Penal Law § 242.00

Definitions · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 242.00 Definitions.

For purposes of this article:

1. "Service animal" shall mean any animal that has been partnered with a person who has a disability and has been trained or is being trained, by a qualified person, to aid or guide a person with a disability.

2. "Disability" shall have the same meaning as provided in section two hundred ninety-two of the executive law.

3. "Handler" shall mean a disabled person using a service animal.

4. "Formal training program" or "certified trainer" shall mean an institution, group or individual who has documentation and community recognition as a provider of service animals.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/242.00

In plain English

For this article:

(1) A service animal is partnered with a person with a disability and trained or being trained by a qualified person to aid or guide them.
(2) Disability has the meaning in Executive Law § 292.
(3) A handler is the person with a disability using the service animal.
(4) A formal training program or certified trainer has documentation and community recognition as a service-animal provider. ★

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.