Federal law recognizes the importance of ESAs. Owners of emotional back up animals are given certain legal protections which enable them to alive with their ESAs (fifty-fifty in no-pet buildings). ESA owners are exempt from having to pay fees and deposits to housing providers and participating airlines in order to be accompanied by their ESA.

If you are interested in qualifying for an emotional support animal, the first and nigh important thing y'all should know is that the merely way to properly qualify your animal companion as an ESA is by obtaining a recommendation letter from a licensed healthcare professional person.

Some people ask whether they can obtain an ESA letter from their dr.. The answer is yes, y'all can. It may be worth exploring with your medico whether an ESA is right for you. However, you should be aware that while doctors technically tin issue ESA letters, most ESA messages are not from physicians. Doctors are also often reluctant or unwilling to provide ESA letters because they are not familiar with the patient's mental health or are unaware of what ESAs are and what they entail. A meliorate choice is to seek the assist of a mental health professional person that is familiar with the benefits of ESAs and ESA laws.

4 Steps for getting an ESA Letter

  1. Find professional help

    Notice a therapist or doctor licensed for your state that is familiar with emotional support animals.

  2. Schedule a visit in person or online

    Schedule an office visit or work with a licensed professional online through a reputable website like ESADoctors.com.

  3. Have an open conversation

    Have an open discussion with your therapist or doctor virtually your mental health bug and whether an emotional support animal could help.

  4. Asking an ESA letter

    Request a signed ESA letter from the doc or therapist as documented proof that yous have qualified for an emotional support animal.

In that location are many misconceptions about what ESAs are, the process to authorize them, whether yous need to get an ESA registration or certification and what rights ESA owners accept. In this article, nosotros volition effort to clear up some of the confusion and explore how to properly qualify for an emotional support brute.

If y'all are interested in having a licensed healthcare professional that specializes in ESAs determine if y'all authorize for an ESA letter online, you can get started at the link below.

Need help? We can help! Get started here

Why exercise Yous Need a Doctor or Therapist to "Prescribe" or Recommend an Emotional Back up Animal?

Many people at some point experience severe psychological or emotional difficulty in their life. In fact, by some estimates, 1 in 5 Americans may suffer from a mental illness. Emotional back up animals (ESA) help people who are suffering alive productive and happy lives past providing unconditional support and companionship. Many people use ESAs in conjunction with therapy, medication, holistic treatments, and other resource to relieve symptoms of their depression, feet, PTSD, phobia, or other illness.

Doctor letter for emotional support animal - ESA Doctor
An ESA letter must be written past a licensed healthcare professional person.

Federal rules and guidelines from the U.S. Department of Housing provide clear answers to this question.Under Off-white Housing rules, a valid emotional support animal letter must come from a licensed health care professional (sometimes also referred to as a "licensed mental health professional"). Licensed health intendance professionals include psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, nurses, nurse practitioners, doc'due south assistants, licensed counselors, and other licensed professionals responsible for mental health.

How to ask a doctor for an Emotional Support Animal Letter - ESA Doctor

If you lot get your letter from an unlicensed individual or a company claiming to sell instant ESA letters, you might also affluent it down the drain because airlines, landlords, co-ops, and HOAs will not recognize the letter as valid. Y'all will also lose credibility with the airline or housing provider, which could make it more difficult to get accommodation later on.

At this point, you may exist request questions like, what if I don't take a therapist? Or what if I tin can't visit a professional person in person for financial or other reasons? We will address qualifying for an ESA letter remotely afterward in this article and give yous some ideas on how you can get the help you need.

Be careful where yous get your ESA documents from!

As mentioned before, there is a lot of misinformation out there about how to correctly get documentation for an emotional support animal. Information technology is of import to have valid documentation. Without it, yous can't take reward of the benefits ESA owners savour under Fair Housing rules.

You must get your ESA letter from the correct source. Otherwise, your landlord could potentially evict your brute companion and impose hefty fees, deposits, and fines for having a pet in your flat or home.

Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous companies and websites out there that try to have advantage of people looking to qualify for an ESA. A cottage industry has adult selling questionable advice and products to unwitting consumers. There are websites for example that sell things like certifications, registrations, licenses, or ID cards challenge that they will automatically authorize your pet as an ESA. These products alone volition not properly qualify an animal companion as an ESA, and a landlord or airline does not have to accept them as valid forms of proof.

Nosotros can't stress this enough to potential ESA owners: the only manner to qualify for an ESA is past obtaining a recommendation letter of the alphabet from a licensed healthcare professional person. We will discuss in the side by side sections what is in a legitimate ESA alphabetic character and how you can obtain a letter from a licensed professional online in a user-friendly, confidential, and cost-effective way.

Elements of a Legitimate ESA Letter

ESA Letter from ESA Doctors

Knowing what an emotional back up animal letter contains is some other way to make sure your letter volition work.

This is what your ESA letter needs to have:

  • Mental health professional person's letterhead and signature, as well as the date of issuance
  • Mental health professional'southward license type, the appointment the license was issued, license number, and the state that issued the license
  • Confirmation that an emotional back up fauna is a vital part of your life
  • "Prescription" (although not technically a prescription, information technology is sometimes referred to as an ESA prescription) or recommendation for an ESA
  • Details about your pet (blazon, breed, name, etc.) are non required simply may exist included

Request a Therapist or Doctor for an Emotional Back up Animate being Letter

As nosotros have discussed, just a licensed professional can provide a valid "prescription" or recommendation for an emotional support beast (note that while some people refer to them equally "prescriptions", ESA letters are technically non prescriptions – they are recommendation letters).

If you're already seeing someone to accost your mental affliction, peachy! It is wonderful that you are getting attention for your status and we applaud anyone who takes the footstep of reaching out for help. You tin inquire your therapist whether an ESA may be right for you lot. If your therapist is a licensed professional, such every bit a licensed clinical social worker, psychologist, psychiatrist, nurse or licensed counselor, they are capable of writing an ESA letter if they feel y'all would do good by having one.

Some people find it hard to work upward the backbone to enquire their healthcare provider whether an emotional support animal is correct for them. They may feel embarrassed bringing up the subject or fearfulness that they will be rejected or judged. While it's true that your request may exist rejected, it tin can't hurt to enhance a potential solution that may help with your condition.

Information technology'southward also truthful that many therapists and doctors just aren't knowledgeable well-nigh emotional support animals and ESA laws. Many licensed healthcare professionals will not hold to issue an ESA letter even if they feel you might do good from one merely considering it is unfamiliar territory for them.

If you don't accept a healthcare professional person that is familiar with ESAs or you lot're unwilling to broach the bailiwick of ESAs with a therapist or doctor y'all currently have a human relationship with, using an online platform to connect with a therapist that specializes in ESAs tin can be a great choice. ESA Doctors works with licensed professionals who sympathize emotional back up animals and have experience writing ESA letters that work. The professionals that work with ESA Doctors are compassionate, understanding, and judgment-free when it comes to mental wellness and the need for an emotional back up animal.

Tin I Work With a Therapist Online?

Seeking assistance in person from a licensed therapist is e'er a not bad choice. Withal, many people suffering from a mental illness may be uncertain about where to wait for 1 and can be overwhelmed by the search process.

Others take difficulty seeing a therapist in person for diverse reasons. Some people are just as well busy to schedule appointments considering of working a full-fourth dimension chore, taking intendance of family, or because they take a busy class schedule at school. Others merely cannot afford the cost of seeing a therapist, specially those who are uninsured. There are also people who have anxieties or phobias about seeing someone in person and discussing details about their personal history and mental status. The contempo pandemic too forced many people to look for alternatives to meeting with a therapist in person.

For people in these categories, obtaining an ESA alphabetic character through an online provider can be a peachy selection.

Getting an Emotional Support Animal Letter of the alphabet Online

We accept stated this several times now, just we can't emphasize it enough:

The merely person who tin "prescribe" or recommend a recognized emotional support animal is a licensed healthcare professional.

Fortunately, for people without a therapist or who accept problem seeing a professional in person, many licensed professionals work remotely and provide services online. Obtaining an ESA letter of the alphabet from a therapist that works remotely is only as valid as getting a alphabetic character from a therapist in a more traditional setting. Remote therapists provide an invaluable service for people who tin't see a therapist in person, and HUD recognizes that online providers tin issue valid ESA letters. Regardless of whether you see a therapist in person or online, it is always important to make sure they are licensed for your state.

In that location are many websites that sell things similar certificates, registrations, IDs, and licenses. Nevertheless, there is no official registry for ESAs and you will be turned abroad by landlords and airlines if you lot merely show registration papers you purchased. At that place is likewise no such thing as an official certification or license for an ESA, and IDs and vests solitary will too non properly qualify an emotional support animal. Withal, some ESA owners like to use these ID cards, certifications and accessories to identify their animal equally their emotional support animal.

Three easy steps to get an ESA Letter with ESA Doctors

Click here to go started on qualifying for your ESA letter.

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How Can Y'all Recognize Reliable and Legitimate ESA Websites?

ESA Doctors website on laptop
ESADoctors.com has been working with people similar you for over 6 years.
Do they claim that ESA registration or certification qualifies your animal every bit an ESA?
ESA Doctors operates as a platform that efficiently connects you to a real licensed mental health professional that works remotely to offer legitimate services.

Make sure that the website you piece of work with doesn't just merely sell you an ESA alphabetic character or provide unreliable registrations, certificates, licenses, or vests. Instead, they should offer to connect you with a licensed provider that will use their professional person judgment to independently determine whether to approve you for an emotional back up creature letter.

Do they connect you lot directly with a Licensed Healthcare Professional?

ESA Doctors connects you lot with a licensed healthcare professional to see if you authorize for an emotional support animal. The LHCP licensed for your land will review your answers and contact you lot straight. This is a toll-effective, efficient and modern process for seeing whether an emotional support animate being is right for you lot with the help of a licensed professional.

If I qualify for an ESA, what should I get from my Licensed Healthcare Professional person?

If the licensed professional determines that an ESA is correct for you, they will result a recommendation letter, or ESA letter of the alphabet, for you on their letterhead. Once you take this letter of the alphabet, yous can nowadays it to your housing provider or airline and request accommodation for your emotional support animal.

How do I avoid an ESA scam?

Any website that offers instant approving and does non offer to connect you with a licensed health professional person is not a valid source for ESA letters.

Red Flags for Simulated ESA Letters

Qualifying for an ESA letter of the alphabet is a process, beneath are a few things you should look out for if you are looking to get an ESA letter online.

  • ESA Registration/Certification Services – Emotional back up animals are not required to be registered. There is no governing torso that registers emotional back up animals. Airlines and landlords will deny your "registered ESA" if you do non take a legitimate ESA letter. Similarly, there is no official certification or licensing process for ESAs.
  • Instant Approval – A licensed therapist must evaluate your need for an ESA. You lot cannot be instantly approved for an ESA letter of the alphabet. It takes time to approve each private by a licensed mental wellness professional. A legitimate service besides cannot guarantee that you volition be canonical since each licensed professional person will make their own determination about whether you authorize for not.
  • Avert Dirt Inexpensive Letters – A legitimate ESA alphabetic character is written past a licensed mental health professional. Using an online provider tin be cheaper than seeing a therapist in person, but a licensed professional does not offering services for clay cheap. If y'all find a service offering bargain-basement letters without the involvement of a licensed professional it is non legitimate.
Red flags for fake ESA letters - ESA Doctors
Quick tips to avoid getting scammed. If it'due south likewise good to be true, you should probably avert information technology.

The Benefits you Get with an Emotional Support Animal Letter of the alphabet

Under federal housing rules, emotional support animals are not considered regular pets. Emotional back up animals have certain rights that regular pets don't have.

An ESA alphabetic character allows your animal companion to alive in a building that generally doesn't permit pets. Tenants with emotional back up animals exercise not need to pay whatsoever fees or deposits in connection with their ESA. Landlords also cannot restrict an ESA solely considering it is a certain brood or weight. Some airlines will besides permit ESAs to board flights in the cabin, complimentary of charge if you nowadays a valid ESA letter.

If you are looking to qualify for an ESA but exercise non accept a therapist or are having difficulty finding i or seeing one in person, ESA Doctors tin assistance connect you to someone licensed for your state that works remotely. Just click on the link below to become started.

Emotional support animals have certain rights that regular pets don't have.

A legitimate emotional support animal letter of the alphabet can ensure that your animal companion tin can fly with you on an airplane at no additional cost. In addition, the letter allows your animal companion to alive in a housing facility that generally doesn't allow pets. Tenants with emotional back up animals practice not need to pay whatever fees or deposits in connection with their ESA. Landlords also cannot restrict an ESA solely considering it is a certain breed or weight.

If you are looking to see if you qualify for an ESA only practise not have a therapist or are having difficulty finding ane or seeing one in person, ESA Doctors tin can help connect yous to someone licensed for your state that works remotely. Simply click on the link beneath to get started.

Get your Emotional Back up Animal Letter Online

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Get the Love and Support you deserve.