An ESA letter is a note from your own licensed health care provider saying you have a disability and that an animal helps with it. Its main use is housing, and since HUD's May 2026 memo, federal enforcement only backs requests for trained animals, so what a letter can do for an untrained emotional support animal now depends mostly on your state. It does not get an ESA into stores, restaurants or an airplane cabin. We do not sell or refer letters: the right person to ask is a clinician who already treats you.
What is an ESA letter for in 2026?
An emotional support animal letter is documentation for a reasonable accommodation request, almost always a request to a landlord to keep an animal despite a no-pets rule or a pet fee. It is not a license, a registration or a pass. The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse "reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services" when they may be necessary for a person with a disability to use and enjoy a home (42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B)). A letter is how you show a landlord that the disability and the need are real when neither is obvious.
That is the whole job. Everything else people hope a letter will do, it does not do. For the housing side in detail, see ESA letters for housing after HUD's 2026 change.
What an ESA letter no longer does federally
Three things changed or were never true:
- HUD enforcement. HUD withdrew its 2020 assistance animal notice (FHEO-2020-01) effective September 17, 2025. On May 22, 2026 its fair housing office issued a memo saying: "Effective immediately, for complaints related to animal-related reasonable accommodations, FHEO will find reasonable cause and recommend charges only for those cases involving animals trained to provide disability-related assistance." The same memo says requests to waive pet policies "for untrained ESAs are not" presumptively reasonable. You can still sue privately, and state law is untouched.
- Flights. Since the Department of Transportation's 2021 rule, "Carriers are not required to recognize emotional support animals as service animals and may treat them as pets." A letter does not change that. See can emotional support animals fly?
- Public places. The ADA never covered ESAs. The Department of Justice says they "do not qualify as service animals under the ADA" because they have not been trained to perform a specific job or task. More in can emotional support animals go anywhere?
Who can write an ESA letter?
A licensed health care provider who knows you and your condition. The details depend on your state. Some examples from state law:
- Therapists and counselors: yes in many states. Kentucky's housing law lists licensed clinical social workers, professional counselors, APRNs, psychologists and physicians who keep an active practice in the state. Maine's housing definition lists physicians, psychologists, physician associates, nurse practitioners, licensed social workers and licensed professional counselors "with knowledge of the disability-related need".
- Nurse practitioners: named in Kentucky (as APRNs) and Maine. Montana is narrower: the letter must come from a mental health professional licensed in Montana.
- In California, Health and Safety Code 122318 requires the practitioner to hold a valid license, be licensed where the documentation is provided, have a client relationship of at least 30 days (with an exception for people who are homeless), and complete a clinical evaluation.
What almost every state leaves out is a website whose main product is the letter. Minnesota's definition of "licensed professional" excludes "any person who operates primarily to provide certification for a service or support animal", and Kentucky's excludes a provider "whose primary service is to provide documentation to a person requesting a reasonable accommodation in exchange for a fee".
What a legitimate ESA letter includes
The still-posted 2004 HUD and DOJ Joint Statement describes the information a housing provider may ask for. It is information that:
- is necessary to verify that you meet the Fair Housing Act's definition of disability,
- describes the accommodation you need, and
- shows the relationship between your disability and that need.
It adds: "In most cases, an individual's medical records or detailed information about the nature of a person's disability is not necessary for this inquiry." So a letter does not need your diagnosis. Some states add required details. Montana's must include "the effective date, license number, and type of professional license". Louisiana requires the effective date, license number and license type. California requires the license number and the jurisdiction that issued it. A walkthrough of the usual contents is on what a clinician's ESA letter usually covers.
State rules: 30-day relationships and in-state licenses
These are the state letter rules our research verified. Your state may have others, so check your state's page too.
- 30-day relationship: California, Iowa, Montana, Louisiana and Arkansas. Louisiana also requires at least two sessions "in person or remotely" and a clinical evaluation. Arkansas's law covers emotional support dogs only and calls for an annual clinical evaluation.
- In-state or in-person conditions: Florida accepts an out-of-state practitioner "only if such out-of-state practitioner has provided in-person care or services to the tenant on at least one occasion". Montana requires a Montana license. Kentucky requires a Kentucky-licensed provider with an active practice in the state, with an exception for someone moving from another state who has an ongoing relationship with a provider licensed there.
- Fee disclosure: Iowa's written finding must say whether the licensee "received a separate or additional fee ... solely in exchange for making the written finding".
- Website letters: Tennessee says reliable documentation "Does not include documentation provided through a website, the primary function of which is to provide a certificate, registration, license, or similar document for a service animal or support animal for a fee".
Some states write penalties into these laws. Louisiana's run from $500 to $2,500, and Florida makes false documentation a second-degree misdemeanor with 30 hours of community service.
Do ESA letters expire, and do you need to renew every year?
No federal rule sets an expiry date for an ESA letter. A few states do set time limits:
- Iowa: a written finding is valid "for a period of twelve months or the term of the rental agreement, whichever is greater."
- Arkansas: the law for emotional support dogs calls for an annual clinical evaluation.
Outside those rules, a landlord asking for reliable information may reasonably want it to be current, and a letter from a provider who still treats you is easier to rely on than an old one. That is practical advice, not a legal deadline.
Are ESA letters state specific? Can you use one from another state?
Often, yes, they are state specific. Florida accepts an out-of-state practitioner only after in-person care at least once. Montana requires a Montana license. Kentucky accepts an out-of-state provider only for someone moving in with an ongoing therapeutic relationship. Minnesota accepts a professional licensed elsewhere "provided the professional has an existing treatment relationship with the tenant". Iowa accepts a similar licensee from another state who is in good standing. If you are moving, ask your current provider whether their license covers the new state before you sign a lease.
Online ESA letters and what they cost
A letter from a licensed clinician who treats you over telehealth can be valid. Florida names telehealth providers, Iowa counts a relationship "in person or via telehealth", and Louisiana allows remote sessions. A one-time questionnaire usually does not meet those rules. We cover the warning signs in are online ESA letters legit?
We do not publish a price range for letters, because we could not verify one. The cost of a letter from your own provider is usually just the cost of your care. A site whose business is selling letters is exactly what Kentucky, Minnesota and Tennessee exclude from their definitions.
An ESA registration or ID card is not a letter
Florida's statute says: "An emotional support animal registration of any kind, including, but not limited to, an identification card, patch, certificate, or similar registration obtained from the Internet is not, by itself, sufficient information to reliably establish that a person has a disability or a disability-related need for an emotional support animal." Montana's 2025 law says nearly the same. That includes any registry, ours too. See emotional support animal registration: what's real.
If your dog is trained to perform a task for a psychiatric disability, it may be a psychiatric service dog rather than an ESA, and different rules apply. Start with psychiatric service dog vs emotional support animal.
Common questions
Can a therapist give you an emotional support animal letter?
Often, yes, if they are licensed and actually treat you. Kentucky and Maine name licensed counselors and social workers. Some states add conditions, such as a 30-day relationship in California, Iowa, Montana, Louisiana and Arkansas.
Can a nurse practitioner write an ESA letter?
In some states, yes. Kentucky lists APRNs and Maine lists nurse practitioners. Montana requires a mental health professional licensed in Montana.
Who can write an ESA letter in California?
A practitioner with a valid license, licensed where the documentation is provided, who has had a client relationship with you for at least 30 days and has completed a clinical evaluation (Health and Safety Code 122318).
Do ESA letters expire?
Not under federal law. Iowa sets twelve months or the lease term, whichever is greater, and Arkansas calls for an annual clinical evaluation for emotional support dogs.
Does an ESA letter let my dog into stores or onto planes?
No. ESAs have no public access under the ADA, and airlines may treat them as pets.
Can you sell me an ESA letter or refer me to someone?
No. We never sell or refer letters. Ask a licensed clinician who already treats you.
Sources
- HUD FHEO enforcement guidance on animal accommodations, 2026-05-22
- Federal Register, withdrawal of FHEO guidance documents (FR Doc. 2026-06624)
- HUD/DOJ Joint Statement on Reasonable Accommodations (2004)
- California Health and Safety Code 122318
- Florida Statutes 760.27
- Iowa Code 216.8C
- Montana Code 70-24-114
- DOJ ADA service animal FAQ
General information, not legal advice. Policies and laws change; follow the sources. Last checked September 25, 2026.