Paperwork for an Emotional Support Animal Made Easy | Bring Your Furry Friend Home

Emotional support animals (ESAs) are more than typical pets—if they help you cope with a mental health condition, they have special rights that let them live with you even in housing with strict pet restrictions. But to make sure your landlord honors these rights without issue, you’ll need to provide the correct paperwork for an emotional support animal as proof.

However, when sniffing around for these papers, it’s easy to get buried under a mountain of shady “instant certificates” and official-sounding scams. To help you figure it all out, we’ll show you what paperwork you really need to avoid hiccups—or worse, eviction.

What Emotional Support Animal Paper Do You Need?

If you can prove your pet is an ESA, you can enjoy certain housing protections under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), including:

• Living with your ESA even in properties with a strict no-pets policy
• Exemption from pet deposits, pet rent, or additional pet-related fees
• Protection against breed, size, or weight restrictions imposed by landlords

The only piece of documentation that legally backs up your animal friend’s status and gives you these benefits is a legitimate ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional (LMHP).

Who Can Sign Off on an Emotional Support Animal Letter?

For your paperwork to hold up under verification, it must be written by a properly qualified:

• Psychiatrist
• Psychologist
• Social worker
• Primary care doctor
• Nurse practitioner
• Licensed professional counselor (LPC)
• Licensed therapist
• Licensed clinical social worker (LCSW)

These professionals must conduct a proper clinical evaluation (either in-person or via a video call) and assess whether you have a mental health condition outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) that substantially limits your life activities.

In addition to diagnosing you, they’ll also consider whether you’ll really benefit from bringing in an ESA. That’s because while your condition may qualify you for an ESA, it doesn’t mean this is the right treatment option for you—that’s up to the professionals to decide. 

Essential Elements of a Valid ESA Letter

To be legally valid and accepted by landlords, your ESA letter must contain the following elements:

• The LMHP’s official letterhead and contact information
• Their license number, National Provider Identifier (NPI) number, state of licensure, and professional title
• Date of issue
• A statement confirming you have a qualifying mental or emotional disability (specific diagnosis disclosure is not required)
• Explanation of how the ESA helps alleviate your symptoms
• LMHP’s signature

Also, your LMHP must be licensed and actively practicing in your state. This isn’t just a legal whim—in addition to the FHA, which provides federal ESA protections, there are also state-specific regulations your provider needs to know and adhere to when penning your letter. For example, states like California and Louisiana require a prior patient-provider relationship of at least 30 days before you can get your paperwork and be on your way.

Landlords can nose around to verify the authenticity of your ESA letter, which is why it’s important to get all these elements right. If you present an incomplete or fake ESA letter, your landlord is well within their rights to reject it.

Common Misconceptions About ESA Documentation

When it comes to designating their pets as ESAs, many prospective ESA owners are faced with a sea of conflicting information, leaving them confused about where to turn for legitimate ESA recognition.

To avoid missing out on great housing opportunities just because of a misunderstanding, check out some of the most common ESA misconceptions that might have you chasing your tail:

1. Emotional support animal vs. service animal documentation
2. Certificates, registrations, and DIY ESA letters

Emotional Support Animal vs. Service Animal Documentation

Many ESA owners mistakenly believe their emotional companions have the same rights as service animals, and that getting some kind of document that says their pet is a service animal will protect them at all times.

However, ESAs are supposed to provide emotional comfort primarily in your home—they don’t have guaranteed public access to restaurants, stores, or flights. Service animals, on the other paw, are trained specifically to perform tasks for people with disabilities, and they enjoy broad public access rights.

Nailing down the difference between these types of assistance animals helps you get the right paperwork for your ESA and avoid potential issues. For example, misrepresenting your furry buddy as a service animal is illegal in some states and could lead to legal headaches you don’t need.

Here’s a brief overview of the main features to easily tell these assistance animals apart:

Certificates, Registrations, and DIY ESA Letters

When googling the documentation needed for an emotional support animal, you’ll probably stumble upon countless offers for free ESA registrations, instant certificates, or letters you can make by yourself in minutes. 

But while these deals seem like fetching bargains, these documents carry no legal weight—and for various reasons:

1. There’s no official ESA registry or certification database that your cuddly companion needs to be in
2. Valid ESA letters require an actual professional evaluation, so you can’t just write one yourself. While there are some legitimate ESA templates online, these are meant only as a reference for real professionals to build upon
3. The professional’s expertise and time that a legit ESA letter requires cost money, so valid paperwork will never be free or extremely cheap

Using fake documentation can come back to bite you with eviction, fines or legal action in states like Florida, and a potentially damaged rental history, so tread lightly around these offers.

How To Get Legit Documentation for an Emotional Support Animal

There are two main ways to obtain legit ESA paperwork—the traditional in-person route and the increasingly popular online process.

The traditional route involves scheduling an appointment, visiting a mental health professional in their office, and undergoing an evaluation. While it’s generally reliable, this approach is usually time-consuming, costly, and inconvenient—especially if you have a busy schedule or don’t want to leave your fluffy BFF alone while you’re running these errands.

That’s why the online route is a great alternative. It connects you with LMHPs in your state quickly and effortlessly, allowing you to complete the required clinical consultation via a convenient video call. Plus, most services provide the letter digitally within 24–48 hours, reducing the traditional wait times by a lot.

And while there are some scams lurking online, you can easily sidestep them and still reap all the benefits of an online letter by choosing a reliable remote provider like Your Service Animal.

Get Your Official Emotional Support Animal Document With Your Service Animal

With Your Service Animal, you won’t have to deal with the headaches of getting ESA paperwork. The service makes the process fast and effortless, guiding you from start to finish—no confusing forms, no shady shortcuts, and absolutely no fake paw prints.

The platform connects you with vetted LMHPs in your state who can evaluate your needs and (if appropriate) issue an ESA letter that’s fully compliant with all the relevant federal and state laws.

Here’s what makes Your Service Animal a top dog in the ESA space:

What the Process Looks Like

If you’re ready to get started, here’s how the process of getting an ESA letter with Your Service Animal works:

1. Find out if you’re a good fit for an ESA letter with our online quiz
2. Schedule an online appointment with a licensed mental health practitioner in your state
3. Attend the online call and receive your ESA letter if clinically appropriate
4. Receive a full refund if the therapist doesn’t issue an ESA letter or your landlord rejects your letter