ESA laws by state

Federal fair housing law, together with HUD's implementing rule at 24 CFR 100.204, bars a housing provider from refusing to reasonably adjust its rules and policies when someone with a disability needs that adjustment to fully use and enjoy their home. This applies in all 50 states.

The Joint Statement that HUD and the Justice Department issued in 2004 still lays out how requests work. If your disability or the need tied to it isn't apparent, a housing provider can seek reliable information, but in general it can't probe into your diagnosis or how severe it is, and it has to keep what it learns about your disability confidential.

According to an April 6, 2026 Federal Register notice, HUD's 2013 animal notice and FHEO-2020-01, its 2020 notice on assistance animals, were withdrawn as of September 17, 2025. Guidance HUD put out in May 2026 then presumed reasonable any request for an animal trained to carry out disability-related tasks, but gave no such presumption to untrained emotional support animals, whose requests are now judged one at a time.

The same guidance also abandoned HUD's 2020 position that untrained ESAs couldn't be subject to fees. Tenants can still file their own fair housing lawsuits, and state laws are free to protect them more than federal enforcement policy does. That's why your own state's rules carry so much weight now.

California's AB 468, in Health and Safety Code section 122318, took effect January 1, 2022. A health care practitioner providing documentation for an emotional support dog must hold an active license in the jurisdiction where the client is located, include the license effective date, number, jurisdiction and type, have a client relationship of at least 30 days, and complete a clinical evaluation.

The practitioner must also let the client know that section 365.7 of the California Penal Code makes it a misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly and fraudulently claim a dog is a guide dog, signal dog or service dog. For California clients, we provide a same-day letter of intent and the ESA letter after a follow-up around day 30.

Florida Statutes section 760.27 addresses emotional support animals in housing covered by the federal Fair Housing Act or Section 504. If a disability isn't readily apparent, the housing provider can seek reliable information, which may come from a licensed health care practitioner. Information from a practitioner in another state counts only if that practitioner has seen the tenant in person at least once.

Florida providers may not ask for a diagnosis, the severity of a disability or medical records. Under the statute, an ESA registration, certificate, patch or ID card obtained online doesn't, on its own, prove a disability or need, and tenants are responsible for damage their animal causes.

A handful of other states, Colorado, Illinois and Indiana among them, have passed laws dealing with ESAs in housing or with misrepresenting animals. These can address who is allowed to write documentation, what a landlord may request, and the penalties for false claims. Many states instead rely mostly on federal fair housing law plus their own general fair housing statutes.

Because the details vary and can change, read the guide for your state and check the official statute or state civil rights agency before you rely on it.

No state law upgrades an emotional support animal to ADA service animal status. ESAs do not have public access rights in stores, restaurants or offices, and airlines are not required to accept them.

No state has an official ESA registry or certificate either. What housing providers can weigh is a letter from a licensed therapist who has actually evaluated you, which counts as reliable information.

• ESAs have no ADA public access rights in any state
• No state recognizes online ESA registries or ID cards as proof
• Tenants remain responsible for actual damage their animal causes
• Our evaluations are offered only where our therapists can lawfully evaluate you