ESA Laws by State: The National Comparison
Sources verified
The federal Fair Housing Act sets the floor for ESA housing rights in every state. On top of it, 20 states have enacted their own statutes regulating emotional support animal documentation, and most states penalize misrepresenting a pet as a service animal. Every row in this table links to a page that cites the actual statute. No registry is legally recognized in any state.
The ESA Law Strictness Index ranks all 50 states on one page by how hard their statutes make a valid letter.
States That Regulate ESA Documentation by Statute
These states impose their own requirements on ESA letters: who may write them, what they must contain, or how landlords may verify them. If you live in one of these, read your state page before buying a letter from anyone, including us.
| State | ESA documentation law | The short version | Misrepresentation penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Cal. Health & Safety Code § 122318 | A client-provider relationship at least 30 days old is required before ESA documentation may be issued. | Yes |
| Indiana | Ind. Code ch. 22-9-7 | Landlords may request written verification from a health service provider stating the disability, the disability-related need, and how the ESA helps manage it, when the disability is not readily apparent. | Yes |
| Iowa | Iowa Code §§ 216.8B and 216.8C | A written finding from a licensed provider is the supporting documentation, and it must certify whether the provider-patient relationship, in person or via telehealth, has existed for at least 30 days. | Yes |
| Kentucky | KRS 383.085 | ESA documentation must come from a provider in a genuine therapeutic relationship: a licensed clinical social worker, professional counselor, APRN, psychologist, or physician with an active Kentucky practice, or an out-of-state provider with an ongoing relationship for people who move in. | Yes |
| Louisiana | Support and Service Animal Integrity Act, La. R.S. 46:1971-46:1978 | A 30-day therapeutic relationship and a clinical evaluation at least 30 days before the documentation are both required, plus at least two sessions with the individual before issuing it. | Yes |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 504B.113 | Documentation must come from a licensed professional, and anyone operating primarily to certify service or support animals is excluded by name from that definition. | Yes |
| Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-114 | A 30-day client-provider relationship is required before a practitioner may provide ESA documentation, making Montana the second state after California with a waiting period. | Yes |
| North Dakota | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.5 | Landlords of no-pet rentals may require reliable supporting documentation of the disability-related need for a service or assistance animal. | Yes |
| Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 113.2 | Assistance animal is defined to include emotional support animals, and landlords may request reliable supporting documentation of the disability-related need. | Yes |
| Alabama | Ala. Code §§ 24-8A-1 to 24-8A-5 | Landlords may require reliable documentation of the disability and the disability-related need, but only when neither is readily apparent or already known. | Yes |
| Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. §§ 20-14-1001 to 20-14-1004 | A 30-day client-provider relationship is required before a provider may document the need for an emotional support dog, with an exception for people verified to be homeless. | Yes |
| Colorado | C.R.S. §§ 12-240-144, 12-245-229, 12-255-133 and § 24-34-309 | Providers asked to document the need for an assistance animal in housing must make written findings on the disability and the disability-related need, or a written finding that they lack sufficient information. | Yes |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. § 760.27 | Registrations of any kind, including ID cards, patches, and certificates obtained from the internet, are not by themselves sufficient to establish a disability-related need. | Yes |
| Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-3 | Online vests, tags, and registration documents are expressly not valid verification of an assistance animal under Hawaii law. | Yes |
| Illinois | Assistance Animal Integrity Act, 310 ILCS 120 | ESA documentation must come from someone with a genuine therapeutic relationship with the tenant; entities that issue certificates without a meaningful assessment are expressly excluded. | None found |
| Pennsylvania | Assistance and Service Animal Integrity Act, Act 118 of 2018 | Documentation may be requested only when the disability is not readily apparent, must be written, must be based on direct knowledge of the person's disability, and must describe the disability-related need. | Yes |
| South Dakota | S.D. Codified Laws §§ 43-32-34 to 43-32-36 | Landlords may require reliable supporting documentation, but not when the disability or the need is readily apparent or already known. | Yes |
| Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-7-111 | Reliable documentation means written documentation from a health care provider with actual knowledge of the disability, a state-licensed professional serving people with disabilities with actual knowledge, or a caregiver, reliable third party, or government entity with actual knowledge. | Yes |
| Virginia | Va. Code §§ 36-96.3:1 and 36-96.3:2 | Reliable documentation may come from anyone with whom the requester has a genuine therapeutic relationship, defined as good-faith provision of medical, program, or personal care services. | Yes |
| Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 106.50 | A licensed health professional who misrepresents a patient's disability or ESA need for housing forfeits at least $500, one of the only state penalties aimed directly at the letter writer. | Yes |
States Where Federal Law Is the Standard
These states have no statute specifically regulating ESA letters. The Fair Housing Act governs, as courts have long applied it, alongside each state's own fair housing law and enforcement agency. Many still penalize misrepresenting a pet as a service animal. (HUD rescinded its 2020 guidance in 2025; the 2026 change explains what that affected.)
| State | State fair housing law | Enforcement agency | Service-animal misrepresentation law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | Kansas Act Against Discrimination | Kansas Human Rights Commission | Yes |
| Maine | Maine Human Rights Act | Maine Human Rights Commission | Yes |
| Maryland | Maryland's fair housing law | Maryland Commission on Civil Rights | None found |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts anti-discrimination law | Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination | None found |
| Michigan | Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act | Michigan Department of Civil Rights | Yes |
| Mississippi | the federal Fair Housing Act | HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity | None found |
| Missouri | Missouri Human Rights Act | Missouri Commission on Human Rights | Yes |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Fair Housing Act | Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission | None found |
| Nevada | Nevada Fair Housing Law | Nevada Equal Rights Commission | Yes |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination | New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights | Yes |
| New Jersey | New Jersey Law Against Discrimination | New Jersey Division on Civil Rights | Yes |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Human Rights Act | Human Rights Bureau, New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions | Yes |
| New York | New York State Human Rights Law | New York State Division of Human Rights | Yes |
| North Carolina | North Carolina State Fair Housing Act | North Carolina Human Relations Commission | Yes |
| Ohio | Ohio Civil Rights Law | Ohio Civil Rights Commission | None found |
| Alaska | Alaska Human Rights Law | Alaska State Commission for Human Rights | None found |
| Arizona | Arizona Fair Housing Act | Arizona Attorney General, Civil Rights Division | Yes |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Discriminatory Housing Practices Act | Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities | None found |
| Delaware | Delaware Fair Housing Act | Delaware Division of Human and Civil Rights | None found |
| Georgia | Georgia Fair Housing Law | Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity | Yes |
| Idaho | Idaho Human Rights Act | Idaho Human Rights Commission | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act | Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights | Yes |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Fair Housing Law | South Carolina Human Affairs Commission | Yes |
| Texas | Texas Fair Housing Act | Texas Workforce Commission, Civil Rights Division | Yes |
| Utah | Utah Fair Housing Act | Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division | Yes |
| Vermont | Vermont's unfair housing practices law | Vermont Human Rights Commission | None found |
| Washington | Washington Law Against Discrimination | Washington State Human Rights Commission | Yes |
| West Virginia | West Virginia Fair Housing Act | West Virginia Human Rights Commission | Yes |
| Wyoming | the federal Fair Housing Act (Wyoming's own act has no state enforcement agency) | HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity | Yes |
| Oregon | Oregon unlawful housing discrimination law | Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries, Civil Rights Division | None found |
All entries verified against primary sources August 15, 2026. State ESA legislation is actively moving; this table and every state page are refreshed when statutes change and reviewed quarterly.
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