Emotional support animals help individuals with a psychiatric disability by providing companionship. This has immense therapeutic benefits that ease the symptoms of a mental disability, which is the reason why mental health professionals recommend these animals as part of someone’s ongoing treatment plan.
Because emotional support animals play a vital role for their owners and are often recommended by mental health professionals, the law gives them special protections. In particular, they are not treated like ordinary pets—especially in matters of housing.
To ensure emotional support animal owners can live with their animals and receive their therapeutic benefits, the Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords and housing providers from denying an emotional support animal unless the presence of the animal causes undue hardship or a health/safety hazard.
However, this protection is also attractive for those who want to circumvent no-pet policies without having a valid emotional support animal, leading to an increase in fake ESA letters. These fake documents are not only illegal but also undermine the public trust in emotional support animals, making landlords skeptical of legitimate ESA letters.
Whether you’re someone who has an ESA letter or are a landlord with a tenant who wants to keep their emotional support animal, you will discover everything you’re looking for in this article. Read to the end as we cover all about fake ESA letters.
What Is an ESA Letter?
An ESA letter is a formal document that’s written by a licensed mental health professional. This letter confirms that the person for whom it is written has a mental disability recognized under the Fair Housing Act and recommends an emotional support animal to alleviate their symptoms.
An emotional support animal letter can be seen as a kind of prescription. It simply recommends an emotional support animal as part of the patient’s ongoing treatment. This is the main reason why only a licensed mental health professional can write an ESA letter. They must be qualified to evaluate someone’s symptoms to determine whether they have a psychiatric disability and if an emotional support animal would be a good treatment option.
Regarding the details that must be included in an ESA letter, we will discuss these in detail below, as they can help determine whether an ESA letter is genuine or not.
Is an ESA Letter Required for a Service Dog?
An emotional support animal letter, as the name suggests, is for emotional support animals. Service animals don’t require an ESA letter because they are not considered emotional support animals. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals only need to be able to perform a disability-related task to benefit their handlers. They don’t require any certificates, letters, or other documentation to be legally considered a service animal.
If you’re considering getting a service animal, check out our service dog guide to learn more about these assistance animals.
5 Ways to Tell if an ESA Letter Is Fake
Spotting fake ESA letters might be surprisingly easier than you think. Here are five ways to tell whether an ESA letter is fake, covering the common red flags you should look for in these documents.
1) No Provider Information
Legitimate ESA letters must include the provider’s information. It must have the name, professional title, license number, state, and contact details of the mental health professional who wrote it. If the mental health professional’s details aren’t there on the letter or certain details are missing, you’re likely looking at a fake ESA letter.
2) No Signature
The signature of the mental health professional who wrote the ESA letter is critical for it to be valid. Although this also means that the ESA letter isn’t valid, missing signatures are commonly seen in fake ESA letters downloaded off the internet with a generic template.
3) No Confirmation of a Mental Disability
ESA letters must confirm that the individual has a mental disability qualified under the Fair Housing Act, as it is important for mental health professionals to formally confirm this before recommending an emotional support animal as part of their patient’s treatment. Given that this is one of the required details, it is safe to say that an ESA letter that doesn’t have it is fake.
4) Outdated Letter
Emotional support animal laws have undergone numerous changes over the years. If the ESA letter mentions protections that are no longer granted to emotional support animals, such as air travel rights, it is likely to be fake. Even if it is not, outdated ESA letters must be renewed, especially if it has been more than a year since they were first issued.
5) Unable to Verify the Provider
Besides the ESA letter not having the details of the mental health professional who issued it, an ESA letter that cannot be verified is likely to be fake. When you search the license number of the LMHP who supposedly wrote it, but nothing comes up, it indicates that you shouldn’t trust that ESA letter.
What to Do With a Fake ESA Letter?
If you received a fake ESA letter, stop using it immediately, as it can be considered fraud to present an ESA letter that isn’t valid. Always verify your source and seek a licensed mental health professional with an up-to-date license to write you an ESA letter. Once you obtain a valid ESA letter, you can then use it to request accommodation for your animal from your landlord.
If you’re a landlord who has received a suspected fake ESA letter, be sure to verify that it is indeed fake first. Accusing someone of presenting a fake ESA letter can bring legal troubles your way. Therefore, only deny the ESA letter if it is clearly fake, like not having the mental health professional’s information, such as their signature or license number.
As a landlord, it is best to request clarification when you suspect that an ESA letter is fake. If in doubt, but the tenant insists that their ESA letter is valid, seek legal support or contact the Department of Housing and Urban Development for guidance to avoid discrimination claims.
Consequences of Using a Fake ESA Letter
If a landlord discovers that the ESA letter their tenant presented is fake, they can treat the animal as a pet and act according to the lease or rental agreement terms. This means that they can deny accommodation and even take legal action. Ultimately, using a fake ESA letter will likely lead to losing housing protections for the animal.
However, it is also illegal to forge or misrepresent documents, which can carry civil or criminal consequences. Many states impose specific monetary penalties for emotional support animal misrepresentation, including ESA letters. To get a better understanding of emotional support animal laws in your state, check out our ESA state laws guide.
How to Get a Valid ESA Letter?
The only way to get an ESA letter is through a mental health professional licensed in your state. If you have a qualifying mental disability and only want to obtain an ESA letter, get started on our website. We will connect you with a mental health professional licensed in your state to listen to your symptoms and decide if an emotional support animal is a good option for you.
If it is, you will receive your ESA letter, sometimes even within 24 hours, though those living in states that impose a 30-day client-provider relationship must wait before a mental health professional can write an ESA letter. Once you receive your ESA letter, you can then use it for handling housing needs for your emotional support animal.
One of the biggest perks of getting your ESA letter through us is that you won’t need to pay for the consultation if you don’t qualify for it, making it risk-free on your end.
Don’t Be Fooled by a Fake ESA Letter
Due to the increasing number of fake ESA letters and online platforms that issue illegitimate ESA letters that are basically scams, it is crucial to ensure yours is genuine. Stay on the lookout for the red flags we’ve covered throughout this article.
By looking for the common signs of a fake ESA letter, you will ensure that your letter is genuine and meets all the requirements so that your animal is recognized under the Fair Housing Act.