Emotional support animals are wonderful companion animals that provide many benefits to the individuals they support. There are some federal protections in place that aim to ensure individuals can benefit from their emotional support animals no matter where they live, and many states, including Alabama, uphold these laws.
Our article gives you more insight into Alabama’s emotional support animal (ESA) laws so you know the rights you have once you add one of these amazing companions into your life.
What Are Emotional Support Animals?
Emotional support animals are animals that provide comfort and companionship to their humans, relieving the symptoms of certain mental health conditions or disabilities. These support animals can be any kind of animal, though cats and dogs are the most popular choices, and they aren’t trained to help with any specific task. Instead, the owner of an emotional support animal benefits from the comfort, routine, and companionship their animal provides.
Are Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals the Same?
Emotional support animals and service animals are not the same, though many people confuse these two types of companion animals. While emotional support animals provide their main benefits through comfort and companionship, their presence brings them into an individual’s life. Service animals are almost always dogs that are trained to help with disability-related tasks.
Service animals complete tasks like guidance for the visually impaired, psychiatric service dog tasks, and medical or allergy alerts, and they are granted more wide-reaching federal and state public access rights. These wide-reaching rights are essential to ensure that individuals with certain disabilities and a service animal can access all areas with the support they need.
It is important to note that you cannot bring your emotional support animal into public the same way a service animal is allowed in public; ESAs must stick to pet-friendly or public areas where pets are allowed, while service animals can accompany their owner almost anywhere, including places where animals are typically restricted.
Alabama Emotional Support Animal Laws
In general, Alabama upholds federal protections for emotional support animals. The state doesn’t have any additional protections at a state level for ESAs. Below, we will give you an overview of what rights you may have with your emotional support animal in Alabama below.
Housing Laws
Housing laws are the most important laws to know about when it comes to your emotional support animal. Federal protections for emotional support animals are granted by the Fair Housing Act. This act aims to eliminate discrimination against individuals who need to live with a service animal or an emotional support animal.
Under the Fair Housing Act, you will be allowed to live alongside your emotional support animal in any area of housing as long as your accommodations request is reasonable (for example, not living with four large dogs in a small studio apartment). You will not be required to pay pet fees or pet deposits, and your emotional support animal will be exempt from breed restrictions or any pet restrictions that a housing complex or property may have.
You will need to obtain a valid Alabama ESA letter to ensure you can take advantage of these accommodations.
Public Access Laws
As we mentioned above, emotional support animals don’t really have public access rights. Only service animals are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act, and this act gives service animals the right to accompany their owner into virtually any public space, with the exception being some religious spaces.
Emotional support animals may only accompany their owners in public if the place visited has pet-friendly policies or otherwise allows animals inside or outside of the property. Always check the specific rules of a business or other location before showing up with your emotional support animal.
Travel Laws
Travel laws like the federal Air Carrier Access Act are used to protect emotional support animals and service animals, but updates to this law adjusted it to only grant travel protections to service animals; Alabama state law adheres to this law.
Under the Air Carrier Access Act, you will need to work with the airline you wish to travel with directly to secure a ticket for your ESA and ensure they can travel in the cabin with you. You will need to treat your emotional support animal like a pet when traveling with most airlines, and you may be subject to pet restrictions or fees.
Workplace Laws
While some states, such as California, have laws in place that allow individuals to bring their emotional support animal into the workplace with employer approval, Alabama is not one of those states. You cannot bring your emotional support animal into your place of employment, though some employers in Alabama may have specific rules for ESAs.
If you could benefit from the support of your ESA at work, speak with the appropriate people at your workplace to see if you can receive an approved accommodation.
How Do I Ensure My Emotional Support Animal is Valid in Alabama?
Ensuring that your emotional support animal is valid in Alabama requires an emotional support animal letter that verifies your need and is written by a mental healthcare provider licensed in Alabama. Without this letter, you cannot request accommodations to live with your emotional support animal, nor can you be exempt from breed restrictions, pet fees, and other pet regulations that your landlord or housing complex may have in place.
If you believe you can benefit from the comfort and companionship that an emotional support animal provides, schedule an appointment with a mental healthcare provider about your needs to receive an evaluation and discuss treatment options. Once you have been approved for an emotional support animal, your provider will write you a letter for your ESA, and your companion animal will be valid.
FAQs About Alabama Emotional Support Animal Laws
Emotional support animals and the state-level laws that protect them can sometimes leave individuals confused. Our answers to frequently asked questions about Alabama ESA laws can provide you with the clarification you need.
Can I Take My Emotional Support Animal With Me in Public?
It is possible to take your emotional support animal with you in public as long as the public area you are visiting with your ESA is pet-friendly. You should be aware of all rules and restrictions when it comes to taking your emotional support animal out in public, as they are only allowed to visit areas with specific pet-friendly rules.
Keep in mind that if you have a more exotic emotional support animal, they may not be allowed in the same spaces that dogs and cats would be – always check the specific rules of a location ahead of your visit.
How Do I Request Emotional Support Animal Accommodations?
To request emotional support animal accommodations, you must first have a valid ESA letter from a mental healthcare provider who is licensed in Alabama. Your mental healthcare provider will evaluate your condition and your need for an emotional support animal before writing you a letter that states that need.
You can then show the letter to landlords and rental agencies to request housing accommodations. If you have any questions about your Alabama ESA letter, speak to your mental healthcare provider.
Can My Emotional Support Animal Be Denied Accommodation?
In some circumstances, landlords and rental agencies may be able to legally deny you accommodations to live with your emotional support animal. Typically, this only happens in one of the following situations:
- Your emotional support animal is out of control, aggressive, or dangerous to others
- Your emotional support animal is destructive to the property
- You cannot reasonably care for your emotional support animal in the housing space requested
Keep in mind that requesting exotic emotional support animals to live in small spaces or housing areas that aren’t able to support them almost always results in your ESA accommodation request being denied. This is for both the safety of the animal and others living around your housing complex.
If you believe that you have been unfairly denied your ESA housing accommodation rights, speak with a legal professional who specializes in disability rights law.
Does My Emotional Support Animal Need to be Trained?
Your emotional support animal is not expected to complete any disability-related tasks for you as a service dog would, and they do not need to be trained. However, it can be helpful for your emotional support animal (if they are a dog) to have basic obedience skills and manners that make them easy to work with in public.
If your emotional support animal is anything other than a dog, you don’t need to engage in any kind of training. Simply care for your ESA properly and benefit from the comfort they provide while living alongside you.
Should I Identify My Emotional Support Animal?
You are not necessarily required to identify your ESA as an emotional support animal, though many people choose to do this when outside in public with their ESA. Notifying others that your animal is an emotional support animal can help inform the public of how they are supposed to behave around your animal and discourage them from making lots of contact or interfering with the support your dog is providing you.
Keep in mind that misrepresenting your emotional support animal as a service animal can be considered a crime at a federal level, and you should never do this in an attempt to receive more public access rights for your ESA.
Can I Take My ESA With Me to College in Alabama?
You can take your emotional support animal with you to college as long as you have a valid Alabama ESA letter from your mental healthcare provider. Your emotional support animal will be able to live with you in any on-campus housing or any housing that you find around your college’s campus. Simply make sure that you make your ESA known and that you request accommodations from your university or landlord.
Benefiting From Your Alabama Emotional Support Animal
Emotional support animals are important companions to many, and individuals throughout Alabama may need the support of their companion animal to help relieve certain mental health conditions. To receive the benefits of your emotional support animal, you should be able to keep them by your side wherever you live and not face discrimination because of your need for an ESA.
Alabama upholds federal housing protections for individuals who need to live with their emotional support animals, so you can request reasonable accommodations in any housing complex or campus housing location. Speak with a mental healthcare provider licensed in Alabama for more details about adding an emotional support animal to your treatment plan.