Emotional Support Animal Requirements

Getting your pet to become an emotional support animal is easier than you might think! Despite recent changes in the way ESAs laws are being enforced, designating your pet as an ESA is still straightforward. You just need to train your ESA to respond to the symptom(s) of your disability. You can train your ESA yourself, even if your ESA already naturally responds to the symptoms of your disability. The laws were written to be as expansive as possible to make it easy for people with disabilities to have assistance animals.  

Here’s a simple list of what makes an animal qualify as an emotional support animal:

• Your animal responds when you experience symptoms from your physical or mental disability
• You have an ESA letter for housing
• Your animal isn’t a danger to others
• Your animal is a typical household pet 
• Your animal is legal to own where you live

Detailed Requirements for Emotional Support Animals

For an animal to qualify as an ESA, it needs to meet certain requirements that focus both on how the animal helps you and how it behaves around others:

• Helps with emotional symptoms
  Your animal needs to help you feel better when you’re dealing with feelings like sadness, worry, or fear. This could mean making you feel calmer by interrupting anxiety or panic attacks, helping you stick to daily routines such as reminding you to take your medicine, or giving you a reason to get out of bed on hard days.
  
• Doesn’t scare or hurt other people
  Your emotional support animal can’t be aggressive or dangerous to others. If your animal growls, bites, or acts in ways that make other residents in your building feel unsafe, it won’t qualify as an ESA.
  
• Doesn’t break things or make big messes
  While all animals might have accidents sometimes, your ESA shouldn’t chew through walls or cause expensive damage to where you live.
  
• Behaves well enough that others aren’t bothered too much
  Your animal doesn’t need perfect behavior, but it shouldn’t bark all night, run wild in public spaces, or create problems that would make it very hard for others to live near you.
  
• Is a legal pet where you live
  You can’t own an animal that is illegal to own in your city, county, or state. For example, in some places, it’s illegal to keep certain types of snakes or birds. Those animals can’t be ESAs in those areas.
  

Where These ESA Requirements Come From

The rules about what animals qualify as emotional support animals come from HUD’s housing rules. These guidelines lay out the following: 

• What documentation is needed (a letter from a mental health professional)
• What types of animals can qualify (common domestic animals vs. unusual species)
• When a landlord might be allowed to deny an ESA request because of the animal’s behavior

HUD’s rules try to find a fair balance between protecting people who truly need animals for mental health support, considering the needs of housing providers and other residents, and ensuring safety and reasonable accommodations for everyone

Common Animals That Make Great ESAs

While almost any domesticated animal can qualify as an emotional support animal, some types are more common than others. Here’s a look at popular ESA choices and why they work well for many people:

Dogs

Dogs are the most common emotional support animals for many good reasons:

• They form strong bonds with their owners
• They can sense mood changes and often respond to distress
• Walking them provides exercise and gets you outdoors
• Many breeds are naturally affectionate and attentive

Example: Brian has depression that sometimes makes it hard for him to get out of bed. His golden retriever, Max, needs morning walks and feeding, which gives Brian a reason to get up even on difficult days. Max also seems to sense when Brian is feeling down and place a paw on him or lick him, providing and will often come to sit beside him, providing comfort in response to Brian’s symptoms.

Check out our guide on some of the best dog breeds for emotional support animals. 

Cats

Cats make excellent ESAs, especially for people who:

• Live in smaller spaces
• Have less energy for active play
• Enjoy quiet companionship
• Need an animal that’s more independent

Example: Sophia has social anxiety and finds large gatherings overwhelming. Her cat, Luna, comforts her when she returns home stressed from social situations. Luna likewise responds to Sophia’s symptoms and lays on Sophia’s chest or lap, allowing Sophia to pet her fur and listen to her purr. These actions help Sophia’s racing heart slow down. Since cats don’t need walks, Sophia doesn’t have to go outside when she’s feeling particularly anxious.

Small Animals

Many small animals such as guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, and hamsters are not automatically excluded from being emotional support animals. However, under HUD’s current federal enforcement guidance, comfort or companionship alone is not enough: the animal must be individually trained to perform work or tasks related to the person’s disability. Whether a particular animal meets that standard depends on what it has been trained to do. State housing laws may provide additional protections for animals that have not received task training.

Birds

Some birds can learn specific behaviors that help a person respond to symptoms of a disability. For example, Elena has PTSD and sometimes experiences flashbacks. She has trained her cockatiel, Sunny, to perch on her hand when she gives him a particular signal. Focusing on that familiar, practiced interaction helps Elena ground herself in the present. Sunny’s trained response gives Elena a specific way to ground herself during a flashback, illustrating the disability-related assistance HUD’s current enforcement guidance calls for.

Other Animals

Requests involving less common animals, such as reptiles or pot-bellied pigs, require careful, individual consideration. Under HUD’s current enforcement guidance, the animal must be trained to perform work or tasks related to the person’s disability. A request for an unusual animal may also need to explain why that animal is necessary for the particular accommodation sought.

Examples of Animals That Can’t Be ESAs

Not every animal can qualify as an emotional support animal, even if it makes you feel better. Here are some types of animals that typically don’t qualify, with examples of why:

Animals Not Commonly Kept as Household Pets

Wild and exotic animals, such as deer, raccoons, large snacks, or other wild animals as an ESA because they aren’t meant to live with people.

Example: Jamie loved feeding the squirrels in her backyard and wanted an ESA because watching them made her happy. However, wild squirrels aren’t allowed as ESAs because they might bite people, carry diseases, or destroy homes. They’re also not used to living indoors with humans, which would be stressful for them.

Wild animals often carry diseases that can spread to humans, and they typically don’t adapt well to living in homes. This is both a safety issue and an animal welfare concern.

“Barnyard” animals such as horses or chickens may sometimes qualify as a service animal (some exceptions are made under the ADA for miniature horses), or an ESA. However, given the new guidance, it all depends on whether the animal is trained to respond to a symptom of the owner’s disability. Chickens are a prime example of possible ESAs who may be permitted despite local zoning laws banning them. But, animals who are not commonly kept in households have an additional burden of proof that that animal is necessary to respond to a condition of a disability versus an animal that is commonly kept as a household pet. 

When an Animal Poses a Safety Risk

A housing provider cannot deny an emotional support animal simply because its breed or species is perceived as dangerous. The provider must assess the particular animal using reliable, objective evidence of a direct threat to others’ health or safety, or a substantial risk of damage to others’ property. For example, a pit bull cannot be rejected solely because it is a pit bull.

Even when there is evidence of a risk, the provider must consider whether reasonable steps could reduce or eliminate it. An animal’s actual behavior or a documented health concern matters; a general fear of that type of animal is not enough.

Disruptive or “Nuisance” Animals

Pets that make too much noise or cause big problems for neighbors might not qualify as ESAs in certain living situations. These animals can be considered “nuisance” animals, and there are many city, county, and state laws, or HOA/COA rules, that prevent people from owning nuisance animals. 

Example: Sarah’s parrot can scream loudly for hours at a time. Even though the parrot helps Sarah feel less anxious by giving her company during the day, it might not qualify as an ESA in an apartment building with thin walls because the screaming bothers everyone else and makes it hard for them to sleep or work from home.

While landlords need to make accommodations for ESAs, they don’t have to accept situations that would cause a major disruption to other tenants’ ability to enjoy their homes. There needs to be a balance between your needs and the needs of others in shared living spaces.

Questions You Might Have About ESA Requirements:

“Does my pet need to be trained like a service dog?”

Yes. The updated Guidance issued by the Office of Fair Housing and Enforcement states that ESAs must now be trained. This is different from the previous Guidance. Now, ESAs must be trained to respond to a specific symptom(s) of your disability in order to receive federal protections. You can train your ESA yourself, you do not need to have professional training, and your training can encourage behaviors your animal already engages in. For example, if your cat already reacts to you when you have a panic attack, you can use positive reinforcement to encourage and thereby train your cat to continue responding to your panic attacks. 

Keep in mind that some states provide protections for ESAs and service animals -in-training, but the federal laws do not provide that protection. So be sure to check your state laws, as well. “Does my animal need to be a certain age to qualify as an ESA?”

No, there’s no age requirement for an emotional support animal. Both young and older animals can qualify. But again, because training is now required, if an animal is too young to be trained, keep that in mind when timing your request for accommodation. 

“Are certain dog breeds disqualified from being ESAs?”

No, emotional support animals aren’t restricted by breed. Any dog breed can qualify as an ESA as long as the individual animal is well-behaved and doesn’t pose a threat to others.

For example, even though Jamie’s apartment building normally has breed restrictions against pit bulls, they had to make an exception for his emotional support dog because breed restrictions don’t apply to legitimate ESAs under fair housing laws.

“Does my animal need a special certification test to be an ESA?”

No, emotional support animals don’t need to pass any certification tests or courses.

“Does my animal need to wear a special vest or ID tag to be identified as an ESA?”

No, emotional support animals are not required to wear special identification. Vests, harnesses, ID tags, or badges are not legally required, though some owners choose to use them.

“Does my animal need to be spayed or neutered to qualify as an ESA?”

No, emotional support animals are not required to be spayed or neutered, though this is often recommended or required by your city, county, or state f for health and behavioral reasons.

“Can my animal be disqualified from being an ESA if it barks or makes noise?”

An ESA can potentially be disqualified if it causes substantial disruption that cannot be mitigated, but occasional normal animal noises are generally acceptable. Check out our guide for what to do when your ESA barks. 

“Does my ESA need to have regular veterinary check-ups to maintain its status?”

While not legally required for ESA status, regular veterinary care is strongly recommended for your animal’s well-being and may be expected as part of responsible pet ownership.

“If my animal has a minor behavior issue, can it still be an ESA?”

Yes, minor behavior issues don’t disqualify an animal from being an ESA as long as the behavior doesn’t pose a threat to others or cause significant property damage.

For example, Emma’s cat occasionally scratched furniture, which is normal cat behavior. This didn’t prevent the cat from being her ESA. Emma provided scratching posts and regularly trimmed her cat’s claws to minimize damage.

“Can I have more than one ESA, or is there a limit?”

You can have more than one ESA if each animal provides different support for your condition and your mental health professional documents this need in their letter.

For example, Taylor’s therapist documented that both his dog and bird serve as ESAs for his depression in different ways. For example, the dog encourages physical activity while the bird provides distraction by whistling/singing during anxiety attacks. His housing provider had to accommodate both animals as a reasonable accommodation.

“Is my animal disqualified if it hasn’t lived with me for a long time?”

No, there’s no requirement for how long you need to have owned your ESA. A newly adopted animal can immediately become an ESA with proper documentation.

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