Emotional Support Animal Letter PDF 2005-2024 Form

Depends on where you are, but in California a mental health professional should provide a letter stating the need for the emotional support animal, why they are needed, the name the animal(s), and their contact information.Additionally, if for a place to live, they may have additional paperwork they want filled out for emotional support animals.

You can qualify for an emotional support dog online.The only way to legally represent your pet as an emotional support dog is to get in contact with a licensed mental health professional. Registering your dog as an emotional support animal is not required nor legally recognized and you will be turned away from apartments and airlines.Since service dog are specially trained to provide a service for their owner, they are allowed in public places with their owners. Emotional support dogs are not required to be trained like service dogs, but they are allowed on planes and housing situations. Emotional support dogs are not allowed in restaurants, businesses, hospitals, or other areas where pets are not allowed.An ESA provides comfort and support to their owners with mental disabilities. The ESA may be able to calm an owner with a panic attack or alleviate the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Emotional support animals can be almost any speices of animals. Dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, pigs, or even squirrels can be emotional support animals. Please remember that you will need to follow local laws that restrict the types of animals that you can own.The steps to “registering” your dog as an emotional support dog is quite simple.Talk to a licensed mental health professional in person or onlineHave your therapist write you an ESA letter for housing and/or travelPresent your ESA letter to the housing administrator or airline attendantLive in comfort and peace!Emotional support dogs can live and travel with their owners, but they must be wellbehaved and not cause damages to property or persons. If you believe that emotional support dog will benefit your life, talk to your therapist or connect with one online.ESA Doctors Questionnaire | Qualifying Your Animal

The law does not require you the registration or certification of an emotional support animal on ANY type of online registry. The only “certification” that is required is an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional. The ESA letter must be on your therapist’s official letterhead and must address your need for an ESA. Your ESA letter must also include your therapist’s licensing information and some airlines will require the therapist’s phone number.You must renew your ESA letter one year from the date of receiving your letter in order to be valid. The Air Carrier Access Act requires a letter dated within 365 days in order for you to fly with your emotional support animal. Some airlines, ie. American Airlines, United Airlines, etc. will require an additional document that they provide to be filled out by your therapist.Make sure that your ESA is well behaved. Out of control emotional support animals are subject to denial from both housing and airlines.Summary:Registration is not required for your emotional support animalGet your ESA letter from a licensed mental health professionalESA letter must be on official letterhead of therapistLicensing information must be on the letterESA letter must be dated within one year of travel date to flyYour ESA must be well behaved or the landlord or airline can deny your emotional support animalTo see if you qualify for an emotional support animal, contact your current therapist or connect with one online.

In the US, Emotional Support Animals (ESA) have no special skills nor training. They provide comfort just by being there. It is responsible that you teach the dog at least basic levels of obedience of you’re going to keep it in an apartment or other housing where it might interact with others who live there. If you want to take the dog on flights with you, for the safety of the animal and those around it, you should have properly socialized the animal in addition to basic obedience. I am not an expert on ESA regulations for airlines (governed by the Air Carrier Access Act, ACAA) since I have a Service Dog, so someone else hopefully chime in if I leave something out or misstate something. But, of you need a dog for emotional support of anxiety or something, it would be advisable to have that animal properly socialized so that it doesn’t get stressed or anxious in that very stressful environment (new people, sound, smells, confinement, etc). I don’t see how a stressed, anxious, fearful or aggressive dog can help provide emotional support for the handler - so everyone is better off if one prepares the dog as much as possible for flying.As for documentation, the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and ACAA allow for landlords and airlines to require medical documentation for the need for an ESA. So while no specific skills (other than the recommended obedience) are required, you’ll need to get a care provider involved if you don’t own your own home or if you want to fly (and in some cases of owning your own home if you live in multi-tenant dwellings such as a condo complex or other areas where ESA would be walked on community property, etc)If one truly needs an ESA to mitigate a mental health issue, the best first step is talking to the care provider to see if they’re on board, believes the individual has the capacity to take care of the animal, if the animal will provide the desired outcome, etc. If one already has an animal and wants it “certified” as an ESA, there isn’t a certification, but you will need your care provider to provide documentation for housing/flying. If you don’t live in a situation that requires documentation for housing and aren’t flying, just love on your animal and let your animal love on you.Note: for some reason I’d read the initial post as asking how a dog became an ESA. So, I used “dog” in many instances where I should have used “animal.” Sorry to assume you meant a dog. I don’t feel well enough to edit, so just mentally replace “animal” for the word “dog” except in my reference to a Service Dog. Also note, for flying, airlines are cracking down on ESAs, mostly in terms of not permitting “unusual” species, but also in other ways. So, make sure you contact the airline before arriving at the airport to ensure you have met all their requirements and can fly with your ESA

As a licensed mental health counselor who has extensively researched this, written and presented on the topic, and provided these assessments and letters, I’d like to share some very important information about your question. Some of the existing responses are incomplete or incorrect.Many people mistake or misuse references to their animals, and they may also not understand the legal rights of the different classifications of animals. For an overview of the differences of service, therapy, and support animals, read my magazine column “Service and Therapy and Support Animals, Oh My!” here: Quality Counseling & Psychotherapy | Winter Springs | Central Florida. You can also find more detailed information in my blog post at: http://www.stoneccs.com/single-p...Legally, Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) only have special rights to be in your primary residence (where you live) and possibly travel with you on airplanes, provided the animal and destination meet requirements. ESAs are also permitted in other places that are considered “pet friendly,” such as some restaurant patios who choose to allow that. If you are looking to have the animal go with you elsewhere, that is unlikely to happen unless you seek a service animal (if that’s the case, the rest of this response does not apply and a different response will be needed).Registries and such you find listed at the top of search results will do you little good. There is no centralized registry for emotional support animals. Registries are voluntary/elective and don’t really do you any good.You may find some websites that say they’ll send you a letter for your animal to become classified as an ESA if you pay them a fee. In many cases, those who would request the ESA letter (e.g., airline, landlord) have recognized the number of letters they receive from these companies and surmised that they’re illegitimate since they do not show you are under any sort of mental health care or treatment plan. Additionally, many people have a misconception about the rights of ESAs and have gone the route of the online letter just to have their animal classified as an ESA when they may not have a diagnosed mental health disability; this undermines the purpose of ESAs for people with legitimate mental health needs. I highly discourage you from going that route.For a legitimate letter, you’ll need documentation of the following (at minimum) from a licensed mental health provider (e.g., licensed counselor, licensed social worker, psychologist, psychiatrist):A diagnosed mental health condition;A description of the treatment you have received for that condition and your response to treatment (i.e., if it helpful);Treatment dates;A description of how the Emotional Support Animal will support you in alleviating or reducing your symptoms or allowing you to better function on a daily basis; andAn evaluation on your fitness to be able to provide appropriate care for the animal.It is my policy that I will not provide letters for clients unless I have had at least 3 appointments with them, or who can provide me with records from prior mental health treatment. The reason for this are:I want to uphold the purpose of ESAs and not freely hand letters out to just anyone (and, believe me, I have had people I’ve never met before knock on the door and ask for a letter!);I want the recipient of the letter to see that you have had legitimate evaluation, diagnosis, and have begun/continued treatment for your mental health condition; andIn reality, an ESA alone is not going to resolve your mental health concerns. The animal will only help alleviate some of the symptoms or provide general comfort. In order to truly feel better or have sustainable progress toward better mental health, you need to participate in treatment with a mental health provider.I hope this helps and please feel free to contact me with any additional questions you may have!

Thanks for asking me to answer this question! I have researched Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) and have been asked how they help people with mental health conditions.ESAs are a newer thing and the popularity is spreading like wildfire, largely due to misconceptions of what ESAs are and the legal rights they have, as well as pay-for-letter or registry websites that are popping up left and right. For a basic overview of the differences of service, therapy, and support animals, view my magazine article, “Service and Therapy and Support Animals, Oh My!” at Quality Counseling & Psychotherapy | Winter Springs | Central FloridaGiven that the ESA classification is newer, little reliable and valid scientific research is available on the efficacy of ESAs. There have been some studies that have shown pets can have an effect on neurotransmitters that lead to positive feelings, and other studies have shown a reduction of stress hormones. There have been few studies specifically on ESAs and the studies have not been validated and results are not generalizable.As a pet lover, I can say that I personally know the positive effects pets can have on our lives. Isn’t it nice to come home to an animal who shows excitement when we open the door, who doesn’t interrupt or argue when we need to get something out, or who provides us with unconditional love?As a licensed mental health provider, I have seen the anecdotal positive effects ESAs can have with clients. For instance, a client with depression could have difficulty finding a reason to or feeling motivation for getting out of bed in the morning. A dog who is persistent will usually motivate (or annoy) the owner enough for them to get out of bed to let the dog out or take the dog for a walk. Another example couple be for a client who has anxiety; petting an animal can be grounding, soothing, and support regulation of breathing. Each person’s experience will be unique.Wondering how to get an ESA letter? Check out one of my other answers here: Rebecca Stone's answer to How do I find a doctor who will prescribe an emotional support animal (ESA)?I hope this helps!

An emotional support animal (ESA) is a person's pet that has been prescribed by a person's licensed therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist (any licensed mental hEvalth professional).

In order to get a valid emotional support animal letter, it needs to come from a licensed mental hEvalth professional. Licensed mental hEvalth professionals include psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, licensed professional counselors, and other licensed therapists.

The cost for a renewal assessment and issuance of an ESA prescriptive letter for flying valid for one (1) year is $95.

An emotional support animal (ESA) is a person's pet that has been prescribed by a person's licensed therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist (any licensed mental hEvalth professional).

In order to get a valid emotional support animal letter, it needs to come from a licensed mental hEvalth professional. Licensed mental hEvalth professionals include psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, licensed professional counselors, and other licensed therapists.