Section 955.021
(A) When an application is made for registration of an assistance dog and the owner can show proof by certificate or other means that the dog is an assistance dog, the owner of the dog shall be exempt from any fee for the registration. Registration for an assistance dog shall be permanent and not subject to annual renewal so long as the dog is an assistance dog. Certificates and tags stamped "Ohio Assistance Dog-Permanent Registration," with registration number, shall be issued upon registration of such a dog. Duplicate certificates and tags for a dog registered in accordance with this section, upon proper proof of loss, shall be issued and no fee required.
(B) As used in this section and in sections 955.16 and 955.43 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Person with a mobility impairment" means any person, regardless of age, who is subject to a physiological impairment regardless of its cause, nature, or extent that renders the person unable to move about without the aid of crutches, a wheelchair, or any other form of support, or that limits the person's functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend, sit, rise, or perform any related function. "Person with a mobility impairment" includes a person with a neurological or psychological disability that limits the person's functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend, sit, rise, or perform any related function. "Person with a mobility impairment" also includes a person with a seizure disorder and a person who is diagnosed with autism.
(2) "Blind" means either of the following:
(a) Vision twenty/two hundred or less in the better eye with proper correction;
(b) Field defect in the better eye with proper correction that contracts the peripheral field so that the diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees.
(3) "Assistance dog" means a dog that has been trained by a nonprofit or for-profit special agency and that is one of the following:
(a) A guide dog;
(b) A hearing dog;
(c) A service dog.
(4) "Guide dog" means a dog that has been trained or is in training to assist a blind person.
(5) "Hearing dog" means a dog that has been trained or is in training to assist a deaf or hearing-impaired person.
(6) "Service dog" means a dog that has been trained or is in training to assist a person with a mobility impairment.
Last updated January 8, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Available Versions of this Section
- March 20, 2026 – House Bill 247 - 136th General Assembly [ View March 20, 2026 Version ]