Everything to Know About Emotional Support Animals

• Medically reviewed by: Geralyn Dexter, PhD, LMHC
• Medically reviewed by: Andrea Brant, LMHC
• Legally reviewed by: Kristina Bergsten, Esquire

Your right to have an Emotional Support Animal is protected under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), which is a collection of federal laws and regulations. This Article will provide an overview on Emotional Support Animals. This will help you know what to say and how to properly protect yourself if you are facing discrimination by a landlord or housing provider when you request an accommodation for your ESA.

What is an Emotional Support Animal?

As of May 2026 HUD issued a new Guidance, Emotional Support Animals (ESA) are now defined as trained animals that provide therapeutic emotional support to owners with mental health disabilities, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, and other disorders diagnosed by a licensed medical professional.

Since there is no definition of “emotional support animal” or “assistance animal” in the Fair Housing Act (FHA), these definitions have been created over time from “Guidance” issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The new Guidance is saying that it would only review complaints related to ESAs if the ESA is trained to respond to a symptom of its owner’s disability. Therefore on a federal level, it means all Emotional Support Animals now require training.

Not All States

Some states, such as Colorado, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin, Louisiana (requiring therapeutic emotional support), and New Jersey, still maintain the original definition that an ESA only needs to provide comfort or support and does not need to be specifically trained. That means, if you live in a state that does not have its own law, your rights are governed by the FHA and any HUD Guidance and therefore must be trained.

Emotional Support Animals Qualifying Disabilities

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activity(ies). This can be found in Section 42 of the United States Code, §12102 (1-3). Major life activities are defined as:

• caring for oneself
• performing manual tasks
• seeing
• hearing
• eating
• sleeping
• walking
• standing
• lifting
• bending
• speaking
• breathing
• learning
• reading
• concentrating
• thinking
• communicating
• working
• the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to:
  • functions of the immune system
  • normal cell growth
  • digestive
  • bowel
  • bladder
  • neurological
  • brain
  • respiratory
  • circulatory
  • endocrine
  • and reproductive functions

This is not an exhaustive list; and, the ADA specifically states that the definition of “disability” must be “construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals.” That means that whether or not your physical or mental impairment qualifies as a disability is something that you can discuss with your medical provider because it varies from person to person. One person’s anxiety may not substantially impair a major life activity, while another person’s might.

Further, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”) made it clear that the definition of “disability” was to be applied broadly and without regard to whether a person’s symptoms were “episodic” (i.e., happening at intervals, or, “it comes and goes”), or relieved by things like medication, medical devices, behavioral or neurological modifications, and so on. The only exception is eyeglasses or contact lenses.
The recent changes in the way HUD and the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (“FHEO”) handle complaints against landlords for discrimination concerning your ESA make it important that you understand all the terms that will be used to evaluate you and your claim.

How Do I Know If I Qualify an Emotional Support Animal?

We get asked this question a lot. Unfortunately, there is no questionnaire or list of diagnoses that can tell you for certain whether you qualify for an emotional support animal. If you know you experience anxiety, depression, PTSD, or another mental or emotional health condition, it makes sense to seek support from a licensed medical provider to see if you qualify. Experiencing specific conditions and symptoms does not automatically mean you have a disability under the law. What matters is how your condition affects you and whether it substantially limits one or more major life activities.

While we discourage self-diagnosis, we do strongly encourage educating yourself about the ESA requirements so you can have an informed conversation with your healthcare provider. When you are ready, the best way to find out whether you qualify is to speak with a licensed healthcare professional who can evaluate your individual circumstances and determine whether you have a qualifying disability and disability-related need for an ESA.

What About Pet Fees and Deposits?

Since HUD’s May 2026 Guidance changed how the agency handles certain ESA complaints there has not yet been enough time to see how HUD and courts will apply that Guidance to every issue that may arise, including pet fees and deposits. We know that a trained ESA may still be entitled to a reasonable accommodation in housing even when a landlord has a no-pets policy. What is less clear under the new federal Guidance is whether, and under what circumstances, a housing provider may charge an individual a pet fee or deposit for an ESA. Until HUD provides additional clarification or courts have an opportunity to interpret the new Guidance, ESA owners should understand that this remains a developing area of law and that the answer may also depend on applicable state law and the individual circumstances. So while we know you must be granted reasonable accommodations for a trained ESA, we are uncertain if you have to pay pet fees and deposits in the coming years.

We do know, however, that it is illegal to charge pet fees and deposits for service dogs.

How to Properly Designate Your Animal as an Emotional Support Animal

Almost any household pet can be an emotional support animal, including dogs, cats, birds, fish, hamsters, and amphibians. Though, animals that are not commonly kept as household pets require further proof from the owner that that specific species is necessary to have as an ESA versus another animal.

If you want to officially call your pet an emotional support animal, you have to get an ESA letter from a licensed medical professional, which gives you legal rights for housing.

When Your Landlord Can Reject Your Emotional Support Animal

Even if you have an ESA letter, you pet must still be well-behaved and doesn’t do anything dangerous, like attack person or another animal on the property. Your landlord or housing provider has the right to ask you to remove your ESA if:

1. the dog is out of control and you do not take effective action to control it, or
2. the dog is not housebroken.

When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence. Therefore, it is important to always keep your assistance animal on a leash or properly contained and controlled, unless you have a valid medical reason not to have your animal leashed (such as mobility-related needs where a leash would interfere with your or your animal’s ability to move or respond to your movements).

Now that we have covered major terms and their definitions as they relate to changes in Emotional Support Animals, we will discuss your rights under the law and what is necessary to legally ensure your ESA properly designated.

The Legal Rights of Emotional Support Animals and Their Owners

Having a trained emotional support animal gives you housing rights under the federal Fair Housing Act. ESA laws give you the following protections:

• Protection against landlord discrimination
• Exemption from no-pet policies
• Exemption from breed, weight, and size restrictions
• Waiver of pet deposits and pet fees depending on your financial circumstances

To ensure these rights, you’ll need an ESA letter from a therapist or doctor licensed in your state. identifying that you have a disability and that your ESA ameliorates one or more of your symptoms. If you later move to another state, you’ll need to update your letter with a provider licensed for your new state. 

What Pets Can Be an Emotional Support Animal

According to HUD, an ESA can be any pet typically kept in the home. Some examples are dogs, cats, birds, fish, turtles, and hamsters. If you have a pet right now that you keep in your home, it can very likely become your emotional support animal! 

Animals you’re not allowed to have as ESAs are outdoor animals (like horses and cows) and “exotic” pets like snakes and hawks. You also can’t have ESAs that would create a safety or health issue for other tenants. For example, if you live in a small studio apartment, having 5 large and active German Shepherds is probably not going to be legally defensible, unless you have a medically documented need for all five German Shepherds. However, given such a large number of animals, it would be an uphill battle to convince a landlord or housing provider that you need all five; in some cases, it is better to “let sleeping dogs lie.”

Someone else’s allergies or fear of dogs cannot prevent you from having an ESA. Landlords cannot reject your ESA from housing unless they pose “a direct threat to the health or safety” of others, and allergies and/or generalized “fear” would not meet that criteria.

Ways to Prove Your Pet is an Emotional Support Animal

If you’re wondering how to get an emotional support animal or how you can legally call your existing pet an ESA, all you need is an up-to-date ESA letter that is signed by a medical professional. You can get an ESA letter if a licensed therapist or doctor believes your depression, anxiety, learning disorder, or other condition limits one or more major life activity and your animal is trained to respond to the symptoms of your diagnosis.

For example, if you just had a tough exam season at school and are temporarily anxious, that’s not enough to qualify for an ESA letter. But, if you’re frequently depressed or anxious, and it gets in the way of your ability to work or study, that is a valid reason to get an ESA. 

There’s no need for emotional support animal registration or an ESA certification. A signed ESA letter from a state-licensed health professional is all you need to prove that you have a real emotional support animal. If your landlord questions your ESA, all you need to do is show them a copy of your letter – they can’t ask for anything else. 

Emotional Support Animals versus Service Dogs

Most service dogs also serve as emotional support animals, but most ESAs are not service animals, as service animals can only be dogs with specialized training. Service dogs, for example, may detect blood sugar running low or help guide a person with a mobility impairment, while an emotional support animal better can be any species of commonly kept household pet, and must be trained to respond to a symptom of your disability. ESAs cannot accompany you out in public, like to the library or grocery store, or on the bus.

There are many legal differences between a service animal vs emotional support animal, animal, though recent HUD Guidance on that has narrowed the difference considerably. The main one is that service dogs are covered by the ADA, which gives them access rights to places like restaurants, stores, hotels, and airplanes, whereas ESAs only have housing rights. 

One type of service dog, a psychiatric service dog (PSD), is similar to an emotional support animal in that it helps with mental health issues but has training to perform a job. For example, a PSD during a panic attack can be trained to actively respond to the handler by bringing medication or providing a comforting paw. 

The documentation process for ESAs and service dogs is also different. You need an ESA letter for an emotional support animal, while you don’t need a letter for a psychiatric service dog dog; though, it is best practices to make sure your need for a service animal is medically documented.

However, you can consider a PSD letter if your goal is to have a psychiatric service dog. 

Where ESAs Can Go

Emotional support animals have the right to live in your home, even if your building or lease has a no-pets provision, but there are some misunderstandings about where emotional support animals can go.  

ESAs can’t enter stores, restaurants, and other public venues that ban pets. Many progressive businesses, however, will allow you to bring your ESA in if you just ask, even though they aren’t obligated to do so legally. Unfortunately, ESAs can’t board airplanes free of charge (although they can if they meet the airline’s standard pet policy).

If you live in a no-pets building, you have the right to access common areas with your ESA as well as your apartment or unit. This means you can use the lobby, elevators, stairways, gardens, and pool areas. 

How Many Emotional Support Animals You Can Have

You are not limited to just having one emotional support animal since you might have separate ESAs for different needs, like having an enthusiastic emotional support dog that alleviates depressive moods and an emotional support cat that keeps anxiety at bay, so long as they are trained to detect and respond to these symptoms.

If your therapist or doctor agrees that having more than one ESA can help you, they can recommend all of them in your ESA letter. If you have an ESA and adopt another one later, you’ll need the person who wrote your ESA letter to add them to your letter. 

While there’s no technical limit to how many emotional support animals you can have, you must have an actual mental or emotional health need for each one. And, you have to be able to comfortably and safely accommodate them in your living space. They can’t create a nuisance or health hazard for your neighbors.