Get Your Psychiatric Service Dog Letter

The difference between a PSD letter and an ESA letter depends on whether you need a service dog vs. an emotional support animal. An ESA letter is right for you if you want your pet to be an emotional support animal. An ESA letter gives you the right to live with your dog, cat, bird, guinea pig or other small pet in no-pet housing. PSD letters on the other hand are obtained by people interested in qualifying for psychiatric service dogs.

A PSD letter contains a healthcare professional’s opinion that you have a qualifying ADA mental health disability for a psychiatric service dog. It does not however have to reveal your specific diagnosis or the severity of your condition. As a PSD handler, your rights are protected by the Fair Housing Act (housing), the ADA (public access), and the Air Carrier Access Act (air travel).

The letter will be signed and dated by a licensed healthcare professional with their license and contact information so their credentials can be verified.

PSD letters are not required under the ADA, but they can be a helpful optional tool just like ID cards, tags and vests.. There’s no legal obligation to get a PSD letter as a service dog handler, and PSD letters don’t confer legal rights. However, to qualify for a psychiatric service dog, a person must have an ADA-qualifying disability. A PSD letter from a licensed healthcare professional serves as backup documentation that the handler has met that requirement.

Having a psychiatric service dog gives you many legal rights, but a PSD letter itself does not directly give you those rights. To fully qualify for a psychiatric service dog, you need not only an ADA-eligible disability but a dog that has been task trained to perform a job or task relating to a disability. Once you’re fully qualified, you have the right to live in residential buildings that typically do not allow pets, air travel rights, and public access rights if you can verbally confirm you’ve met ADA requirements.

You do not need a certificate, license, ID card, or vest for your PSD; these are all considered service dog paraphernalia. A PSD letter is also optional but it gives PSD handlers documentation regarding their condition. No one can demand to see a PSD letter, certificate, license, ID card, or vest as a condition for granting access to a service dog.

Yes, you can take your psychiatric service dog to grocery stores, restaurants and hotels. PSDs can accompany their owners to businesses and public areas where pets are normally not allowed. They must also be accommodated free of charge, meaning that a hotel or airline can’t charge an extra fee just because you have a service dog.

You can be confident that your PSD letter was written by someone qualified if it comes from a licensed healthcare provider who understands mental health evaluations, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, doctor, social worker, nurse, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, social worker, or counselor. ESA Doctors works with a range of licensed professionals that are able to handle PSD letter evaluations

You can get a PSD letter before or after adopting your dog, but you will not be fully qualified as a service dog handler until your dog is trained to perform a job or task directly relating to your disability.

No, you don’t need a hardcopy of your PSD letter. You will get a digital copy of your PSD letter, which you can use immediately. You do not need an original or “wet ink” signature on your PSD letter.