Data reviewed and confirmed for accuracy and freshness: (June/2026)
With an officially recognized emotional support animal letter, your emotional support animal (ESA) can be protected in Pennsylvania, particularly when it comes to housing.
In this article, we will learn what ESAs are, how you can get your emotional support animal registered as one, and also look into Pennsylvania’s emotional support animal laws.
It is important to note that ESAs and service animals both serve as health aids, but they provide different forms of assistance and have different legal identities, and one cannot be treated as the other. Let’s take a brief look at their differences.
The Difference Between Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals in Pennsylvania
Service animals are highly trained animals that perform tasks to benefit their handler with a disability. They can be very crucial for such individuals as they can perform a variety of tasks for them. Some examples are:
- Alerting to an oncoming panic attack or cardiac episodes by licking
- Retrieving objects for paralysis patients/wheelchair-bound owners
- Guiding patients with blindness
- Signaling certain signs for deaf people
- Helping people with autism socialize
Service animals are incredibly useful in situations like these. Not every animal can become a service animal, though. They are usually only dogs, but in rare cases, they can be a miniature horse. These dogs are given rigorous training to specifically help people with disabilities.
Not every dog is capable of this, and they go through a selection process post-training. Service dogs that are too friendly may not qualify since they may have a tendency to play when they’re needed to perform a task for a person with a disability. Only after these measures are taken can a dog qualify to be a service animal.
Due to their exceptional utility, service animals are often given exclusive access to places where pets otherwise won’t be allowed. Their owners are exempt from paying pet deposits and other charges, can take them along on a plane, and also take them to work if their presence doesn’t cause any health or safety risk at the workplace.
Emotional support animals are completely different in the eyes of the law. While service animals are meant to be a form of physical or psychological aid for their owners, ESAs serve a different purpose. They are expected to provide emotional support to their owner through companionship.
One of the best parts about owning an emotional support animal is that they don’t need any sort of training in order to qualify as an ESA. This doesn’t mean they are any less useful, though – they just already know their part by providing companionship to their owners!
However, this does not mean that you shouldn’t train them at all. You have to be mindful of how they behave around other people and animals. It’s a good idea to teach them some basic skills and to make sure that they always listen to you when you’re in public.
Let’s look at some federal laws that apply to service and emotional support animals.
Federal Emotional Support Animal Laws
There are primarily three federal laws that you should be aware of when it comes to emotional support animals and service animals:
Fair Housing Act (FHA)
The Fair Housing Act prohibits any discrimination against home buyers/tenants based on their race, gender, ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, or nationality. This is also applicable to people with physical or mental disabilities who own service animals or ESAs.
Discrimination means that a landlord/renter cannot refuse to show you their property for any of the reasons mentioned above. They have to provide reasonable accommodation for your ESA, though you have to show them your ESA letter for it.
They can impose certain restrictions, but in most cases, getting your request approved shouldn’t be a problem. They can’t charge any pet deposits or cleaning fees.
There are, however, a few caveats. The landlord can reject your ESA under certain conditions. These include the ESA being too large for the property, such as a horse in an apartment, the ESA being destructive or aggressive, or having an invalid ESA letter.
If you have your ESA letter and you believe your housing provider has rejected the letter on an invalid argument, you can apply to the US Department of Urban Development to handle your case.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits any sort of discrimination against people on the basis of disability. This includes discrimination in employment, government services, and public accommodations.
Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities. This also includes individuals who need service animals to assist them with tasks related to their disabilities. Service animals can accompany their owner to their workplace, even to an office with a no pet policy.
Thanks to the ADA, people with disabilities who have service animals can take them anywhere they want.
Since there’s no documentation or identification required for service animals, restaurant or hotel staff can’t ask you to prove that your pet is a service animal. You also don’t have to make your service animal wear a vest as a form of identification.
Unfortunately, this law doesn’t extend to emotional support animals. ESAs aren’t allowed in restaurants and hotels the same way service animals are. If you’re planning to take your ESA to a restaurant, you should contact them first to see what their policies are regarding ESAs.
Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)
The Air Carrier Access Act mandates non-discriminatory behavior towards individuals with service animals during air travel. This gives people with disabilities the right to be treated with respect. Airlines should be able to provide a smooth onboarding experience for both the disabled person and their service animal.
Airlines are legally obligated to provide reasonable accommodations for service animals. This means a proper cabin/seat for both the owner and the animal, as well as access to other facilities that are available during the flight (for example, access to the restroom).
It is the responsibility of the airline to train its staff in communicating effectively with disabled people using multiple mediums of communication. The airline is also required to train its staff to handle service animals appropriately and ensure a smooth onboarding and offboarding process for the disabled passengers.
ESAs used to be a part of the ACAA, but the law was amended in 2020 to exclude them. Today, different airlines have different policies when it comes to ESAs, so it’s best to give them a call before you head to the airport with your emotional support animal.
Getting an ESA Letter in Pennsylvania
Getting an ESA letter isn’t a very difficult process. There is no training or complicated paperwork involved.
The entire process is as simple as meeting a licensed mental health practitioner and telling them about your mental state. Your mental health worker can write you an ESA letter if they think having an ESA by your side will help you with your mental health.
You can get an ESA letter if you suffer from a psychiatric condition, such as any of the following.
- Anxiety Disorders
- Depression
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Bipolar Disorder
- Panic Disorders
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Eating Disorders
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Schizophrenia
Emotional support animals are not limited to only cats and dogs. They can be any pet that brings you comfort and love. Parrots, mice, and even llamas can be ESAs (but keep in mind that it may not always be possible to request reasonable accommodations when your ESA is a large animal or one that could harm other people).
You have to get an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional in Pennsylvania. If a landlord discovers that your ESA letter wasn’t written by a mental health professional licensed in Pennsylvania, then your request will be rejected, and you could be evicted from the property.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pennsylvania ESAs
Can a Landlord Legally Reject an ESA Letter in Pennsylvania?
Unless your ESA is very aggressive, too big to fit in the property, or your ESA letter isn’t valid, your ESA letter request will be approved by your landlord.
How Do You Qualify for an Emotional Support Animal in PA?
To qualify for an ESA in PA, you’ll need a mental health diagnosis and a valid ESA letter.
Do Landlords Actually Verify ESA Letters in Pennsylvania?
Always assume that your landlord is going to verify your ESA letter. For this reason, you’ll want to make sure that your letter was issued within the last year and was written by a mental healthcare professional licensed in Pennsylvania.
Live a Stress-Free Life With Your ESA in Pennsylvania
For many people, it’s virtually impossible to part with their emotional support animal. That’s what ESA laws are for – to make sure that people who can’t live without their furry friend never have to!
Just make sure that your ESA knows some basic commands and always responds to you so you can keep it under control around other people and animals.
You may also be able to take your ESA to restaurants and travel with them on planes. However, since they’re not legally required to provide reasonable accommodations to ESAs, you’ll have to call restaurants and airlines first to check if they allow them.