Emotional support animals require an ESA letter written by a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) to gain legal recognition. It is a must for anyone who wants to have their pets as an officially recognized emotional support animal. However, the expense to see a mental health provider, plus the ESA letter, makes many wonder how much the process will cost.
If you’re wondering how much is an ESA letter, you’ve come to the right place. Our article will cover all about the ESA letter costs and what goes into it. Read to the end to find out exactly how much it costs to get an ESA letter.
What Is an ESA Letter?
An ESA letter is a formal document that verifies a patient’s diagnosis and their need for an emotional support animal. Mental health providers issue this document as a way to recommend an emotional support animal, as the presence of an animal can alleviate the symptoms of a mental disability. It essentially works similarly to a prescription, confirming the patient’s need for an emotional support animal.
With this document, the patient can request accommodation for their emotional support animals, as these animals are protected under the Fair Housing Act. Even if the tenant’s rental agreement or lease has a no-pet policy, the landlord must accommodate the emotional support animal because they are required as part of a disability. The same also applies to HOA restrictions on pet weight, breed, and other restrictions.
Emotional support animals with a valid ESA letter are simply exempt from pet rules when it comes to housing. Since the ESA letter is mainly useful only in housing situations, many also refer to it as an ESA letter for housing.
How Much Is an ESA Letter for Housing?
The cost for an ESA letter for housing varies widely. On average, most people pay anywhere from $100 to $300 for the letter itself. The exact amount varies depending on the provider and the amount of clinical work involved. In certain cases, it can cost more than the range given above.
However, the ESA letter isn’t the only expense since a mental health professional must evaluate the patient before they can provide this document. When you visit a mental health professional in your area, whether they are a therapist, psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, or any other, you will also need to pay for the session.
Due to the process, your mental health provider may need more than one session so that they can get a full understanding of your condition before diagnosing you. As you can expect, the total cost of the ESA letter will also be higher when multiple sessions are involved. When calculating how much is an ESA letter, keep all these in mind.
How Much Is an ESA Letter Online?
While the above refers to ESA letters obtained from a mental health provider in person, what about online services? There are many websites that help people get a legitimate ESA letter online. These services often charge anywhere from $100 to $200, which is roughly in line with visiting a mental health provider in person, except for the fact that there usually aren’t multiple sessions, unless required by law.
However, be sure to use a legitimate ESA letter service like Emotional Support Animal. If you’re not careful with the website you’re using for getting an ESA letter, you can fall victim to a scam. A legitimate service will always connect you with a mental health professional to evaluate your symptoms and write you an ESA letter – more specifically, one that’s licensed to practice in your state of residence.
If a service doesn’t facilitate this and issues you a generic ESA letter without any evaluation, it is a scam that you should stay away from. Often, such scam websites have suspicious pricing to begin with, charging absurd prices like $30 for an ESA letter.
Using Your ESA Letter to Exercise Your Rights
We covered how much is an ESA letter in this article. While they are certainly not free, note that an ESA letter is a required document for an animal to be legally recognized. Once you obtain this document for your animal, whether through a local provider or an online service, you can use it to exercise your rights in housing situations, such as providing a copy of it to your landlord to request accommodation for your emotional support animal.
