Emotional support animals provide companionship and support to individuals with certain mental health conditions or disabilities. Their presence helps their owners overcome certain symptoms, something that sets them apart from regular pets. As such, federal and state law in Indiana protects certain rights of ESAs and their owners.
In Indiana, these protections are mainly related to housing. Our article will guide you through all the ESA laws you should know in Indiana if you are considering adding a companion animal to your treatment plan.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal in Indiana?
An emotional support animal is any animal that provides comfort to their owner through companionship and presence in their owner’s life. These animals do not need training, and they can be any animal, including non-traditional choices like snakes, fish, birds, and other reptiles.
In order to ensure your ESA is valid and take advantage of the protections federal law provides, you will need a valid ESA letter. This letter must be written by a licensed mental healthcare provider in Indiana; you will show your letter when requesting accommodations for your ESA and proving your need for a support animal.
Differences Between ESAs and Service Animals
Emotional support animals and service animals are usually brought up in discussions together. However, there’s a clear distinction between these two types of animals and how they assist their handlers.
While emotional support animals can be any pet, only dogs trained to assist a person with a disability are recognized as service animals. For example, you can have an emotional support cat but can’t have a cat acting as a service animal.
Another distinction between ESAs and service animals is their protections under federal law. As service animals help their handlers function in their daily lives, whether by providing mobility assistance or recognizing the onset of a panic attack, they are granted public access rights.
Businesses in Indiana must make reasonable modifications to permit service animals. Restaurants with a no-pet policy, for example, must allow service animals so they can assist their handlers. However, business owners may deny entry to a service animal if their presence poses a health or safety risk.
Emotional support animals are not granted these same rights, and individuals who need a companion animal in public may need to adopt a service animal instead to ensure they can always keep their companion with them, inside or outside of the home.
An Overview of Indiana Emotional Support Animal Laws
Indiana does not have specific laws that govern how emotional support animals are treated in the state. However, Indiana does uphold federal regulations governing the protections and rights of ESAs and their owners.
Below, you’ll learn everything you need to know about emotional support animal laws related to housing, air travel, and workplace presence.
Indiana Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws
Emotional support animals aren’t the same as pets, which is recognized in federal laws. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prevents housing providers from discriminating against individuals with a disability or diagnosed mental health condition who have an emotional support animal.
Since emotional support animals play a critical role in the life of someone with a psychiatric condition, federal law ensures they can live with their owners. Indiana landlords can’t deny housing to an individual with an emotional support animal due to a no-pet clause in the lease, and they cannot apply breed restrictions to an ESA. ESA owners are also exempt from paying for pet fees, pet rent, and pet-specific security deposits.
Keep in mind that landlords in Indiana can legally ask for an ESA letter from the individual to prove the status of their emotional support animal. If this isn’t provided, they can deny housing accommodations and treat an ESA as a regular pet.
Indiana Emotional Support Animal Air Travel Laws
Indiana does not have additional laws for air travel regarding ESAs. These regulations are given by the federal law Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA).
While this act required airlines to permit emotional support animals in the past, the Department of Transportation updated its rules in 2020 for air travel with ESAs, and airlines are no longer required to permit them in the passenger cabin with the same rights as service animals.
Those wishing to fly with their emotional support animals must check with the airline to know whether they allow ESAs and whether their ESA will be treated as a regular pet or a service animal.
Most airlines let small dogs and cats fly in the passenger cabin if their carrier meets the dimension requirements. If your ESA is small enough to be transported in an airline-approved pet carrier, you can generally fly with your ESA in the cabin. If not, the only option is the cargo compartment.
The ACAA also waived pet travel fees for emotional support animals in the past. With the changes, you will now need to pay a pet travel fee to the airline. The fee depends on whether your ESA is flying in the passenger cabin or as a checked animal, the route, and the airline. Always check these restrictions ahead of time, before you book a ticket for you and your ESA.
Indiana Emotional Support Animal Public Transporation Laws
Public transportation providers in Indiana, such as IndyGo, allow service animals in their vehicles per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These animals are allowed to accompany their owners without being in a carrying case or restrained beyond the normal harness and leash.
Emotional support animals can ride public transport only if the transportation provider allows pets. IndyGo, for example, allows pets in a carrying case. Although there are no size requirements, your emotional support animal’s carrying case shouldn’t block the aisles or create hardship for other passengers.
Similar to IndyGo, most public transportation providers in Indiana allow pets in a carrying case as long as this doesn’t interfere with other passengers. Nonetheless, it’s best to check the public transportation provider’s pet policies before traveling with your emotional support animal in Indiana.
How to Get an ESA Letter in Indiana
Getting an emotional support animal letter in Indiana is an essential step if you want to take advantage of the rights granted to you by the Fair Housing Act and show your need for an ESA. Below, we tell you more about this important process.
1) Speak With an LMHP
Only a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) with a license in Indiana can write an ESA letter. Therefore, you must schedule an appointment with a therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist. Although other health professionals, such as licensed counselors and physicians, can also write an ESA letter, they may not be as familiar with the process.
If you’re not connected with an LMHP in Indiana and aren’t sure where to start in finding one, we can help. Fill out our ESA consultation form and we’ll put you in touch with an LMHP with an Indiana license – from there, they’ll assess whether you qualify for an ESA letter.
After scheduling your appointment, attend your session with your LMHP to determine if you would benefit from having an ESA. It can take multiple sessions for your mental health professional to decide; it’s important to trust the process and be honest about your symptoms.
If you have a pet and feel comforted by their presence, you can bring this up, as it will give them a good reason to write you an ESA letter. However, even with this, there’s no guarantee that an LMHP will write you an ESA letter. Your condition, mental health history, family life, and many more things go into an LMHP’s decision to write you an ESA letter.
2) Adopt a Pet (If You Don’t Already Have One)
If you don’t have a pet, but your LMHP decided that you may benefit from an emotional support animal, the next step is to adopt a support animal.
Since you’ll be adopting a pet to become your emotional support animal, consider what kind of pet would provide therapeutic benefits. Dogs and cats are among the most popular choices, but any animal could become a beloved companion. Rabbits, hamsters, ferrets, Guinea pigs, and many others may surprise you with how affectionate they are.
Lastly, consider the breed of the animal you’re adopting. From dogs and cats to ferrets and Guinea pigs, all have different breeds with varying personalities and temperaments. During the adoption process, research all these to find the right emotional support animal that will seamlessly adapt to your life.
3) Get Your ESA Letter
ESA letters include basic information about your condition and emotional support animal, such as their type and breed. Once your LMHP decides to write you an ESA letter, you’ll need to provide them with these basic details about your emotional support animal letter.
After this, you’ll receive your ESA letter and can use it when and where necessary, such as informing your landlord about your emotional support animal. Keep in mind that your ESA letter will have an expiration date, and you will need to renew your ESA letter routinely to keep it valid.
FAQs About ESAs in Indiana
If you want to add an emotional support animal to your treatment plan in Indiana, you may have some lingering questions about this animal and the process. We answer your most frequently asked questions about ESAs below.
Can I Use an ESA Letter Written by an Indiana Therapist in Other States?
An ESA letter must be written by a therapist or other LMHP licensed in your state of residence. So, if you move to another state from Indiana, you’ll have to get a new letter from a professional licensed in Indiana in order for your ESA letter to be valid.
Do I Need to Inform the Landlord About My ESA Before Signing the Lease?
By law, you aren’t mandated to let your housing provider know you’ll be with an emotional support animal during the application process. Many individuals with a psychiatric disability who have an ESA choose to inform their landlords after signing the lease to ensure they aren’t discriminated against because of their ESA.
However, if you want to make sure your animal is included in your lease documents, you will need to provide this information before signing. Always check with specific housing rules and regulations before making your ESA housing accommodations request.
How Do I Get an ESA in Indiana?
Getting an ESA in Indiana requires a mental health professional licensed in Indiana writing you an ESA letter. This letter essentially prescribes you an emotional support animal, and you will show it as proof of your legal need for an emotional support animal.
Do I Need to Register My ESA in Indiana?
There are various online emotional support animal and service animal registries, and none of them are legally required for you to use. The only documentation you need of your ESA is your valid ESA letter.
That being said, while these registries don’t offer any legal benefits, registering your ESA can help show their validity as an emotional support animal and give you further peace of mind.
Understanding ESA Laws in Indiana
Indiana state laws uphold the regulations put in place protecting ESAs and their owners by federal laws, the most important of which is the Fair Housing Act. When you are thinking about adding an ESA to your life in Indiana, it’s important to note that you will have housing rights with a valid ESA letter.
Speak to your therapist or another mental healthcare professional licensed in Indiana as soon as possible if you wish to adopt an emotional support animal and start benefiting from one of these wonderful companion animals.