What is an emotional support animal?

Use it as a map. Each section links to a longer page on this site, and each one says where the rules stop and a licensed professional, or an attorney, takes over. We wrote it from our own policies and from the public rules we cite, nothing more.

What is an emotional support animal?

An emotional support animal is a pet that helps a person with a mental health condition through companionship and comfort. People often mention anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social phobias, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and loneliness and isolation. Those are the main reasons listed on our order form.

The key point is that an ESA is not required to be trained to perform specific tasks. The animal's role is the comfort it provides. That one fact separates an ESA from a service dog, and most of the rules below follow from it.

Whether a particular person qualifies for an ESA letter is not something a website can decide. A licensed professional makes that decision after talking with you.

How an ESA differs from a service dog

A service dog is trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. An emotional support animal is not. That difference matters in practice, because the law treats the two differently.

California's AB 468 puts the limit in writing. Documentation from a licensed professional that an animal qualifies as an emotional support animal does not entitle the animal to the rights and privileges that the law gives a guide, signal or service dog. The same law warns against falsely presenting an animal as a guide, signal or service dog. We repeat that disclaimer in our terms and in the footer of every page.

So when someone says an ESA can go anywhere a service dog can, treat that as a red flag. It is not what an ESA letter provides.

What is a psychiatric service dog?

A psychiatric service dog (PSD) is a service dog. Under the Department of Transportation's December 2020 rule, psychiatric service dogs are treated as service animals for air travel, and emotional support animals are not. That is the reason we sell travel letters for PSD travel, and housing letters as the ESA product.

If you are not sure which fits your situation, a licensed professional can talk it through with you in the consultation. You can also ask in Live Support how our packages are set up. We cannot choose for you, and we cannot give legal or medical advice.

Housing and the Fair Housing Act

The Fair Housing Act requires housing providers to consider reasonable-accommodation requests for assistance animals, including emotional support animals. In January 2020, HUD issued guidance, notice FHEO-2020-01, that describes what documentation a housing provider may ask for.

Two cautions. First, "consider" does not mean "approve every request." Providers make their own decisions under the law. Second, we cannot guarantee that a landlord will accept our letter. Terms section 9.2 says so directly: we cannot guarantee that landlords, airlines and others will understand and abide by the relevant statutes and regulations.

Our housing page goes through this in more detail, including what happens to your fee if a landlord refuses our letter.

Air travel after 2020

The Department of Transportation issued a rule in December 2020, 14 CFR Part 382, in force since January 2021. Airlines are no longer required to treat emotional support animals as service animals. Psychiatric service dogs are still service animals.

Airlines set their own policies, so check with yours before you fly. Our travel page covers what the Travel Package includes and what to do if an airline refuses a letter.

What is an ESA letter?

An ESA letter is a signed document from a licensed mental health professional. In our process it arrives on the provider's letterhead, after a phone consultation, and only if the professional decides you qualify. It is delivered as a digital download.

The letter is what a housing provider may ask to see, according to HUD's guidance. A travel letter is the PSD version for air travel. Each is written by the licensed professional, not by us.

Keep your letter, the handler name and the pet registration number together. If a landlord, airline or hotel refuses your entry and you ask for a refund, the policy asks for the handler name and the registration number, plus the address, phone number and employee name of the business that refused you. Having those details ready saves a round of emails.

Does registering an animal make it an ESA?

No. Registering an animal does not by itself make it an emotional support animal. Each of our packages includes automatic activation of your registration on the National ESA Directory (ESAC), and that registration is separate from the letter.

If a site promises that an ID card or a certificate alone is enough, read the fine print. The letter from a licensed professional, and the law that applies to your situation, are what matter.

How the process works here

1. Start the questionnaire. You give the handler's name, email, phone number and ZIP code, your package, how many pets you have, and your main reason for asking.
2. Connect with a licensed therapist. A therapist licensed for your state contacts you and holds the consultation.
3. Get your letter. If you qualify, you receive your signed letter on your provider's letterhead.

The how it works page has each step in detail.

What a letter does not do

• It does not make an ESA a service dog.
• It does not guarantee that a landlord, airline or hotel will accept it.
• It is not medical advice, and we are not a law firm.
• It does not exist unless a licensed professional decides you qualify.

Questions to ask any ESA letter provider

Whoever you buy from, a few questions separate a careful service from a careless one.

• Does a licensed professional decide? A website cannot decide whether you qualify. A form that approves everyone is a warning sign.
• Is the professional licensed for your state? We connect you with a therapist licensed for your state.
• Will you talk to the professional? Our process includes a phone consultation.
• Is the refund policy in writing? Ours is on the refund policy page, including the cases where no refund applies.
• What does the provider promise about acceptance? If a provider promises that every landlord or airline will say yes, it is promising something no one controls.

You can hold us to the same list.

Costs and refunds

There are six packages in two service tiers. Basic costs $109 for the Travel Package, $154 for the ESA Housing & Travel Package and $109 for the ESA Housing Letter. Premium costs $200, $254 and $200. These are one-time prices; the pricing page lists what each package includes.

The refund policy has specific rules. A full refund applies if a landlord, airline or hotel refuses your entry because of our letter, if nobody contacts you within two business days after a therapist is assigned, or for a duplicate charge. If the therapist declines, the partial refund is $60 for one letter and $75 for two. A $35 administration fee applies if you ask for a refund before the consultation. Letters are final once you have had a consultation or received an approval. Read the full policy before you order.

Where to ask more

The FAQ answers 30 common questions. For something specific to your order, use Live Support, email [email protected], or call (844) 442-2234, Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 10 PM Pacific.