{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/51.5-40.1.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/51.5-40.1.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/51.5-40.1.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/51.5-40.1.html"}],"law_id":60539,"edition_id":1,"section_id":60539,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-40.1","catch_line":"Definitions","history":"2012, cc. 476, 507, 803, 835; 2014, c. 616; 2023, cc. 148, 149, 513; 2024, c. 648.","full_text":"As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Hearing dog” means a dog trained to alert its owner by touch to sounds of danger and sounds to which the owner should respond.\n\t\t“Mental impairment” means (i) a disability attributable to intellectual disability, autism, or any other neurological disability closely related to intellectual disability and requiring treatment similar to that required by individuals with intellectual disability or (ii) an organic or mental impairment that has substantial adverse effects on an individual’s cognitive or volitional functions, including central nervous system disorders or significant discrepancies among mental functions of an individual.\n\t\t“Mobility-impaired person” means any person who (i) is unable to move about without the aid of crutches, a wheelchair, or any other form of support or (ii) has limited functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend, sit, rise, or perform any related function.\n\t\t“Otherwise disabled person” means any person who has a physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, or mental disability or a mental illness.\n\t\t“Path of travel” means a continuous, unobstructed way of pedestrian passage by means of which an altered area, meaning an area of a facility that has undergone an alteration that affects or could affect the usability of or access to such area of a facility that contains a primary function for which the facility is intended and the restrooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving the altered area, may be approached, entered, and exited, and that connects an altered area with an exterior approach, including sidewalks, streets, and parking areas, an entrance to the facility, and other parts of the facility.\n\t\t“Person with a disability” means any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his major life activities or who has a record of such impairment.\n\t\t“Physical impairment” means any physical condition, anatomic loss, or cosmetic disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect, or illness.\n\t\t“Place of public accommodation” means a facility that a private entity owns, leases or leases to, or operates and whose operations affect commerce.\n\t\t“Private entity” means any entity other than a public entity.\n\t\t“Public entity” means:\n\n1\n\nAny state or local government;2\n\nAny department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a state or local government; and3\n\nAny commuter authority.\n\t\t\t“Readily achievable” means easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense.\n\t\t\t“Service dog” means a dog trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a mobility-impaired or otherwise disabled person. The work or tasks performed by a service dog shall be directly related to the individual’s disability or disorder. Examples of work or tasks include providing nonviolent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting an individual to the presence of allergens, retrieving items, carrying items, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability, and preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship shall not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.\n\t\t\t“Three-unit service dog team” means a team consisting of a trained service dog, a person with a disability, and a person who is an adult and who has been trained to handle the service dog.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":221325,"text":"As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Hearing dog” means a dog trained to alert its owner by touch to sounds of danger and sounds to which the owner should respond.\n\t\t“Mental impairment” means (i) a disability attributable to intellectual disability, autism, or any other neurological disability closely related to intellectual disability and requiring treatment similar to that required by individuals with intellectual disability or (ii) an organic or mental impairment that has substantial adverse effects on an individual’s cognitive or volitional functions, including central nervous system disorders or significant discrepancies among mental functions of an individual.\n\t\t“Mobility-impaired person” means any person who (i) is unable to move about without the aid of crutches, a wheelchair, or any other form of support or (ii) has limited functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend, sit, rise, or perform any related function.\n\t\t“Otherwise disabled person” means any person who has a physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, or mental disability or a mental illness.\n\t\t“Path of travel” means a continuous, unobstructed way of pedestrian passage by means of which an altered area, meaning an area of a facility that has undergone an alteration that affects or could affect the usability of or access to such area of a facility that contains a primary function for which the facility is intended and the restrooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving the altered area, may be approached, entered, and exited, and that connects an altered area with an exterior approach, including sidewalks, streets, and parking areas, an entrance to the facility, and other parts of the facility.\n\t\t“Person with a disability” means any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his major life activities or who has a record of such impairment.\n\t\t“Physical impairment” means any physical condition, anatomic loss, or cosmetic disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect, or illness.\n\t\t“Place of public accommodation” means a facility that a private entity owns, leases or leases to, or operates and whose operations affect commerce.\n\t\t“Private entity” means any entity other than a public entity.\n\t\t“Public entity” means:","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1,"next_prefix":"1"},"1":{"id":221326,"text":"Any state or local government;","type":"section","prefixes":["1"],"prefix":"1","entire_prefix":"1","prefix_anchor":"1","level":1,"prior_prefix":"","next_prefix":"2"},"2":{"id":221327,"text":"Any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a state or local government; and","type":"section","prefixes":["2"],"prefix":"2","entire_prefix":"2","prefix_anchor":"2","level":1,"prior_prefix":"1","next_prefix":"3"},"3":{"id":221328,"text":"Any commuter authority.\n\t\t\t“Readily achievable” means easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense.\n\t\t\t“Service dog” means a dog trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a mobility-impaired or otherwise disabled person. The work or tasks performed by a service dog shall be directly related to the individual’s disability or disorder. Examples of work or tasks include providing nonviolent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting an individual to the presence of allergens, retrieving items, carrying items, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability, and preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship shall not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.\n\t\t\t“Three-unit service dog team” means a team consisting of a trained service dog, a person with a disability, and a person who is an adult and who has been trained to handle the service dog.","type":"section","prefixes":["3"],"prefix":"3","entire_prefix":"3","prefix_anchor":"3","level":1,"prior_prefix":"2"}},"ancestry":[{"id":14354,"edition_id":1,"name":"Rights of Persons With Disabilities","identifier":"9","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12761,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:47:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:47:51","permalink":{"id":237089,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14354,"identifier":"9","token":"51.5\/9","url":"\/51.5\/9\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12761,"edition_id":1,"name":"Persons With Disabilities","identifier":"51.5","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":236393,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12761,"identifier":"51.5","token":"51.5","url":"\/51.5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":55888,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-40","catch_line":"Nondiscrimination under state grants and programs","url":"\/51.5-40\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-40","metadata":false},{"id":60539,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-40.1","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/51.5-40.1\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-40.1","metadata":false},{"id":73313,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-41","catch_line":"Discrimination against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities by employers prohibited","url":"\/51.5-41\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-41","metadata":false},{"id":55669,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-42","catch_line":"Discrimination against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities by educational institutions prohibited","url":"\/51.5-42\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-42","metadata":false},{"id":79150,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-43","catch_line":"Discrimination against qualified persons with disabilities in exercising right to vote prohibited","url":"\/51.5-43\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-43","metadata":false},{"id":58207,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-44","catch_line":"Rights of persons with disabilities in public places and places of public accommodation","url":"\/51.5-44\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-44","metadata":false},{"id":77660,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-44.1","catch_line":"Fraudulent representation of a service dog or hearing dog; penalty","url":"\/51.5-44.1\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-44.1","metadata":false},{"id":77113,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-45","catch_line":"Right of persons with disabilities to housing accommodations","url":"\/51.5-45\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-45","metadata":false},{"id":78152,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-46","catch_line":"Remedies","url":"\/51.5-46\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-46","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":55888,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-40","catch_line":"Nondiscrimination under state grants and programs","url":"\/51.5-40\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-40","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":73313,"structure_id":14354,"section_number":"51.5-41","catch_line":"Discrimination against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities by employers prohibited","url":"\/51.5-41\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-41","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/51.5-40.1\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2012. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapters 476<\/a>, 507<\/a>, 803<\/a>, and 835<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 3 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2014, chapter 616<\/a>; in 2023, chapters 148<\/a>, 149<\/a>, and 513<\/a>; in 2024, chapter 648<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":83110,"section_number":"15.2-1509","catch_line":"Preferences for veterans and people with disabilities in local government employment","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-1509\/"},{"id":86767,"section_number":"18.2-152.4","catch_line":"Computer trespass; penalty","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-152.4\/"},{"id":64974,"section_number":"2.2-1213","catch_line":"Alternative application for employment for persons with a disability; report","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-1213\/"},{"id":61435,"section_number":"2.2-3501","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3501\/"},{"id":62411,"section_number":"2.2-3701","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3701\/"},{"id":54063,"section_number":"2.2-3708.3","catch_line":"Meetings held through electronic communication means; situations other than declared states of emergency","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3708.3\/"},{"id":59581,"section_number":"2.2-3905.1","catch_line":"Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities; unlawful discriminatory practice; notice of rights","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3905.1\/"},{"id":61543,"section_number":"24.2-101","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-101\/"},{"id":74582,"section_number":"3.2-6513.2","catch_line":"Rental or lease of dog or cat prohibited; requirements for financing a dog or cat; civil penalty","order_by":null,"url":"\/3.2-6513.2\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":237095,"object_type":"law","relational_id":60539,"identifier":"51.5-40.1","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-40.1","url":"\/51.5-40.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/51.5-40.1\/","token":"51.5\/9\/51.5-40.1","dublin_core":{"Title":"Definitions","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 51.5-40.1","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Hearing dog<\/span>” means a dog trained to alert its owner by touch to sounds of danger and sounds to which the owner should respond.\n\t\t“Mental impairment<\/span>” means (i) a disability attributable to intellectual disability, autism, or any other neurological disability closely related to intellectual disability and requiring treatment similar to that required by individuals with intellectual disability or (ii) an organic or mental impairment<\/span> that has substantial adverse effects on an individual’s cognitive or volitional functions, including central nervous system disorders or significant discrepancies among mental functions of an individual.\n\t\t“Mobility-impaired person<\/span>” means any person who (i) is unable to move about without the aid of crutches, a wheelchair, or any other form of support or (ii) has limited functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend, sit, rise, or perform any related function.\n\t\t“Otherwise disabled person<\/span>” means any person who has a physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, or mental disability or a mental illness.\n\t\t“Path of travel<\/span>” means a continuous, unobstructed way of pedestrian passage by means of which an altered area, meaning an area of a facility that has undergone an alteration that affects or could affect the usability of or access to such area of a facility that contains a primary function for which the facility is intended and the restrooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving the altered area, may be approached, entered, and exited, and that connects an altered area with an exterior approach, including sidewalks, streets, and parking areas, an entrance to the facility, and other parts of the facility.\n\t\t“Person with a disability<\/span>” means any person who has a physical or mental impairment<\/span> that substantially limits one or more of his major life activities or who has a record of such impairment.\n\t\t“Physical impairment<\/span>” means any physical condition, anatomic loss, or cosmetic disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect, or illness.\n\t\t“Place of public accommodation<\/span>” means a facility that a private entity<\/span> owns, leases or leases to, or operates and whose operations affect commerce.\n\t\t“Private entity<\/span>” means any entity other than a public entity.\n\t\t“Public entity” means:<\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

1.<\/span> Any state or local government; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

2.<\/span> Any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a state or local government; and <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

3.<\/span> Any commuter authority.\n\t\t\t“Readily achievable<\/span>” means easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense.\n\t\t\t“Service dog” means a dog trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a mobility-impaired or otherwise disabled person<\/span>. The work or tasks performed by a service dog shall be directly related to the individual’s disability or disorder. Examples of work or tasks include providing nonviolent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting an individual to the presence of allergens, retrieving items, carrying items, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability, and preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship shall not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.\n\t\t\t“Three-unit service dog team<\/span>” means a team consisting of a trained service dog, a person with a disability<\/span>, and a person who is an adult and who has been trained to handle the service dog. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDEFINITIONS (\u00a7 51.5-40.1)\n\nAs used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Hearing dog” means a dog trained to alert its owner by touch to\nsounds of danger and sounds to which the owner should respond.\n\t\t“Mental impairment” means (i) a disability attributable to\nintellectual disability, autism, or any other neurological disability closely\nrelated to intellectual disability and requiring treatment similar to that\nrequired by individuals with intellectual disability or (ii) an organic or\nmental impairment that has substantial adverse effects on an individual’s\ncognitive or volitional functions, including central nervous system disorders or\nsignificant discrepancies among mental functions of an individual.\n\t\t“Mobility-impaired person” means any person who (i) is unable to\nmove about without the aid of crutches, a wheelchair, or any other form of\nsupport or (ii) has limited functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend, sit,\nrise, or perform any related function.\n\t\t“Otherwise disabled person” means any person who has a physical,\nsensory, intellectual, developmental, or mental disability or a mental illness.\n\t\t“Path of travel” means a continuous, unobstructed way of\npedestrian passage by means of which an altered area, meaning an area of a\nfacility that has undergone an alteration that affects or could affect the\nusability of or access to such area of a facility that contains a primary\nfunction for which the facility is intended and the restrooms, telephones, and\ndrinking fountains serving the altered area, may be approached, entered, and\nexited, and that connects an altered area with an exterior approach, including\nsidewalks, streets, and parking areas, an entrance to the facility, and other\nparts of the facility.\n\t\t“Person with a disability” means any person who has a physical or\nmental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his major life\nactivities or who has a record of such impairment.\n\t\t“Physical impairment” means any physical condition, anatomic loss,\nor cosmetic disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect, or\nillness.\n\t\t“Place of public accommodation” means a facility that a private\nentity owns, leases or leases to, or operates and whose operations affect\ncommerce.\n\t\t“Private entity” means any entity other than a public entity.\n\t\t“Public entity” means:\n\n1. Any state or local government;\n\n2. Any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of\na state or local government; and\n\n3. Any commuter authority.\n\t\t\t“Readily achievable” means easily accomplishable and able to be\ncarried out without much difficulty or expense.\n\t\t\t“Service dog” means a dog trained to do work or perform tasks for\nthe benefit of a mobility-impaired or otherwise disabled person. The work or\ntasks performed by a service dog shall be directly related to the\nindividual’s disability or disorder. Examples of work or tasks include\nproviding nonviolent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting\nan individual during a seizure, alerting an individual to the presence of\nallergens, retrieving items, carrying items, providing physical support and\nassistance with balance and stability, and preventing or interrupting impulsive\nor destructive behaviors. The provision of emotional support, well-being,\ncomfort, or companionship shall not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of\nthis definition.\n\t\t\t“Three-unit service dog team” means a team consisting of a\ntrained service dog, a person with a disability, and a person who is an adult\nand who has been trained to handle the service dog.\n\nHISTORY: 2012, cc. 476, 507, 803, 835; 2014, c. 616; 2023, cc. 148, 149, 513;\n2024, c. 648.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}