Verification Explained
Registration and verification are not the same thing
Understanding this distinction is fundamental to understanding OSAR.
When a handler creates a basic OSAR record, the handler provides information about the animal and completes required attestations.
That is registration.
Registration by itself does not mean OSAR has independently investigated or confirmed every statement.
Verification occurs only when a specific fact has gone through a defined independent verification process.
OSAR displays those results separately.
Handler Attestation
Every basic registration begins with information supplied by the handler.
The handler may attest to information including:
- the animal's identity;
- the animal's classification;
- its training source;
- relevant work or task categories; and
- the accuracy of the information provided.
A public record may therefore state:
Handler Attestation: Current
This means the handler has made the required attestation.
It does not mean OSAR independently verified the underlying facts.
Handler Identity Verification
A handler may optionally request independent identity verification.
OSAR uses a specialized third-party identity-verification provider, initially expected to be Stripe Identity, to perform this process.
The provider may use government-issued identification and identity-matching technology to confirm the person completing the process.
OSAR then records the relevant result.
A successful record may show:
Handler Identity: Independently Verified
This means OSAR has received an independent identity-verification result.
It does not mean OSAR has:
verified the handler's disability;
reviewed medical records;
determined whether the animal legally qualifies under the ADA; or
granted public-access rights.
Training-Source Verification
Handlers identify how their animal was trained.
Possible sources include:
- Owner-Trained;
- Independent Professional Trainer;
- Assistance-Dog Organization; or
- a combination of training sources.
When a professional trainer or organization is identified, the handler may request independent confirmation.
OSAR may contact the trainer or organization and ask it to confirm relevant factual information.
A successfully confirmed record might state:
Professional Trainer Relationship: Confirmed
or:
Training Organization: Confirmed
This describes exactly what OSAR confirmed.
It is not an ADA certification.
What if the dog is owner-trained?
Owner-trained service dogs remain fully eligible.
A record may simply state:
Training Source: Owner-Trained
That is an accurate description of how the animal was trained.
Future OSAR programs may allow owner-trained teams to establish additional independent evidence through mechanisms such as animal-identity verification, task observation, or public-access assessment.
OSAR does not require a handler to retroactively hire a professional trainer simply to make an owner-trained dog eligible.
Animal Identity Verification
OSAR may allow a handler to associate an animal's microchip or another reliable identifier with its registry record.
Where independently confirmed, a record might show:
Animal Identity: Microchip Linked
The full microchip number would ordinarily remain private.
A public record might display only a masked identifier, such as:
Microchip ending ••••4739
Future task and behavioral assessments
OSAR may eventually support independent assessments that document observable behavior.
Examples could include:
Task Performance: Independently Observed
or:
Public-Access Assessment: Completed
Such assessments would document what was observed at a particular time under defined conditions.
They would not guarantee future animal behavior and would not constitute governmental certification.
Verification statuses are intentionally narrow
OSAR avoids labels such as:
Verified Service Dog
because such wording could incorrectly imply that OSAR has made a comprehensive legal determination.
Instead, we verify individual facts.
A record might therefore look like:
Handler Attestation: Current
Handler Identity: Independently Verified
Training Source: Professional Trainer
Trainer Relationship: Confirmed
Animal Identity: Microchip Linked
Task Assessment: Not Submitted
This allows the viewer to see precisely what evidence exists.
Optional verification fees
Basic registration and self-attestation are free.
Some independent verification processes create direct costs.
Identity verification, for example, may involve a fee charged to OSAR by an external identity provider. Training verification may require secure communications and administrative review.
OSAR may therefore charge a small one-time cost-recovery fee for an optional verification service.
There is no recurring charge simply because a fact remains verified.
Payment does not purchase a favorable outcome.
Verification can change
A live OSAR record may change over time.
For example:
new training information may be confirmed;
a verification may expire or require updating;
an animal may retire;
an animal may die;
a handler may archive the record; or
a record may be suspended because of a significant integrity concern.
This is one reason OSAR uses live digital verification rather than relying on static certificates or physical ID cards.