While not a legal obligation, registration, along with identifiers like an ID card and a vest, communicates that your dog is more than a pet – it is a crucial working animal that should remain by your side.

Psychiatric service dog registration banner.

Final Thoughts

If you’re unsure whether a psychiatric service dog could help you, talk to your mental health professional or doctor. You can also consult a professional trainer if you have questions about the training process.

Psychiatric service dog owners are allowed to train their dogs without any external help, but for novice trainers getting the advice of a professional can be invaluable.

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About the Author: The writing team at Service Dog Certifications is made up of folks who really know their stuff when it comes to disability laws and assistance animals. Many of our writers and editors have service dogs themselves and share insights from their own experiences. All of us have a passion for disability rights and animals.

8 comments

  1. Braefair says: May 3, 2021

    What do I do if my dog qualifies as a PSD but because I was unaware of the distinction I registered her as an ESA on another site?

    Reply
    • Peter says: May 18, 2021

      You may want to talk to the therapist that has issued your ESA letter. Maybe they offer to rewrite your letter to a PSD letter, which will attest that you qualify for a PSD under current federal and state laws. While that letter is not required, it may help as additional proof if ever any disputes are happening. You may find this article with additional information on how to get a PSD interesting https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/how-to-get-a-psychiatric-service-dog/

    • Anjanette says: August 9, 2022

      I am getting push back from my State job about my dog. They are saying that a therapy dog can’t come to work with me and that a psychiatric dog is the same s a therapy dog.

    • SDC says: August 11, 2022

      Psychiatric service dogs are not the same as therapy dogs. A PSD must be trained to perform a job or task relating to a handler’s specific disability.

  2. Joy Gascon says: May 10, 2021

    Is this recognized as a service animal through the ADA? The ADA does not acknowledge emotional support animals as actual service dogs

    Reply
    • Terry Francis says: November 19, 2022

      An emotional support animal is not a service dog. A PSD is a service dog! You can take an online class and train your fur baby yourself. Then doggie will qualify as an actual service dog.

  3. Stephanie Clayton says: August 7, 2023

    How much does it cost to register as a psych dog

    Reply

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