Service Animal Guidelines

Service Animals On-Campus

York University is committed to upholding the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC), ensuring equal access and non-discrimination as outlined in the Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, Statement of Commitment. 

Service animals are welcome in all public areas of the University, unless excluded by law for health or safety reasons. Outlined on this page are guidelines for bringing your service animal on campus.  

What is a service animal?

Under the AODA, a service animal must meet one of the following criteria: 

  • Be visibly identifiable as supporting a disability (e.g., an animal wearing a vest or harness), or; 
  • Be supported by documentation from a regulated healthcare professional confirming the need for the animal. A regulated healthcare professional may include:

    • audiologist or speech-language pathologist 
    • chiropractor 
    • nurse 
    • occupational therapist 
    • optometrist 
    • physician or surgeon 
    • physiotherapist 
    • psychologist 
    • psychotherapist or mental health therapist 

Registering your service animal

To ensure that care is taken in integrating your service animal into campus life, register your service animal with the University. Registering your service animal ensures that information can be clearly communicated upfront about the service animal, and any concerns about health and safety can be addressed and mitigated (i.e. some educational settings such as a lab may pose harm to an animal).

York University Residences

If you live in any York residences with a service animal, the animal must be registered with the University. Students living in the Quad at Keele Campus should contact the Quad directly to discuss their policies on service animals. 

Official York residences include: 

  • Atkinson (Keele Campus) 
  • Bethune (Keele Campus) 
  • Calumet (Keele Campus) 
  • Founders (Keele Campus) 
  • Pond Road (Keele Campus) 
  • Stong (Keele Campus) 
  • Tatham Hall (Keele Campus) 
  • Vanier (Keele Campus) 
  • Winters (Keele Campus) 
  • Hilliard (Glendon Campus) 
  • Wood (Glendon Campus) 
  • Marham Campus Student Housing 

How to register your service animal:

Expectations of students with service animals

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The handler is responsible for supervising and cleaning up after the animal.

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The handler is expected to have control of the animal while in public spaces.

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Animals are expected to meet reasonable standards regarding behaviour, noise, odour and waste.

Expectations of community members around service animals

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Be welcoming and do not interfere with the animal.

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Refrain from touching the animal, feeding the animal or speaking to the animal.

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Remember: The animal is here to do a job and interfering with the animal will distract it from the important work that it needs to do.

Frequently Asked Questions

According to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Customer Service Standards, an animal is considered a service animal if one of the following conditions is met: 

  1. The animal is easily identifiable as a disability-related support (for example, wearing a service animal vest or harness).
  2. The individual provides documentation from a regulated healthcare provider confirming the animal is required due to a disability.

Yes, service animals are allowed in all public areas of York University’s campuses, unless excluded by law for health or safety reasons.  

York is committed to upholding the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC). If a service animal is excluded by law from a space on York’s campuses, the University will attempt to provide alternate accommodations for community members with disabilities. 

In Ontario, therapy, emotional support and comfort animals qualify as service animals if the animal meets the definition provided by Ontario Regulation 191/11 of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, section 80.45. Documentation from a regulated healthcare provider is required to confirm the need for the animal.

The Service Animal Verification Form (.pdf) must be filled out by a regulated healthcare provider who: 

  • is eligible to practice in Ontario;  
  • has training and education in the specific service animal species’ language and behaviour; and  
  • is able to attest to the service animal’s ability to act safely in public situations.  

Once the form is complete, submit the Service Animal Verification Form to Student Accessibility Services using the SAS Registration Questionnaire.

*Note: Students already registered with Student Accessibility Services do not need to fill out the registration questionnaire and should speak with their Accessibility Counsellor about next steps. 

No, counsellors from Student Counselling, Health & Well-being (SCHW) and Student Accessibility Services (SAS) are not able to provide written documentation for service animals. 

Although the staff at SCHW and SAS may fit the definition of a regulated healthcare professional, the individual filling out the Service Animal Verification Form must have training and education in the specific service animal species’ language and behaviour, and be able to attest to the animal’s ability to act safely in public situations.  

There may be restrictions in place that limit where service animals are permitted on York’s campuses due to municipal by-laws or health and safety concerns for the animal, the space or others sharing the space. For example, service animals may not always be permitted in all educational settings such as science labs.  

In addition, your healthcare professional may place restrictions on where the service animal is allowed on campus based on their assessment of the animal. They will indicate these restrictions when they fill out the Service Animal Verification Form.  

Yes, you will need to submit a request to have your service animal on campus for each year that you attend York University. Please submit the completed form to Student Accessibility Services using the SAS Registration Questionnaire.

*Note: Students already registered with Student Accessibility Services do not need to fill out the registration questionnaire and should speak with their Accessibility Counsellor about next steps.