Therapy Animal Registration
Therapy animal registration & ID.
A therapy animal brings comfort to other people — in hospitals, schools, and care homes. NSAR registration gives you a photo ID card, a certificate, and a verifiable number to carry during visits. We’re honest about what it is and isn’t — and we’ve run a real, verifiable registry since 1995.
Registration from $39 · full kits from $114
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- A+BBB Accredited since 2017
- 254,019animals registered since 2008
What a therapy animal is — and what registration is for
A therapy animal isn’t there for its handler — it’s there for the people it visits: patients, students, residents. Because it works in facilities, the facility usually sets the bar: most require a temperament evaluation through a recognized therapy-dog organization, which also provides visit insurance.
NSAR registration doesn’t replace that evaluation, and we won’t pretend it does. What it gives you is the practical part — a professional photo ID, a certificate, and a verifiable number — so your animal’s role is clear and confirmable when you show up to volunteer.
What an NSAR registration includes
ID + Registration — $39
A personalized photo ID card and a registration number listed on our verification page — the identification essentials.
Deluxe Kit — $114
Adds a printed certificate plus a vest, leash, collar, and tags that signal “therapy animal” on a visit.
Premium Kit — $154
The complete package — ID, certificate, number, and the full gear bundle — for regular volunteers.
Every registration ties to a number anyone can confirm at /verify.
Therapy animal registration questions, answered
- How do I get my dog certified as a therapy animal?
- A therapy animal visits places like hospitals, schools, and nursing homes to comfort others — and most facilities that host visits require you to go through a recognized therapy-dog organization (such as the AKC's program or Alliance of Therapy Dogs) that evaluates temperament and handles insurance for visits. NSAR registration is separate from that: it gives you an ID card, certificate, and verifiable number for identification. We're upfront that a registration is not a substitute for a facility's evaluation.
- What's the difference between a therapy animal, an ESA, and a service dog?
- A therapy animal comforts other people during organized visits. An emotional support animal supports its own handler and is protected mainly in housing. A service dog is task-trained for a handler's disability and has public-access rights under the ADA. They're three different roles with three different sets of rules — and a therapy-animal registration reflects the first.
- Can I turn my dog into a therapy dog?
- Many friendly, well-tempered dogs can do therapy work, but it takes the right temperament and, for actual facility visits, an evaluation through a recognized therapy-dog organization. If your goal is visiting facilities, start with one of those programs; NSAR registration then gives you the ID and verifiable number to carry alongside it.
- How much does therapy animal registration cost?
- NSAR therapy-animal registration starts at $39 for an ID-card-and-registration package, with Deluxe ($114) and Premium ($154) kits adding a certificate and gear. It's identification and convenience — priced accordingly, and honestly labeled as such.
- What does NSAR therapy animal registration include?
- A personalized photo ID card, a registration number verifiable at nsarco.com/verify, and — with the Deluxe and Premium kits — a printed certificate plus a vest, leash, collar, or tags that make your animal's role clear at a glance during visits.
Where to next
Register your therapy animal
Add your animal's details and photo, get an ID card and verifiable number.
Sideways
Looking for an ESA instead?
An ESA supports its own handler and is protected in housing.
Up one level
Therapy animals explained
What therapy animals do and how they differ from ESAs and service dogs.
Why trust us
Meet the clinicians
Real, state-licensed mental-health professionals — not a pdf mill.