What to Know About Emotional Support Animals

Want a pet with special housing rights that can help with your anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges? That’s exactly what emotional support animals do. Unlike trained service dogs, emotional support animals are regular pets — your dog, who gives you a reason to get out of bed when depression hits hard, or your cat, who helps you through panic attacks. The only thing that makes them an “official” support pet is an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional.

With this letter, you have legal rights to keep your emotional support animal in your home, even in “no pets” housing, without paying extra fees or deposits. Read on to learn everything there is to know about ESAs. 

In this article:

• Qualifications for an Emotional Support Animal
• What animals can be ESAs?
• Your ESA Legal Rights (And Where They End)
• Laws That Protect Emotional Support Animals
• What about multiple ESAs?
• ESA certificates, registrations, vests, and ID cards: do you need them?
• The Real Benefits of Having an ESA

Qualifications for an Emotional Support Animal 

The process isn’t complicated, but there’s a right way to qualify for an emotional support animal. You’ll need a mental health professional who can write an ESA letter to confirm that you have a condition like anxiety, depression, PTSD, or another mental health challenge that significantly affects your daily life. They’ll also need to verify that having an animal genuinely helps you manage your symptoms.

Once you’ve found a licensed mental health professional, they can write you an ESA letter. The process is the same no matter whether you have an emotional support cat or are trying to get a letter for an emotional support dog. Once you have an ESA letter, the next step is to tell your landlord about your emotional support animal and give them a copy. 

What animals can be ESAs?

Emotional support dogs are probably the most common choice, and emotional support cats are the second most common, but don’t overlook other types of animals that can also be perfect ESAs. 

Beyond cats and dogs, many other animals can serve as ESAs. Birds can be wonderful emotional support animals — parakeets and cockatiels are social and interactive, and can form strong bonds with their owners. Small mammals like rabbits and guinea pigs work well in apartments and can provide calming comfort through petting and interaction. Even fish can be effective ESAs — watching them swim can be meditative and calming. Plus, they provide structure through their care routine without needing the intensive attention other pets might require.

Remember that exotic animals typically can’t be ESAs. This means no snakes, ferrets, or sugar gliders. The animal needs to be one commonly kept as a household pet. Also, while you might love horses or miniature ponies, they usually can’t be ESAs because they’re not typically kept in homes.

As for training, here’s the good news: emotional support animals don’t need any special certification or training program. Unlike service dogs, which require extensive training for specific tasks, ESAs just need to be well-behaved pets. This means:

• Being house-trained
• Not being aggressive toward people or other animals
• Not causing property damage
• Being under control in shared spaces
• Not creating noise that disturbs neighbors

Your ESA should help your mental health without causing problems for others. For example, if your cat’s purring helps calm your anxiety, great! If your rabbit gives you a reason to get up and maintain a routine, it’s perfect. If your parakeet provides companionship that helps with depression, that works too. The support can be as simple as their presence making you feel better. 

Your ESA Legal Rights (And Where They End)

Here’s what you need to know about your rights with an ESA: you can live with your emotional support animal in most housing situations, even if there’s a no-pet policy. Landlords can’t charge you pet rent or deposits, and they can’t refuse your ESA because of breed or size restrictions. 

But let’s be clear about where these rights end: 

Emotional support animals are different from service dogs. Your ESA doesn’t have the right to go everywhere with you like a psychiatric service dog does. Restaurants, stores, and other public places can still say no to ESAs. Airlines no longer have to accommodate them either. This is different from service dogs, which have much broader access rights.

Laws That Protect Emotional Support Animals

Understanding your legal rights with an ESA starts with knowing which laws protect you. Unlike service animals, which are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), emotional support animals are protected primarily by housing laws. 

The Fair Housing Act is the most important law for ESA owners. HUD’s federal housing rules require landlords and housing providers to make “reasonable accommodations” for emotional support animals, even in buildings with no-pet policies. Under the FHA, your landlord must let you live with your ESA even if they have a no-pets policy. They can’t deny your ESA because of breed restrictions or size limits, and they aren’t allowed to charge pet deposits or extra fees for your ESA. 

As of 2021, airlines are no longer required to accommodate emotional support animals in the cabin due to changes in the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). While you can still fly with a service dog, ESAs are now treated as regular pets when it comes to air travel. 

What about multiple ESAs?

Sometimes, one emotional support animal isn’t enough, and that’s okay. You can have two or more emotional support animals if your mental health provider agrees that each one helps you in a specific way. Maybe your dog motivates you to exercise and socialize, while your cat helps calm your anxiety at home. Just make sure each animal is included in your ESA documentation.

ESA certificates, registrations, vests, and ID cards: do you need them?

Let’s cut through the confusion about ESA identification items. First, the most important thing to understand: your ESA letter is the only legally required documentation; you don’t need a certificate or registration. Accessories like ESA ID cards, tags, or harnesses are also not mandatory — and anyone telling you otherwise is trying to sell you something you don’t legally need.

That said, many ESA owners choose to use these items, and there are some practical reasons why we offer them for sale. 

A vest can make public interactions smoother by clearly identifying your animal as an ESA. This can be especially helpful in apartment common areas in no-pet buildings where other tenants or staff might be confused by why an animal is present. However, remember that wearing a vest doesn’t grant your ESA any additional access rights to public spaces.

Some people find it convenient to have a quick way to show their animal’s ESA status without pulling out the full letter. A simple ID tag or card can help in casual interactions. These can also be useful in emergency situations where first responders or emergency housing staff need to quickly understand your animal’s status.

Just remember that even with these items, ESA rights and limitations remain the same. Your legal protections come from your ESA letter, not from any vest, tag, or ID card.

The Real Benefits of Having an ESA

The research backs up what many people already know from experience: emotional support animals provide mental health benefits. ESAs can help reduce anxiety, improve mood, and provide structure to your day. They give you someone to care for when self-care is hard, and they can make social situations feel less overwhelming.

ESAs don’t just provide direct emotional support — they can also help improve your social life. Walking a dog often leads to conversations with other pet owners. Even caring for a rabbit or bird can give you something to talk about with others who share your interests. This gentle push toward social interaction can be especially valuable if you struggle with social anxiety or isolation.