Emotional support animals are an irreplaceable asset for people with a mental disability. These animals have numerous therapeutic benefits that comfort their owners through challenging times. The importance of emotional support animals makes them more than just pets.
The law protects emotional support animals to ensure they can be there to comfort their owners. While much of their protections come from federal mandates, your state may have additional protections in place. This article will guide you through emotional support animal laws in New Hampshire.
Read to the end to get a detailed understanding of ESA laws, including for housing, air travel, and entering public spaces in New Hampshire, such as restaurants and stores.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
Emotional support animals (ESA) provide therapeutic benefits to an individual with a psychiatric condition through companionship. These animals achieve this by being a loyal companion next to their owner, giving all the affection and love they have. This is all emotional support animals are expected to do to become an assistance animal.
While most people think of cats and dogs as emotional support animals, an ESA can be any pet you can legally have in New Hampshire. Other than dogs and cats, some of the popular emotional support animals include ferrets, gerbils, chinchillas, rabbits, birds, and tortoises.
Any pet can become an emotional support animal, but not right away. For a pet to be considered an assistance animal, the owner must have a qualifying mental disability and obtain an ESA letter. This document essentially prescribes the pet to the individual to help alleviate their symptoms.
To get an ESA letter in New Hampshire, you’ll need to speak with a licensed mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or therapist – more on obtaining an ESA letter below.
Difference Between ESAs and Service Animals
Emotional support animal laws in New Hampshire can get confusing without knowing the difference between an ESA and a service animal. Here’s an overview of the main differences that set these assistance animals apart.
Type and Eligibility
Emotional support animals can be any pet you can legally have in New Hampshire. On the other hand, only dogs can become service animals under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). This means you can have an emotional support cat in New Hampshire but can’t have one as your service animal.
Furthermore, emotional support animals require an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional to be officially recognized. Service animals don’t need any legal document or registration.
While documents such as an ESA letter prove status almost immediately, entities like airlines can ask questions to verify that an animal is a service animal. However, these questions must be within limits set by the ADA. Entities can only ask what tasks the service animal performs and if they are required because of a disability.
How They Assist the Handler
Service animals help their handlers by upholding tasks beyond providing companionship. These animals execute commands to help their handlers live a better life.
Some of the tasks service animals undertake to assist an individual with a mental disability are keeping the handler away from triggers and applying deep pressure therapy during an anxiety attack. Service animals that take on such tasks are referred to as psychiatric service animals.
Service animals can assist individuals with a psychiatric disability in numerous ways, but these animals can also help those with a physical disability. From mobility assistance dogs providing balance to hearing dogs alerting those with hearing impairments, a service animal can be trained specifically to assist a disabled individual.
Having said all this, how they assist their handler draws a clear line between these two types of assistance animals.
Public Access Rights
The last difference you should know is the legal protections of emotional support and service animals aren’t identical.
Service animals are granted public access rights to ensure they can assist their handlers everywhere they go. A service animal is legally permitted to enter any space the handler can, including establishments where pets may be prohibited, such as restaurants, stores, and malls, per the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Emotional support animals don’t have the same freedom of movement because the ADA doesn’t recognize them as service animals. New Hampshire businesses can deny emotional support animals due to a no-pet policy, though many in the state make exceptions for ESAs.
A Quick Overview of New Hampshire Emotional Support Animal Laws
Although emotional support animals are subject to pet policies when it comes to public access, they are protected under federal law. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) are the two federal legislations that mention emotional support animals.
Before we dive right into specific emotional support animal laws, it’s important to note that New Hampshire doesn’t have a statewide emotional support animal law. Therefore, they don’t have additional protections in the state.
New Hampshire Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws
Although there aren’t state-specific ESA laws in New Hampshire, the Fair Housing Act protects emotional support animals. Landlords in New Hampshire must make accommodations for an emotional support animal and can’t deny housing to prospective tenants just because they have an ESA.
Here’s more on the housing laws regarding ESAs in NH.
ESAs in No-Pet Rentals
Landlords in New Hampshire must make reasonable accommodations for emotional support animals by law. A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment, change, or exception to a rule or policy, such as a no-pet clause in a lease or rental agreement.
Therefore, landlords in New Hampshire can’t ask emotional support animals to be removed from the property due to no-pet policies. It is also illegal for New Hampshire landlords to deny housing to an individual because they have an emotional support animal.
This protection ensures individuals with a valid ESA letter from their licensed mental health professionals can live with their emotional support animals. However, the accommodation must be reasonable. The housing provider can legally deny an ESA if their presence creates a health or safety risk to other residents or causes damage to the property.
A few common reasons for a landlord to deny an ESA legally is the animal’s size being too large for the rental property or disturbing others due to excessive noise.
For example, a landlord renting a studio apartment may deny a miniature horse, arguing that their presence will cause damage other than normal wear and tear. In the case of an excessively barking dog, the landlord may claim the ESA will disturb other residents.
ESAs in No-Pet Buildings (Condos, Apartments)
In some cases, landlords have a no-pet policy in the lease due to building-wide decisions restricting animals. Some managements also allow pets but put a limit on their weight or ban certain breeds.
These restrictions don’t apply to emotional support animals in New Hampshire, as they aren’t considered pets. Living with your ESA in such buildings would be considered reasonable accommodation, even if other residents don’t want pets in the building. The Fair Housing Act also extends to weight limits and breed restrictions.
Filing a Housing Discrimination Complaint
It’s the legal right of those with an ESA letter to live with their emotional support animal. However, it isn’t uncommon for a landlord to deny an ESA due to a no-pet policy, even when you have all the necessary paperwork.
If you believe you’ve been denied housing because of your disability, file an FHA complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. You can also get legal assistance from New Hampshire Legal Assistance.
New Hampshire Laws for Air Travel With an Emotional Support Animal
Emotional support animals were protected under the Air Carrier Access Act prior to the changes in late 2020. Airlines had to allow emotional support animals in the passenger cabin with their owners and waived pet travel fees.
With the updates in the law, only service animals are permitted to fly with their owners in the passenger cabin. Airlines no longer need to make accommodations to their pet policies for emotional support animals. That means you must follow the airline’s pet policy to fly with an ESA.
Although airlines that fly from/to New Hampshire don’t make an exception for emotional support animals and treat them as service animals, most allow pets. If your ESA is small enough to be carried in an airline-appropriate carrier, you can take them in the passenger cabin. If not, your ESA can only fly as a checked animal in the cargo compartment.
Pet-Friendly Airlines Flying From/to NH
Below is a list of airlines with frequent flights from and to New Hampshire that allow pets in the passenger cabin and/or as checked animals.
- United Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- American Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
- Southwest Airlines
- Avelo Airlines
These airlines are a valid option for most ESA owners, but those with an emotional support animal other than a dog or cat will have a harder time finding an airline as most only allow dogs and cats.
However, airlines like Alaska Airlines allow rabbits, Guinea pigs, ferrets, non-poisonous reptiles, and other animals, but it doesn’t have flights to/from New Hampshire. The nearest airport Alaska Airlines flies from is the Boston Logan International Airport in Massachusetts.
If you must fly with your ESA from New Hampshire but can’t find an airline that accepts them, you can drive to Boston and fly with Alaska Airlines. However, make sure to contact Alaska Airlines before booking your ticket to get confirmation that you can fly with your ESA.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting an ESA Letter in NH
Only a licensed mental health professional can write an emotional support animal. Therefore, you’ll need to schedule an appointment with one to get an ESA letter. However, getting an ESA letter isn’t as straightforward as getting a doctor’s note. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get an ESA letter and what to expect from this process.
1) Determine Your Eligibility
To qualify for an emotional support animal, you must be diagnosed with a psychiatric condition, such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Those without a psychiatric disability aren’t eligible for an emotional support animal.
2) Schedule an Appointment With an LMHP
Assuming you have a diagnosed psychiatric condition or are experiencing symptoms of one, schedule an appointment with an LMHP to discuss ESAs as an option in your treatment.
When finding a doctor to write an ESA letter, it would be to your advantage to schedule an appointment with a New Hampshire mental health professional knowledgeable about the process. This will ensure you’ll get your ESA letter quickly.
3) Attend an Evaluation Session
When the appointment date comes, attend your evaluation session to talk about your symptoms. As you consult with your doctor, discuss emotional support animals as an option. If you already have a pet and their presence provides comfort and helps you cope with your symptoms, mentioning this to your doctor can help them decide.
If your LMHP decides you may benefit from having an emotional support animal, they will write you an ESA letter. It may take multiple sessions before your mental health professional comes to a conclusion, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get an ESA letter simply because you want or need it. It’s ultimately up to your doctor to determine.
5) Get Your ESA Letter
Once your doctor decides that an emotional support animal is a good option, they will write you an ESA letter. Provide the details your LMHP asks to complete your emotional support animal letter, such as your ESA’s type, breed, and other basic details. Your ESA letter will also detail your diagnosis and why your doctor is writing it.
When obtaining your ESA letter, inspect it for your therapist’s license number, contact information, and handwritten signature. Without these, your ESA letter won’t be valid.
New Hampshire ESA FAQs
Do you still have questions about ESAs in New Hampshire? We answer the most common ones below.
Can I Take My ESA to University Housing in New Hampshire?
The Fair Housing Act also covers university housing, both on and off campus. If you’re staying in a dorm room on campus, your university has a legal obligation to accommodate your ESA.
Do I Need to Register My ESA in New Hampshire?
Registration for emotional support animals (and service animals) isn’t mandatory. You aren’t required by law to register your emotional support animal anywhere. Although emotional support animal registries don’t offer any legal benefits, they may help prove the validity of your emotional support animal to entities.
Can Landlords in New Hampshire Ask for an ESA Letter?
Your landlord in New Hampshire can request an ESA letter to prove the status of your emotional support animal. As a prospective tenant, your landlord may also ask for it before signing the lease. Also, landlords have a legal right to request a renewed ESA letter annually.
Do ESA Letters Expire in New Hampshire?
An ESA letter is valid for one year from the date it was written by your mental health professional. It is possible to renew an ESA letter to maintain housing accommodation for your ESA after one year if your psychiatric condition persists. Since housing providers can ask for an ESA letter annually, consider getting it renewed before your lease is up.
Wrapping Up ESA Laws in Hampshire
The New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination makes it illegal for landlords to deny housing to individuals with a disability, though emotional support animals aren’t mentioned. Like many states, New Hampshire doesn’t have statewide emotional support animal laws.
Nonetheless, the Fair Housing Act ensures individuals with a psychiatric disability can live with their emotional support animals in no-pet rentals, and prospective tenants aren’t denied housing due to their ESAs. The law also waives pet fees and deposits the landlord may charge for an emotional support animal.
Besides housing, emotional support animals no longer have public access. New Hampshire businesses aren’t required to make accommodations for an ESA like they must for service animals. Also, those wishing to fly with their ESA from or to New Hampshire must follow the airline’s pet policies.
While this summarizes emotional support animal laws in New Hampshire, contact a licensed mental health professional if you’re experiencing symptoms of a psychiatric condition. Licensed doctors can decide an appropriate treatment path for your symptoms, which may include the use of emotional support animals.