Emotional support animals, shortly known as ESAs, assist their owner with a psychiatric condition by providing companionship. They are an irreplaceable part of their handlers, and the state of Maine recognizes the importance of these assistance animals.
The Maine Human Rights Commission has specific definitions for emotional support animals and ensures individuals aren’t discriminated against because of their ESA. If you’re an ESA owner or qualify for one, knowing the ESA laws in Maine is a must.
Our article will guide you through Maine emotional support animal laws. Read to the end to learn ESA laws on housing, air travel, public accommodation, and more.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
An emotional support animal is an assistance animal that comforts their owner through the companionship they provide. However, not everyone qualifies for an emotional support animal. Only individuals with a psychiatric disability, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, can have their pet as an emotional support animal.
This requires obtaining an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional. It’s a document that essentially prescribes an emotional support animal to the individual to alleviate their symptoms – more on getting an ESA letter in Maine down below.
Emotional support animals don’t require any training and can be any pet you can keep in the state of Maine. While cats and dogs are common emotional support animals in Maine, ESAs can be any pet – from ferrets and rabbits to house birds and Guinea pigs.
Difference Between ESAs and Service Animals
As you dig through Maine emotional support animal laws, you’ll come across service animals and ESAs in the same discussion. However, these two types of assistance animals aren’t the same, and knowing their differences will equip you with a better understanding of ESA laws in your state.
Type, Training, and Assistance
First and foremost, service animals must be dogs trained to help an individual with a disability. Therefore, you cannot have a service cat or rabbit as you can have them as your emotional support animal. The law, namely the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), only recognizes dogs as service animals.
Emotional support animals have one job – to comfort their owners – but service animals can uphold a wide range of tasks. Some of the typical service animal tasks for psychiatric conditions include performing deep pressure therapy during an anxiety attack and keeping a distance between the handler and others.
Unlike ESAs, service animals aren’t reserved for individuals with a psychiatric condition. Service animals can also help those with a physical disability by providing balance when walking, guiding the visually impaired, or driving momentum up the stairs.
Public Accommodations
The Americans with Disabilities Act grants service animals public access rights. The law prohibits businesses that provide goods and services to the general public from denying entry to service animals with their handler. This public access right applies anywhere the handler is allowed, including government buildings, office spaces, and national parks.
Since the ADA only recognizes dogs as service animals, businesses aren’t required to make the same public accommodations to an emotional support animal. They may be denied entry if there’s a no-pet policy.
However, there are other places where relevant entities must make reasonable accommodations for ESAs – more on that below.
An Overview of Emotional Support Animal Laws in Maine
As mentioned, the Maine Human Rights Commission has definitions for emotional support animals and recognizes how important they are for individuals with a psychiatric disability. However, like many other states, Maine doesn’t have a specific law governing emotional support animals.
Nonetheless, federal law grants emotional support animals certain protections. Below, you’ll learn all about the ESA laws in Maine regarding housing, air travel, employment, and more.
Maine Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws
Since there isn’t a housing law for emotional support animals in Maine, we must refer to the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Like the ADA, the FHA is there to ensure renters and buyers aren’t discriminated against because of their disability.
This also covers emotional support animals, as they are recommended by licensed mental health professionals because of a disability. Therefore, landlords in Maine cannot deny housing to an individual because of an ESA and must make reasonable accommodations to give them access.
Here’s more on the housing laws for emotional support animals.
ESAs in No-Pet Rentals
It’s common for landlords in Maine to add a no-pet clause in the lease or rental agreement. If a renter brings home a pet and violates the no-pet clause, they can get evicted.
However, emotional support animals aren’t subject to the same rules as pets. A landlord cannot deny an emotional support animal because of a no-pet clause in the lease. As long as the tenant has a valid ESA letter, landlords must make reasonable accommodations to allow the ESA, including waiving the no-pet rule clause in the lease.
Maine landlords cannot also deny housing to future tenants due to an emotional support animal. Doing so is against the Fair Housing Act, as the landlord would deny housing because of a disability.
Individuals with an ESA letter in Maine must inform their landlords about the presence of their emotional support animal. One important note about this is the Fair Housing Act doesn’t require prospective tenants to disclose an emotional support animal to protect prospective tenants.
Therefore, you can legally inform your landlord after signing the lease if you’re afraid that you might not get housing because of your ESA in Maine.
ESAs in Pet Restricted Buildings
While the above applies to the rules set by a landlord, what about building-wide pet restrictions? Many apartment complexes and condominiums in Maine, particularly in Portland, have a no-pet policy or a restriction on the pet’s weight. When renting or buying a unit in these buildings, your lease will automatically have a no-pet clause.
Luckily, emotional support animals are also exempt from such restrictions, whether there’s a ban on pets entering the building or a weight limit. Just as landlords are required to make reasonable accommodations for an emotional support animal, the building management must, too.
Flying With an ESA From/to Maine
Flying with an emotional support animal has been a hot topic in recent years. The confusion mainly arises from changes to the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA).
Airlines in the past had to permit emotional support animals on flights. The pet travel fees were also lifted for ESAs. However, with the changes to the ACAA in late 2020, these now only apply to service animals.
Because the ADA doesn’t include emotional support animals in its description of a service animal, emotional support animals aren’t granted the same exception. You must comply with the airline’s pet policy for flying with an ESA from or to Maine.
How to Fly With an Emotional Support Animal?
To fly with an emotional support animal, you’ll need to check the pet policy of the airline you’re flying with to know what they need from you and your ESA. Here’s an overview of the typical requirements and how you can fly with your ESA.
Flying With Your ESA as a Carry-on
Generally, you can take your emotional support animal in the passenger cabin as a carry-on if they are small enough to be transported in an airline-approved carrier.
The exact dimensions for approved pet carriers vary between airlines, but most require it to fit under the seat in front of you. Do note that the airline may also have a total weight limit – it’s usually around 20 pounds.
Lastly, some airlines only accept small dogs and house cats in the passenger cabin. If your ESA is a rabbit or Guinea pig, for example, you may not be able to fly with them as a carry-on. Check which animals the airline allows to know if you can fly with your ESA in the passenger.
Flying With Your ESA as a Checked Animal
If the above suits you and your ESA, you can fly together in the passenger cabin. If not, however, the only option for flying is to give them as a checked animal to be transported in the cargo compartment.
Like flying with your emotional support animal as a carry-on, the airline will have a weight and dimension limit for the carrier. However, it’s much more generous compared to the passenger cabin requirements.
For example, the dimensions Alaska Airlines allows for pets in the passenger cabin are (LWH) 17″ x 11″ x 9.5″. In the cargo compartment, this is more than double at 40″ x 27″ x 30″. Also, the weight limit is up to 150 lbs, which can even fit the largest emotional support animals.
While flying in the cargo can be a scary experience – both for you and your ESA, it’s generally safe for animals. Airline workers and baggage handlers are extra cautious with checked animals. They are carefully loaded into the cargo compartment separately from everything else and handed to you at the airport from a designated area.
Pet Travel Fees for ESAs
Airlines charge a pet travel fee for emotional support animals. This can range anywhere between $100 and $250 one way, depending on the route and your ESA’s size. The fee is the same charged for pets, and none of the airlines flying to and from Maine offers discounts for emotional support animals.
Pet-Friendly Airlines With Regular Flights To/From Maine
The following is a list of airlines that accept pets and emotional support animals in the passenger cabin and cargo compartment. The requirements for animals flying may vary between these airlines. Make sure to check their pet policy before booking your ticket.
- Delta Air Lines
- United Airlines
- American Airlines
- JetBlue
- Alaska Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace
Countless employers nationwide, including Maine companies, are picking up on the benefits of having pets at work. Unfortunately, employers aren’t required to permit emotional support animals in the workplace.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, emotional support animals aren’t considered reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Employers are only required to permit service animals. It’s up to your employer to decide if they allow employees to bring their emotional support animals to work.
Only California and New York require employers to make reasonable accommodations for ESAs at work.
Nonetheless, you can talk to your employer and discuss if it’s an option for you to bring your emotional support animal to work. Although not a must for employers, explaining how bringing your ESA to work will boost your motivation might go a long way in convincing them.
How to Get an ESA Letter in Maine?
You can get an ESA letter in Maine from a licensed mental health professional only if you have a qualifying psychiatric disability. The list of qualified disabilities for an ESA is extensive – depression, anxiety, dissociative disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder all qualify for an ESA.
To know if you’d benefit from an emotional support animal, schedule an appointment with an LMHP in Maine. There are also online services that can help you get an ESA letter by connecting you with mental health professionals licensed in your state electronically.
If you’re already seeing an LMHP, discuss the benefits of emotional support animals and having ESA as part of the treatment plan as an option. While many mental health professionals know how ESAs can benefit individuals, it may take multiple sessions for your doctor to determine if an ESA is appropriate for you.
There’s also a chance that your LMHP will refuse to write one if they don’t find an ESA suitable for your condition and life circumstances. Assuming your doctor will approve your request to write an ESA, they will issue it in a few days. During this process, they may ask for basic details about your ESA, such as their type and breed.
FAQs About Maine ESA Laws
Can I Use Maine-Issued ESA Letter in Other States?
Unfortunately, no. ESA letters are only valid when they’re issued by a mental healthcare professional who’s licensed in your state of residence. If you try to use a Maine-issued ESA letter in another state, you may run into problems, since it’s not technically a valid letter.
If you’re moving out of state, consider reaching out to a LMHP in your destination state for an updated letter. Some landlords may also temporarily accept your Maine-issued letter if you explain the situation and submit a new letter in a timely manner.
To avoid either of these potential obstacles you can contact an online service, like ours, that can put you in touch with a therapist licensed in any state. This way, you can avoid awkward conversations.
Are Emotional Support Animals Allowed in Restaurants in Maine?
Restaurants and other private businesses aren’t required to make accommodations for an emotional support animal the same way they must for service animals. If the restaurant has a no-pet policy, they can legally deny entry to an ESA. Luckily, Maine is home to many restaurants with outdoor seating areas that permit dogs – you won’t miss out a lot.
Can Landlords in Maine Ask for Proof of ESA?
Yes, housing providers in Maine can ask for proof of your emotional support animal to ensure your ESA isn’t a pet. Sending them a copy of your ESA letter or doctor’s letter for housing is enough to eliminate their suspicion. Besides this, they cannot ask for other documents or contact your LMHP to verify it.
Do I Need to Register My ESA in Maine?
Maine doesn’t require emotional support animals to be registered. In fact, there isn’t a legal mandate requiring ESA owners to write their emotional support animal. All you need is an ESA letter. However, registering your ESA has its own benefits, such as being able to prove your emotional support animal’s status immediately online.
Wrapping up Maine ESA Laws
Even though Maine doesn’t have statewide ESA laws, emotional support animals are protected under federal law. The Fair Housing Act prevents landlords from denying housing to an individual because of their emotional support animal. You can live with your ESA even when there’s a no-pet clause in your lease.
ESA laws underwent significant changes when the Americans with Disabilities Act shifted its definition of service animals. Mainly, the public access rights of ESAs were removed with these changes. Entering public places with no-pet policies, such as restaurants and flying free of extra charges, isn’t granted to ESAs anymore.
While ESAs don’t have as many protections as they once had, getting an ESA letter is still a well-worth process for those with a qualifying psychiatric disability. Contact a mental health worker in your area and discuss ESAs as part of your treatment plan. It will ensure you’ll be able to live with your ESA even if your lease contains a no-pet clause.