Emotional support animals (ESAs) are essential companions to many individuals, and, while these companion animals can be any breed or species, dogs are one of the most popular choices for ESAs. If you are thinking about adding an emotional support animal to your treatment plan, you may be wondering what it costs to register your dog as an ESA.
Our guide tells you more about emotional support animals and the cheapest way to register your dog as an ESA.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
An emotional support animal is any animal that acts as a companion for someone with a mental health condition, providing their owner with comfort, relief, and routine. ESAs can be incredibly helpful in preventing negative emotions and interrupting harmful behaviors, and they can inspire positive behaviors and emotions in their owners.
Your emotional support animal can be any type of animal, unlike service animals, which are typically dogs, though ESAs do have fewer federally protected access rights. You must speak with a therapist or another mental healthcare provider licensed in your state if you are considering adding an emotional support animal to your treatment plan.
Can My Dog Become an Emotional Support Animal?
Your dog can become an emotional support animal, but you must take certain steps to make this happen officially. You cannot just decide one day that your dog is your emotional support animal and automatically start accessing your protected housing rights; you must first schedule an appointment with your doctor or therapist to discuss your concerns.
At your initial appointment with your mental healthcare provider, you can talk about your current mental health condition and how you think an ESA might help. Your provider will evaluate your suitability to care for an emotional support animal physically, financially, and mentally, and they will approve or deny you.
If you are approved for an emotional support animal, your therapist will write you a letter stating this need. If you are making your dog into your ESA, you can provide your therapist with your dog’s information to be included in your emotional support animal letter.
What Does It Cost to Make My Dog an Emotional Support Animal?
The cost of making your dog an emotional support animal varies, as the main financial cost of making your dog an ESA is making an appointment with your mental healthcare provider or, in some cases, your primary care provider. The cost of an appointment depends on your specific health insurance or a sliding fee scale that your provider might offer, and this can be a very personal and unique situation.
On average, the cost of one appointment with a therapist is anywhere between $50 and $250. You may need several appointments before you are approved for an emotional support animal and your ESA letter is written.
Cheapest Way to Register My Dog as an Emotional Support Animal
Not everyone can afford to attend therapy or develop a lengthy relationship with their therapist before being prescribed an emotional support animal. However, working with a licensed mental healthcare provider is the only way to obtain an ESA letter that makes your companion animal a valid and official emotional support animal.
Keep in mind that it is the letter, not the registration of your ESA, that makes your dog an official emotional support animal.
The cheapest way to make your dog an emotional support animal is to look into your health insurance and see the cost of an appointment with a therapist; find a therapist who might be able to prescribe you an emotional support animal after one visit.
If health insurance is not an option for you, you can utilize therapists or mental healthcare providers who work on a sliding fee scale. This may enable you to receive the ESA letter you need at a lower cost.
Alternatively, you can utilize online sources to get your emotional support animal letter. Just make sure that you are connecting with a licensed therapist to get your ESA letter and not printing off a templated letter or paying for what is essentially a scam ESA letter; always do your research and stay cautious when getting your emotional support animal letter online.
How Do I Prove My Emotional Support Animal Is Valid?
Ensuring your emotional support animal is valid is done by obtaining an ESA letter written by a mental healthcare provider licensed in your state. This is the only documentation you need for your emotional support animal, and all other forms of identification or registration for your ESA are generally optional.
It’s important to always have this letter on hand when requesting housing accommodations for your ESA and to ensure that you take note of your letter’s expiration date. Most letters will be valid for one to two years after they are written, and you should maintain a relationship with your mental healthcare provider as needed to ensure you can renew your ESA letter when necessary.
What Rights Do I Have With My Emotional Support Animal?
Your emotional support animal will not have the same rights as a service animal, as they are not trained to perform disability-related tasks, and ESAs are simply held to a different standard than service animals. While service animals will have fairly wide-reaching public access rights, emotional support animals are typically only granted housing accommodation rights.
Your ESA’s right to live alongside you in any reasonable and suitable area of housing is protected by the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). In addition to being allowed to live with you despite breed or pet restrictions, the FHA also exempts you from paying for pet rent, pet fees, and pet-related security deposits. However, if your ESA damages something in your housing, you will be responsible for it.
Any additional rights, such as accessing stores or restaurants, are solely up to the discretion of the business owner; pet-friendly public spaces may be acceptable to bring your ESA if they are a more traditional companion animal, though you must adhere to all rules and regulations for pets.
Does My Dog Need to be Trained as an ESA?
Your dog does not need to be trained in order to be an emotional support animal; training requirements are only in place for service dogs, as these animals need to be trained to complete disability-related tasks for their owners. That being said, training your dog can help ensure that they are on their best behavior as an ESA.
You do not need to train your dog to perform service dog tasks, such as retrieving medication or checking around corners for you, but they should be able to listen to you and complete basic obedience skills. This can help landlords and property managers approve of your ESA, as dogs that are out of control, dangerous, and destructive may legally be denied housing accommodations.
Is Formal Registration Necessary for ESAs?
Formal registration is not legally necessary for ESAs. There is no national database, nor is there a legal requirement that emotional support animals be registered somewhere. The only documentation you need to ensure your emotional support animal is valid and eligible for accommodations is an ESA letter written by your therapist or another mental healthcare provider.
Only your ESA letter will be necessary to request accommodations for your support animal, and you should keep in mind that you must be prescribed this letter by a therapist. You cannot write your own ESA letter or print one off a database online.
Cheapest Way to Register My Dog as an Emotional Support Animal Answered
Emotional support animals are highly valuable companions, and it’s essential that you take the necessary steps to ensure your dog is your official ESA. Only a valid ESA can take advantage of federally protected housing rights, and this is essential if you want to keep your dog at your side no matter where you live.
We recommend speaking with your provider and starting the process of ensuring your dog is your official and valid emotional support animal companion. As a more affordable and convenient alternative, you can get your ESA letter online by connecting with a mental health professional through our website.