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Your letter contains information to establish that you have a qualifying mental or emotional health condition and that an ESA would alleviate symptoms of that condition. The letter does not have to reveal details about the diagnosis or severity of your condition.

Landlords can’t request medical records or a medical examination. The letter needs to be signed and dated by a licensed healthcare professional. The letter should also contain your professional’s licensing and contact information so your landlord can verify their credentials.

You gain the following rights under federal ESA laws:

• Ability to live in residential buildings that typically do not allow pets
• Exemption from pet rent, fees, and deposits
• Exemption from breed, size and weight restrictions

If you qualified for an ESA letter, you don’t need to get a certificate, license, ID card or vest. The only thing needed to qualify for an emotional support animal is that letter. The process is simple and straightforward – get started here!

No, you do not need to register your ESA and that has been confirmed by HUD in its housing rules. Registering an ESA does not give you any additional legal protections or benefits. If your landlord asks to see proof of ESA registration you can tell them that under ESA guidelines they are only allowed to ask for your ESA letter as confirmation.

No, you cannot bring your support animal into restaurants, hotels, grocery stores and other places as it only grants housing rights in residential buildings like apartments and dormitories. Hotels are not obligated to accommodate ESAs, but some will do so anyway as a courtesy. Airbnb will accept ESAs.

The people qualified to write an ESA letter are healthcare professionals licensed for your state that can evaluate your mental health. That includes professionals such as psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, social workers, and licensed counselors, among others. Physicians can certainly write ESA letters, but most ESA letters are not from physicians, nor are they required to be. They usually are written by therapists and mental health counselors. We save you from the work of finding someone and match you with a professional licensed in your state – start here.

You can definitely get an ESA letter online! Federal guidelines acknowledge that healthcare professionals can work with you remotely. Remote online therapists are important for individuals who have difficulty finding a therapist in person, have limited financial means, have scheduling difficulties due to school, work, or family obligations, or have phobias or anxieties about seeking help in person.

ESA letters for housing technically don’t expire, but some landlords will insist on a more recently dated letter if the letter they are given is very old. If your therapist hasn’t seen or evaluated you in over a year, they may not validate that you still need an ESA if your landlord checks. If your letter is a few years old, get a new one here.

You can adopt an ESA before or after obtaining your ESA letter. Your ESA can also be your existing animal companion. The ESA letter will make a recommendation for the number and type of ESA (i.e., dog, cat, bird) but not for the specific animal you will use. Regardless of whether you already have an ESA, you can see if you would qualify for an emotional support animal. here.

Yes, one letter can cover all of your emotional support animals, you don’t need separate letters for each. The licensed professionals we work with are prepared to handle these kinds of cases – get matched with one here.

No, HUD guidelines made clear that ESA letters do not have to be notarized. It is enough to have the healthcare professionals sign the letter. In addition, healthcare professionals do not have to make statements under penalty of perjury in the letter. These rules were designed to prevent landlords from putting up unnecessary additional obstacles for tenants who requesting reasonable accommodations. 

No, you don’t need a hard copy of your ESA letter as digital copies will contain the same information and your landlord or HOA will be able to reach the therapist using the contact information in the letter. You do not need an original or “wet ink” signature.