What is an Emotional Support Animal?

An Emotional Support Animal is just that. It’s an animal that belongs to somebody who has emotional needs. Sometimes people will refer to them as “therapy dogs” or “comfort dogs” but this is not recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Remember that Emotional Support Animals and Therapy Animals are different and have different legal requirements.  In order to have a legal Emotional Support Animal,  the handler must have a letter from a  licensed mental health professional stating the handlers need for the animal. This letter protects the handler under the Fair Housing Authority Act. Emotional Support Animals are not protected under ADA laws due to not going through as much training as service dogs must go through. 

Landlords and property managers must make reasonable accommodations for tenants or prospective tenants with ESAs, even if the apartment, house, college dorm, or other residence does not allow pets. Reasonable fees may be asked of the client, similar to a pet fee. Besides requiring a letter of prescription. Property managers/landlords may require that the (prospective) tenant’s mental health professional complete and sign a Third Party Verification form. If you choose to be evaluated by one of our licensed mental health professionals we have here on staff, than you can also pay an additional fee to have an accommodation form filled out. Remember, that letter is what will protect your ESA under the Fair Housing Act. 

Airlines 

In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) offered new upcoming guidance on changes made to the classification of Emotional Support Animals. Under the DOT’s new rules airlines are no longer required to recognize emotional support animals as service animals. It allows airlines, for the first time, to recognize emotional support animals (ESA’s) as pets. In short ESA’s are no longer a protected class of animal in the US with regards to flying. However, the DOT did note that airlines may choose to continue to transport emotional support animals without charge at their discretion. Since airlines are constantly adopting new rules, ESA Registration recommends you contact your airline directly to determine if ESA’s are allowed on the flight free of charge.