Main Menu

Assistance & Support Animals

We are committed to providing all students with an inclusive and supportive living environment. We work closely with our university partners to ensure that every resident has equitable access to housing spaces and programs. We assist students with documented disabilities who choose to live in our residence halls with reasonable accommodations, including assistance and emotional support animals, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Housing Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974.

Types of Assistance + Service Animals

  • Assistance Animals: An assistance animal, also known as an emotional support animal (ESA), is an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. An assistance animal is not a pet, service animal, or therapy animal.
  • Service Animals: A service animal works to provide assistance or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. A service animal is not a pet.
  • Service Animals-In-Training: An animal undergoing specific training and accompanied by a handler to perform tasks or assist an individual with a disability.

student holding emotional support dog on left and two handlers with their dogs sitting on the McKeldin fountain on right

Animals in Residence Halls

Assistance animals can live with their student partner in the residence halls after registration and recommendation by Accessibility and Disability Service (ADS) and approval by Resident Life.

Service animals and service animals-in-training can live with their student partner in the residence halls after registration and approval by Resident Life.

Students cannot bring assistance or service animals into the residence halls until their request is approved.

Student partners should also ensure that their animal's behavior and care do not lead to sanitation issues or disruptions for residents, staff in the Departments of Resident Life and Residential Facilities, or other university community members. In the event of any issues, our staff will address them in the same manner as with all students. Your cooperation is highly appreciated.

Request Process

Assistance Animal

Students who would like to request to bring an assistance animal into their campus residence must first:

  1. Contact the university's Accessibility and Disability Service (ADS) office to register for an accommodation. For more information about this process and instructions for registering with ADS for a housing accommodation, please visit the Housing Accommodations website. If ADS approves the request, the accommodation recommendation will be communicated to our office.

To complete an assistance animal/ESA request to bring the animal into the residence halls, the student must:

  1. Complete the Assistance Animal Guideline and Agreement form (PDF)
  2. Complete the Assistance Animal Request form (PDF)
  3. Complete the Veterinarian Verification Form (PDF, page 3) - The owner must submit documentation from a licensed veterinarian that the animal is in good health and its required immunizations (if applicable) are up-to-date.
  4. Assistance animals other than dogs and cats must have an annual clean bill of health from a licensed veterinarian. This is documented by completion of the Veterinarian Verification Form, a vaccination certificate or a written statement from the veterinarian if a vaccination certificate is not available for that type of animal.
  5. For an assistance animal that is a cat, dog, or ferret, which is 4 months of age or older, you must:
    1. Purchase a Prince George's County animal license. Additional information about this application process, the cost, and the requirements can be found on the Prince George's County Animal Licensing website.
    2. Proof of purchase will be required by submitting a photo of the animal license tag and the application form with the expiration date.
  6. Students will submit the completed forms and Prince George’s County animal license documentation by email to the Resident Life Assignments Office at reslife@umd.edu.

Our assignments office will review assistance animal requests after receiving all completed forms and the Prince George’s County animal license (if applicable). We will notify students via email within 3 to 5 business days.

Service Animal

To complete a service animal request, the student must:

  1. Complete the Service Animal Guideline and Agreement form (PDF)
  2. Complete the Service Animal Request form (PDF)
  3. Complete the Veterinarian Verification form (PDF, page 3) - The owner must submit documentation from a licensed veterinarian that the animal is in good health and that its required immunizations (if applicable) are up-to-date.
  4. For a service animal/guide dog, four months of age or older, you must:
    1. Purchase a Prince George's County animal license. Additional information about this application process, the cost, and the requirements can be found on the Prince George's County Animal Licensing website.
    2. Proof of purchase will be required by submitting a photo of the animal license tag and the application form with the expiration date.
  5. Students will submit the completed forms and Prince George’s County animal license documentation by email to the Resident Life Assignments Office at reslife@umd.edu.

Our assignments office will review service animal requests after receiving all completed forms and the Prince George’s County animal license (if applicable). We will notify students via email within 3 to 5 business days.

Service Animal-In-Training

To request to have a service animal-in-training in the residence halls, the student must:

  1. Provide documentation of their participation from the service animal-in-training organization (e.g., Terps Raising Pups, Fidos for Freedom).
  2. Complete the Service Animal Guideline and Agreement form (PDF)
  3. Complete the Service Animal Request form (PDF)
  4. Complete the Veterinarian Verification form (PDF, page 3) - The organization must submit documentation from a licensed veterinarian that the animal is in good health and that its required immunizations (e.g., rabies) are up-to-date.
  5. For a service animal/guide dog, four months of age or older, you must:
    1. Purchase a Prince George's County animal license. Additional information about this application process, the cost, and the requirements can be found on the Prince George's County Animal Licensing website.
    2. Proof of purchase will be required by submitting a photo of the animal license tag and the application form with the expiration date.
  6. Students will submit the documentation from the organization, the completed forms, and Prince George’s County animal license documentation by email to the Resident Life Assignments Office at reslife@umd.edu.

Our assignments office will review service animal-in-training requests after receiving all completed forms and the Prince George’s County animal license (if applicable). We will notify students via email within 3 to 5 business days.

Puppy Sitter for Service Animal-in-Training

Before a student can be approved to be a puppy sitter, the organization must:

  1. Provide the Department of Resident Life with a completed verification form for each animal a student backup handler/sitter will be responsible for at any time. A licensed veterinarian must complete these forms to ensure that the animal is in good health and that its required immunizations (e.g., rabies) are up-to-date.
  2. For a service animal/guide dog, four months of age or older, you must:
    1. Purchase a Prince George's County animal license. Additional information about this application process, the cost, and the requirements can be found on the Prince George's County Animal Licensing website.
    2. Proof of purchase will be required by submitting a photo of the animal license tag and the application form with the expiration date.

To request to be a service animal-in-training backup caretakers/sitters in the residence halls, the student must:

  1. Provide documentation of their participation as a backup caretakers/sitter from the service animal-in-training organization (e.g., Terps Raising Pups, Fidos for Freedom).
  2. Complete the Service Animal Guideline and Agreement form (PDF).
  3. Complete the Service Animal Request form (PDF).

Our assignments office will review service animal-in-training backup caretakers/sitters requests after verifying organization participation and receiving all completed veterinary verification forms and the Prince George’s County animal license. We will notify students via email if approved.

FAQs

Students are strongly encouraged to register with ADS as soon as a need for housing-based accommodations is known. While there is no deadline, a priority consideration review date of May 15 (for Fall semester housing) and December 1 (for Spring semester housing) allows time for the interactive process with ADS prior to the Department of Resident Life finalizing student housing placements for residents and releasing this information by mid-July.

Through the interactive process, ADS reviews submitted disability documentation and self-reported information to determine if an accommodation is reasonable and appropriate. ADS notifies the Department of Resident Life of the approved accommodation.

Students are required to purchase a Prince George's County animal license If the animal is a ferret, dog, or cat because the animal will be living with you in a residence hall.

Requests will be reviewed after the Resident Life Assignments office receives all required forms and applicable documentation. Students will be notified by email within three to five business days.

  • South Campus Commons residents should call (301) 314-2499 for assistance.
  • The Courtyards residents should call (301) 314-2466 for assistance.

Students must provide updated support documentation (Veterinarian records, P.G. County animal license) on an annual basis for the following academic year because approval of an Assistance Animal accommodation request is based on the student’s current need.

Back to Top