Summary. Fifteen sequences, from the counter to the complaint.

1. Before you ask

  • Decide what you need, not what is wrong. "I need a table without a fixed bench" beats "this place is inaccessible."
  • Decide who can grant it — the person in front of you, or someone else.
  • Decide the minimum you must disclose. Usually: that you have a disability and a disability-related need. Not the diagnosis.
  • Have a fallback in mind that would also work.

2. The request itself (three sentences)

  • "I have a disability that affects [function]."
  • "The barrier is [concrete]."
  • "I'd like [specific, actionable request]."
  • Do not lead with the statute.
  • Stop and let them respond.
  • Get a name.

3. Who to ask, by setting

  • Business → employee → manager → corporate accessibility / guest relations
  • Government, court, school, transit, police → the ADA coordinator (published by name; the fastest route that exists)
  • Housing → on-site manager → regional or corporate property office → owner
  • Airline → the Complaints Resolution Official (available at every airport, by title)
  • Hospital or university → the Section 504 coordinator or patient advocate
  • Anywhere → the DOJ ADA Information Line for technical questions

4. Documentation — the minimum

  • Obvious disability and obvious need → no documentation required.
  • Where needed, a provider letter establishing only:
    • You have a disability under the applicable law
    • There is a disability-related need for the specific accommodation
  • Do NOT include: diagnosis · treatment history · medications · prognosis · records
  • Do not sign a blanket medical release. Offer the targeted letter instead.
  • If more is demanded: "I've provided documentation of the disability and the need. Please tell me what specifically is missing."

5. The interactive process

  • Respond to reasonable clarifying questions.
  • Consider alternatives in good faith.
  • Be firm about the need, flexible about the method.
  • If the alternative does not work, say specifically why — vagueness reads as satisfaction.
  • Set your own deadline in writing. There is usually no fixed federal one, and indefinite silence functions as a denial.

6. Businesses (ADA Title III)

  • Reasonable modification of policies, unless it would fundamentally alter the service
  • Effective communication and auxiliary aids — at no charge to you
  • Barrier removal in existing facilities where readily achievable
  • Full accessibility for new construction and alterations — no "readily achievable" excuse
  • If removal is not readily achievable, alternative methods are required — portable ramp · doorbell · curbside · phone order · retrieving items
  • Mention the federal small business access credit and barrier removal deduction — it reframes the cost

7. Government (ADA Title II)

  • Call the ADA coordinator first.
  • Ask about the entity's grievance procedure and use it — it creates a record.
  • Primary consideration must be given to your expressed choice of auxiliary aid.
  • Program accessibility: the program viewed in its entirety must be reachable — which can mean relocating a hearing, meeting, or class.
  • Courts: interpreters, assistive listening, accessible jury service, filing accommodations.
  • Voting: accessible polling place and voting system, curbside where offered, assistance of your choice.

8. Service animals — three different regimes

In a business (ADA):

  • A dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks related to the disability
  • Emotional support without task training does not qualify
  • Staff may ask only two questions: (1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? (2) What work or task has it been trained to perform?
  • They may not: ask about your disability · require documentation or registration · require a demonstration · charge a pet fee · require a vest · segregate you
  • There is no federal registry. Online certificates prove nothing and are not required.
  • Exclusion only if: out of control and uncorrected, or not housebroken
  • Allergies and fear of dogs are not grounds — separate the people, don't exclude the animal

In housing (FHA):

  • Broader — an assistance animal, including an ESA with no training, may be a reasonable accommodation
  • The test is whether it alleviates an effect of the disability
  • No pet fee or deposit. No breed or weight restrictions.
  • Documentation of the need may be requested where the need is not obvious

On an aircraft (ACAA):

  • Trained dog, with the airline's DOT forms submitted in advance — submit the day you book
  • Emotional support animals are not required to be accommodated as service animals

9. Housing — know which tool you need

  • Reasonable accommodation = change in rules, policies, practices, services. Landlord pays (usually nothing).
    • Assistance animal · reserved accessible parking · live-in aide despite occupancy limit · rent date matched to benefits deposit · accessible-format notices · early lease termination · transfer to an accessible unit
  • Reasonable modification = physical change. Tenant pays in private housing; landlord must permit.
    • Grab bars · ramp · widened doorways · lowered cabinets · roll-in shower · visual smoke alarms · lever handles
    • Landlord may require reasonable interior restoration at move-out — not for changes that don't interfere with the next tenant
  • Ask whether the property receives federal assistance — under Section 504 the recipient generally pays for structural modifications
  • Buildings first occupied after March 1991 with four or more units must already meet seven design requirements — a violation then is a violation now
  • Answer to "we treat everyone the same": equal application of a neutral rule is exactly what creates the need

10. Air travel

  • Request assistance at booking and again at check-in; get a confirmation number
  • Submit service animal forms early
  • Photograph your wheelchair before it is stowed
  • Inspect on arrival; report damage before leaving the airport and get written acknowledgment
  • Ask for the Complaints Resolution Official for any on-the-spot problem
  • Complain in writing to the airline and to the Department of Transportation

11. Transit and paratransit

  • Fixed route must run accessible vehicles, announce stops, deploy lifts on request
  • Complementary paratransit for those who cannot use fixed route, within defined area/hours, fare tied to fixed route
  • Appeal every paratransit eligibility denial — frequently reversed; the appeal lets you explain what the form did not capture
  • Rideshare/taxi refusal over a service animal → report to the company and the regulator

12. Digital access

  • Ask for what you need to accomplish, not for a redesign
  • Report the specific barrier: unlabeled field · keyboard trap · uncaptioned video · missing alt text · low contrast
  • Ask who handles digital accessibility and follow up in writing
  • The operative benchmark almost everywhere is WCAG 2.1 Level AA

13. Escalation ladder

  • Put it in writing — what you asked, when, who, what they said, what you want, by when
  • Send it to the person whose job it is (§3 above)
  • Document: dates · names · exact words · photos with a measurement in frame · witnesses · costs incurred
  • Use the entity's grievance procedure if one exists
  • File the agency complaint

14. Where and when to file — the deadlines

  • ADA Title II/III → Department of Justice (free, online, no lawyer)
  • Housing → HUD or a substantially equivalent state/local agency — generally within ONE YEAR; private suit generally within two years
  • Air travel → Department of Transportation
  • Federally funded program → the funding agency's office for civil rights
  • Employment → EEOC — 180 or 300 days, the shortest deadline in this area
  • State civil rights agency → frequently the best option: broader coverage, damages Title III does not provide
  • Understand the remedies:
    • Title III private suit: injunction and attorney's fees ONLY — no damages
    • Title II / Section 504: damages available, usually requiring deliberate indifference; no emotional distress damages under Section 504
    • FHA: compensatory and punitive damages plus fees — usually the better vehicle
    • State law: check it first. It is often the ceiling-raiser.

15. Retaliation

  • Retaliation, coercion, intimidation, threats, and interference are separately prohibited
  • Watch for: rent increase · non-renewal · sudden lease violations · a ban · schedule changes · a new "policy"
  • Document separately and immediately, with the timeline showing the sequence
  • A retaliation claim is frequently stronger and cleaner than the underlying claim

Related documents

Educational only, not legal advice. State disability and public accommodation laws frequently provide broader rights and better remedies than federal law.