Emotional support animals are companion animals that provide several benefits to their owners, such as the comfort and companionship that their presence brings. There are federal and state-level regulations in place today that protect the rights of individuals to live alongside their emotional support animal.
If you’re considering adding an emotional support animal to your treatment plan, it’s important to understand these regulations so you know what your rights are in Arkansas. Our article gives you an overview of emotional support animals and the most important Arkansas emotional support animal (ESA) laws you should know about.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
An emotional support animal is any animal that provides relief from certain mental health symptoms, such as anxiety, stress, or depression. Emotional support animals are commonly cats or dogs, but they can be any type of animal including rabbits, snakes, and birds.
The presence of an emotional support animal is what helps their owner feel better, as the sense of routine and comfort that cuddling with or caring for an animal provides brings positive feelings and can help regulate the more unpleasant symptoms of a mental health condition.
Emotional support animals are untrained, though ESAs that are dogs may benefit from basic training to ensure they are well-behaved when out in public with their owner.
Who Qualifies for an Emotional Support Animal?
Many individuals may qualify for an emotional support animal, though common conditions that benefit from the addition of an ESA include anxiety, chronic stress, depression, PTSD, and OCD.
A licensed mental healthcare provider is necessary to evaluate your need for an emotional support animal; you will need to be able to physically and financially care for your ESA if one is approved for your treatment plan.
Are Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals the Same?
Emotional support animals and service animals are not the same, though many people tend to confuse these two types of companion animals. Emotional support animals are not trained, and they can be any type of animal, while service animals are typically dogs that are highly trained to complete tasks specific to an individual’s disability. Examples of service dog tasks you may see these amazing animals complete include guidance for the visually impaired and medical or allergy alerts to their handler.
Service animals have more wide-reaching public access rights protected at both federal and state levels due to their training and the fact that many individuals rely on their service animals to go about their day. Emotional support animals have more limited protections because their main function is as companion animals that provide a sense of relief or comfort to their owners.
Arkansas Emotional Support Animal Laws You Need to Know
It is important to be familiar with Arkansas emotional support animal laws if you want to add an ESA to your treatment plan. These laws will help you understand your rights and what you can or can’t do with your emotional support animal.
It’s important to note that recent updates were made to Arkansas’s state law regarding emotional support animals and the sale of identifying material. This law, Arkansas Law HB1420, aims to end the misrepresentation of emotional support animals as service animals by ensuring that all items used to identify emotional support animals come with a notice that they cannot be used to pass an ESA off as a service animal, as this is against the law.
Another important update to Arkansas state law listed in HB1420 is the time period for which an individual must be seeing a mental healthcare practitioner licensed in the state before they can request an emotional support animal letter; a minimum 30-day relationship is now required before ESA letters can be provided.
Housing Laws
Housing laws are the most important set of laws for individuals with emotional support animals to be familiar with. The federal Fair Housing Act puts protections for individuals needing to live with an ESA or service animal in place, and Arkansas state law upholds this federal regulation. Under the Fair Housing Act, individuals with emotional support animals can request housing accommodations to live with their ESA despite any breed restrictions, pet restrictions, or pet fees and security deposits.
Individuals with valid ESA letters and an emotional support animal must be granted reasonable housing accommodations by their landlord or rental agency, and they will not be subject to any additional fees or property pet rules.
Workplace Laws
While some states have laws in place that allow individuals to request accommodations and bring their emotional support animals to work with them, Arkansas is unfortunately not one of these states. However, individuals in Arkansas can check directly with their employers and attempt to request accommodations with a valid ESA letter to bring their emotional support animal to work. Simply keep in mind that your employer is not required to honor this request.
Travel Laws
The federal Air Carrier Access Act previously included both emotional support animals and service animals, though recent updates in 2021 removed emotional support animals from the protections granted by this act. Instead of being able to travel without pet fees or cabin restrictions, emotional support animals are now handled on a case-by-case basis by the airline you wish to travel with.
In most cases, you will need to register your emotional support animal as a pet, purchase a pet ticket for them, and adhere to all pet restrictions your chosen airline has in place. Arkansas upholds these federal regulations.
Public Access Laws
Unlike service animals, emotional support animals are not granted public access rights that permit them to access businesses, stores, restaurants, and other public areas where animals aren’t usually allowed. The Americans with Disabilities Act is the federal regulation that protects this right for service animals.
However, you may be able to bring your emotional support animal into public in Arkansas if the public area has a pet-friendly or animal-friendly policy in place. Always check ahead of time what the policy of a specific area is before you show up with your ESA.
How Do I Get an Emotional Support Animal in Arkansas?
If you believe that an emotional support animal would benefit you in Arkansas, your first step is to make an appointment with a mental healthcare provider licensed in the state. As you establish a relationship with your mental healthcare provider, they will listen to your concerns about your condition and provide you with an evaluation that determines whether or not you can benefit from the addition of an emotional support animal to your treatment plan.
After 30 days, your mental healthcare provider will be able to approve you for an emotional support animal and write you a letter stating this need. You can then use your emotional support animal letter to request housing accommodations or other accommodations in Arkansas as necessary.
FAQs About Arkansas Emotional Support Animal Laws
Understanding the laws on emotional support animals in Arkansas can be confusing at first. We will provide further clarification by answering some of the most commonly asked questions about Arkansas’ emotional support animal laws below.
Do I Need To Train My Emotional Support Animal?
You do not need to train your emotional support animal, as ESAs provide their benefits through the comfort and companionship that their presence brings. Additionally, some emotional support animals may not be easily trained, though ESAs that are dogs can benefit from basic training that ensures they are well-behaved in public. However, there are no regulations or restrictions in regard to training your emotional support animal.
How Do I Request Accommodations for My Emotional Support Animal?
To request accommodations at an apartment, in a home, or in college housing in Arkansas, you will need a valid emotional support animal letter written for you by a licensed mental healthcare provider you have an established relationship with. You will request your accommodations by stating your need to live with your ESA and showing your letter to the appropriate person, such as a landlord or housing authority.
From there, your accommodation can be approved and you will be guided through the next steps of registering your emotional support animal and providing information about them so that you can live alongside them stress-free.
Can My Accommodations Request for My ESA Be Denied?
In some cases, your accommodations request for an emotional support animal may be denied. This typically happens when your emotional support animal is destructive, aggressive, out of control, or generally dangerous to themselves or others around your property. Make sure you keep in mind that you will be liable for any damages that your emotional support animal causes, even if you aren’t liable for pet deposits or recurring pet rent.
Additionally, if your housing accommodation request for your emotional support animal is not reasonable, it may also be denied. An example of an accommodation that wouldn’t be reasonable would be keeping exotic animals in an apartment complex where you could not properly care for the animals.
How Can I Identify My Emotional Support Animal?
You aren’t required to identify your emotional support animal in Arkansas, but some individuals choose to do so anyway with marked leashes, vests, harnesses, or certifications. It’s important to note that Arkansas Law HB 1420 provides updates to sales notices regarding emotional support animal identification items, and these items must not be used to misrepresent your emotional support animal as a service animal to gain additional rights. Doing so can be considered a crime and may land you in serious trouble.
Where Can I Get an Emotional Support Animal?
Any animal that provides you with comfort, support, and companionship may be eligible to be your emotional support animal. You can go to a shelter to adopt an ESA, or you can find an emotional support animal in a pet shop.
Just make sure that your mental healthcare provider thinks that adding an emotional support animal into your treatment plan is a good idea and that you can properly care for your ESA before adding one to your family.
Additionally, if you already have a pet that you would like to be registered as an emotional support animal, this is possible. Speak with your mental healthcare provider about transitioning your pet into a valid emotional support animal.
Can I Take My Emotional Support Animal With Me Into Public Places?
You can take your emotional support animal with you into public, but it is important to note that your ESA will not have the same public access rights that a service animal has. This is because emotional support animals provide benefits with their presence, and they are not trained to complete specific disability-related tasks.
As you prepare to take your emotional support animal with you into public, make sure that the place you are visiting has a pet-friendly policy and that your specific emotional support animal will be allowed on the property to avoid issues when you show up with your ESA.
Benefiting From Your Arkansas Emotional Support Animal
Emotional support animals are wonderful companions that provide their benefits to many throughout the state of Arkansas. It’s important to be aware of Arkansas law when it comes to emotional support animals and that you understand your emotional support animal rights in the state.
Speak with a mental healthcare provider licensed in Arkansas for more details about adding an emotional support animal to your treatment plan or information about obtaining a valid ESA letter for your pet.