
Cat Parent
"I would give my experience 10000/5 stars! I have already recommended your company to another friend. It was a straightforward no gimmicks service, and the doctor was genuinely concerned.
My new rescue cat Marston really appreciates that he is able to live with me now!

Dog Parent
"I would definitely say a 5/5 star rating! It was the best service I have ever received. They were quick, and knew what was needed for the time being!"

Cat Parent
"They are five stars all the way! The site helped set me up with a professional therapist, who is licensed in my state. It was very easy to setup calls or opportunities to communicate with them that worked for both of us.
Most of all they allowed me to keep my cats Mew and Espurr. â
Have a second consultation after 30 days.
How To Get An Emotional Support Animal Letter In California Online
When it comes to securing your right to live with your emotional support animal (ESA), California residents choose Pettable because we make the process easy, trustworthy, and fully compliant with the law.
We're proud to be one of the only ESA providers that strictly follows California AB-468, which requires a 30-day clinician-client relationship before issuing ESA letters for dogs. With Pettable, you get the peace of mind that your ESA letter is not only effectiveâbut also fully legitimate.
- California-licensed clinicians only â Your ESA letter is written and signed by a mental health professional licensed in California.
- AB-468 compliant â We ensure you meet the 30-day provider relationship requirement, so your letter holds up legally.
- Fast, easy, and secure â Our online process is HIPAA-compliant and built with your convenience in mind.â
- Guaranteed acceptance or your money back â If your letter isnât accepted, you get a full refund. Simple as that.
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How Pettable Ensures Your ESA Letter is Fully California-Compliant
Navigating ESA laws in California can be trickyâwe make it simple and secure.
Only California-licensed providers â Your letter will always come from a clinician licensed to practice in your state.
30-day relationship requirement â We initiate a provider relationship that complies with Californiaâs AB-468 from day one.
Thorough, compassionate evaluations â Our licensed providers conduct meaningful assessments to understand your needs.â
Full transparency â Youâll know who your provider is, including their credentials and licensing info.
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California ESA Laws & Your Rights Explained
California takes emotional support animals seriouslyâand so do we. Hereâs what every pet parent should know:
- AB-468: California law protects residents from ESA scams by requiring a minimum 30-day relationship with a licensed provider before a letter is issued for dogs.
- What qualifies as an ESA: An emotional support animal provides comfort to ease symptoms of mental health conditionsâdetermined by a licensed mental health professional.
- Housing protections: Thanks to the Fair Housing Act and California laws, your ESA can live with youâeven in no-pet housing, and regardless of breed or size.
- Public access: ESAs are not service animals. They don't have access to public places like restaurants or airports, and do not have special rights for air travel.
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Avoiding Common ESA Myths in California
Letâs clear up some common misconceptions:
- ESAs are not service animals â Theyâre not trained for specific tasks and donât have access to public spaces like airports or restaurants.
- ESA registration isnât real â California does not recognize any form of ESA registry or ID cards. A letter from a licensed provider is what matters.
- Online letters must follow California law â Even if the service is digital, the 30-day relationship rule still applies.
- ESAs don't have public or air travel access â ESAs only have housing rights, unlike service animals.
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Why an ESA Letter Makes Life Easier in California
Having a valid ESA letter does more than provide housing protectionâit supports your mental wellness and simplifies your life.
1. Live with your ESAâno pet fees or deposits
2. Bypass breed or weight restrictions in housing
3. Provide landlords with proper documentation
4. Reduce housing conflicts or denials
5. Access the emotional support your ESA provides every day
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âHow Do You Qualify For An ESA In California?
To get an ESA in California, you must be diagnosed with a qualifying mental health disorder or emotional disability that requires the companionship of a domesticated support animal in your home. First, you must establish a relationship with an LMHP and get diagnosed with your specific affliction(s), then they can write your official ESA letter. Qualifying conditions include:
- Depression
- Anxiety or panic disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Schizophrenia
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Severe phobias
One of the ways you can do this is through a telehealth marketplace like Pettable, which can connect you to professionals in your state with experience conducting mental health evaluations for support animals. After filling out the quiz you will be matched with an LMHP and have an over-the-phone consultation with them. The clinician will conduct a mental health evaluation to determine if you qualify for an ESA.Â
Once a Pettable LMHP determines whether an ESA is essential to your care and well-being, they will write you a legitimate ESA letter. You will then receive an ESA letter within 24-48 hours of your consultation.
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ESAs vs. Psychiatric Service Dogs in California
Not sure which kind of support animal is right for you? Hereâs a quick breakdown:
Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs) are trained to perform specific tasks related to a psychiatric disability and are protected under the ADA. They can accompany you in public.
ESAs donât require specialized training and are only protected in housing settings.
If a PSD might better fit your needs, we can help guide you through that process too.
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How to Get a Psychiatric Service Dog in California
If you think a psychiatric service dog might serve you better than an ESA, Pettable can show you the way. Get started by taking our easy online PSD qualification questionnaire so that we can determine your specific needs. The most important part of this process is to train your dog to assist you with your mental health condition. By enrolling in Pettableâs online PSD training program you'll learn how to teach your dog how to care for your specific mental health needs by performing helpful tasks, such as fetching medication or responding to an emergency.

Why Pettable Is The Best Online ESA Provider?
Pettable is the best provider because we're committed to making sure the process works for you. That means working with the best and most experienced mental health professionals in the psychiatric service dog letter space, as well as providing a guarantee that your letter will work for you. We back all of this up with outstanding customer support, a renowned legal team, and a commitment to making sure you have an incredible experience.
We broke down the different services offered by every ESA service. And we looked for unbiased reviews from 3rd party sites.
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Guarantee*
Consultations
Team
Frequently Asked Questions
Emotional Support Animal Overview
An emotional support animal provides comfort to help relieve a symptom or effect related to a person's disability. Also, there is no animal or breed restrictions for ESA's as long as it is reasonable and justified.
Note that being an emotional support animal is not the same as being a service animal (like seeing-eye dogs). These types of animals have stricter criteria that must be met, including different forms of training such as obedience, public access and disability training. These additional trainings are necessary since service dogs have public access and travel rights, unlike emotional support animals who are only protected under housing rights.
ESA's do not have public access or travel rights, so it's best to check with individual business guidelines to see if they allow ESA's. Additionally, you can train your dog to become a PSD (psychiatric service dog) in order to have public access and travel rights.
The general criteria is to have some emotional or psychological condition that is improved by having an animal that provides support. Conditions may include depression, generalized anxiety, paranoia, insomnia, and others. And remember, Emotional Support Animals do not require special training!
Only a licensed mental health professional is qualified to determine if you meet the criteria. Through our service, you can speak directly with a qualified mental health professional in the state where you reside. Pettable connects you with a licensed mental health professional for a consultation to determine if you qualify for an ESA. Unlike, some less legitimate services, we do not provide letters for fee, but instead we connect you to a professional for an honest evaluation.
Step 1: Once payment is submitted and your appointment is scheduled through our website, you will receive an email to activate your account.
Step 2: Once your account is activated, the process will prompt you to fill out the required forms to give more information to your clinician before your scheduled appointment.
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Step 3: Your assigned clinician will call you at your scheduled appointment time and will let you know if you have qualified. If you've qualified, your clinician will upload your letter in your portal for you to view and print.
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If for any reason you are not approved we will refund your entire purchase.
Get your official ESA Letter
When you take our quiz we collect information to match you with a therapist that has experience with your case and can meet your specific needs.
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Additionally, to our knowledge, Pettable is the only provider that offers a full Money Back Guarantee - meaning if you do not qualify for a letter after your consultation or your landlord does not accept it after filing a complaint with the HUD, then weâll refund 100% of your purchase.
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We have experience with every kind of ESA situation - multiple pets, breed restrictions, weight/size restrictions, traveling across state lines, immediate turnaround, etc. We are confident we can help you with your specific ESA needs and if we can't, we will refund your money 100%. See our Money Back Guarantee FAQ for more information.
We employ a vetted network of licensed and qualified mental health professionals who possess the credentials necessary to write a certified ESAÂ Letter.
Our website is also HIPAAÂ Compliant, ensuring that your information is protected according to nationally mandated federal law.
âPhone Consultation - Our professionals will reach out to you to setup a phone consultation and establish a relationship.This gives our professionals the authority and basis for prescribing you an ESA letter.
âCompliant Letters - The ESA Letter is issued directly from a LMHP with their license number and their contact information included. The letter will come on the professional letterhead of the Licensed Mental Health Professional and contain everything legally required for an ESA prescription within the body of the letter.
No problem, we've got your back!
Our mental health professionals should be able to call your landlord to verify the legitimacy of your letter.
Should your landlord request a validation of your letter, please have them reach out to your therapist using the contact information on your ESA letter.
In the unlikely event that your letter does not work as intended and we've tried to make it work with the landlord we will refund your purchase 100%.
We can turn around an ESA letter in as fast as 24 hours! If you need it this quickly make sure to choose our "Express Service." You can select this option at checkout.
To ensure the fastest turn around possible, it is important that you sign and submit our consent forms.
We have an extensive network of mental health professionals, licensed across states, with wide range of availability and can route you to someone that is able to meet your timeline needs.
Once a consultation is concluded, letters are turned around within 24 hours and most of the time much more quickly than that.
After speaking with a licensed mental health professional and receiving your own ESA Letter, all you need to do is designate which animal will be your specific emotional support animal. It can be any breed or species, whether an existing pet or a new pet you adopt or rescue. You do not need to go to any specific breeder or place to acquire one.
Absolutely! There is research and data that support the theory that animals provide substantial and measurable emotional support. If you're thinking about the benefits of an emotional support animal, you can learn more by researching online or talking to qualified mental health professionals in our network.
Our ESAÂ letters contain the following:
- The official letterhead of the mental health professional.
- Their business, contact information, and signature.
- Their license information which allows anyone to check the status of their license.
- Their confirmation that you meet the definition of a disability and recommendation for an emotional support animal.
The Fair Housing Act requires housing providers such as landlords or management companies to allow the possession of animals that work, provide assistance for, or perform tasks that benefit individuals with qualified medical disabilities â or that provide emotional support to individuals to reduce a symptom or effect of a disability.
The Fair Housing Act also requires individuals, who wish to possess a service or support animal, to follow specific criteria relevant to the type of support needed.
For an emotional support animal, the individual has to speak with a licensed mental health professional in the state they reside and receive a prescription of an ESAÂ Letter in order to qualify.
Although the Fair Housing Act and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development does not specify guidance around the issue of ESA letter expiration, we recommend that you renew your ESA letter annually for a few reasons:
- Landlords or property managers may refuse to accept an ESA letter that is expired. Renewing your letter enables you to provide current documentation that verifies your need for an emotional support animal as still relevant.
- Clinicians may not validate an ESA letter that is expired in the event a landlord or property manager reaches out to verify. An annual consultation with a clinician to discuss your needs for an ESA letter is advised in order to keep licensed professional recommendations current.
Renewing your letter is easy through our seamless consultation process.
Federal and state laws require a live consultation over the phone, video, or in person to properly vet and qualify an individual to warrant an ESAÂ Letter.
To ensure our ESA letter are compliant, all of our consultations are conducted live over the phone in order to meet the legal standards set forth and assure the validity of your letter.
Yes. Federal and state laws require a live consultation over the phone, video, or in person to properly vet and qualify an individual to warrant an ESAÂ Letter. Since the letter grants privileges about keeping a pet in a place that otherwise would not allow it, base guidelines must be met to qualify.
Yes. An emotional support animal can be any breed or species as long as it supports an emotional or psychological condition.
Since emotional support animals do not require any training, your childhood pet or newly adopted animal can qualify.
Yes, you can register multiple pets on the same ESAÂ letter. At Pettable we can accommodate up to two pets per letter for no additional charge.
According to the American Disabilities Act your request for multiple animals must be "reasonable".
An example of an unreasonable request is if you want four great danes registered as ESAs and you live in a tiny apartment.
In order to make sure we're meeting the standard of "reasonable" Pettable is able to accommodate up to two pets per letter as long as you meet the criteria to warrant an ESA letter.
At the end of the day it is a judgement call but we want to make sure that you are covered in any situation you're in, which is why we've set this policy.
Once you have a proper ESA Letter, your landlord is required by the Fair Housing Act to allow you to keep your designated emotional support animal with you at your place of residence.
Sometimes landlords create barriers for individuals in attempt to refrain from accommodating legitimate ESA's. If this occurs please reach out to your assigned mental health professional to validate or assist in verifying your legitimate ESA letter.
The most common type of fraud we've seen are in particular sites that claim to certify service animals (different from emotional support animals) without requiring any formal testing or accreditation typical for that process. The US has cracked down on these forms of fraud. Now they will enact hefty fines â or even jail time â for caught offenders.
These are the clues you should be on the lookout for to spot a scam: The service does NOT require you to speak with someone live over the phone â All legitimate ESA Letter providers are required by law to ensure that you speak with a licensed mental health professional over the phone or video. If a service asks you to answer questions using a quiz or "exam" but doesn't ask you to schedule a live consultation afterwards, it is probably a scam. Pettable is not a purchase-diagnosis website, but instead refers you to a licensed professional who conducts a live evaluation and provides a legitimate ESA letter per their professional discretion.
For California residents, effective January 1, 2022, new law AB 468 requires those seeking an ESA letter for dogs to establish a client-provider relationship with the individual for at least 30 days prior to providing documentation, which will result in having two consultations before qualifying.
An emotional support animal helps individuals who are suffering from mental and/or emotional disabilities by providing support.
Once previously overlooked mental health conditions are more easily diagnosed as medical professionals learn more about mental health and in many cases, an ESA is a critical part of the coping process. While ESAs are not the same as service animals because they are not trained to perform a specific task, an ESA can be just as important to a person as a service animal. ESAs are responsible for providing their owners with a comforting presence which can facilitate the performing of daily life's tasks. Just like service animals, ESAs have rights under state and federal laws.
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The best way to obtain an ESA letter in California is to connect with a licensed mental health professional who can assess your mental illness and symptoms to determine if you qualify for an ESA. If you do, they can write you a valid ESA letter.
A Licensed Professional In Your State - All of our Licensed Mental Health Professionals are fully qualified and have passed board exams. The LMHP we select if you reside in California will be one that is legally qualified to approve ESA Letters for the state of California.
For California residents, effective January 1, 2022, new law AB 468 requires those seeking an ESA letter for dogs to establish a client-provider relationship with the individual for at least 30 days prior to providing documentation, which will result in having two consultations before qualifying.
In California, getting an ESA is available to anyone with a mental or emotional disability. The state recognizes the challenges associated with mental and emotional disabilities and endorses the use of ESAs as a component of a personâs mental health treatment. To find out if you qualify for an ESA, meet with a licensed mental health professional who can write you an ESA letter so you can receive the animal support you need.
An emotional support animal (ESA) is a pet that helps its owner by providing companionship, helping relieve stress and otherwise comfort its owner just by being present. ESA ownersâ rights to keep an ESA in a rented home are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). The law requires landlords to allow ESAs even if they have a No Pets rule or limit the types or sizes of pets renters can keep in their homes.
Youâll need a licensed medical professional to diagnose you with a qualifying condition and provide you with a valid ESA Letter to protect those rights. Unlike psychiatric service dogs (PSDs) and other service animals, airlines and businesses are not required to allow you to keep your ESA with you.
ESAs do not have to receive intensive training but should be well-behaved. That is important because, while qualified ESA owners have specific rights when it comes to living with an ESA, bad behavior like constant barking, aggressiveness, or destructive actions are reasons that a landlord or property manager can have your pet removed or make you move out.
A psychiatric service dog (PSD) is a dog trained to perform specific actions to assist someone to deal with the effects and symptoms of a recognized psychiatric disability. To provide that help, PSDs need obedience and situational behavior training. But they also need extensive, individualized training to provide the complicated help individual users require. We discuss those tasks and training requirements elsewhere in this FAQ.While ESA ownersâ rights are limited to housing under the Fair Housing Act, the use of psychiatric service dogs, like other service animals, is also covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). Those laws protect PSD users from discrimination while traveling on airlines and other commercial travel providers, in housing, and in access to most private businesses and public spaces. As long as their PSD is properly trained and can be reasonably accommodated, Psychiatric Service Dog users are entitled to have their PSD living with them in their home; in an airline's main cabin; and when they go to appointments, public events, and go shopping, out to eat, or on errands to other businesses.
There is no limit to the amount of emotional support animals you can have in California. The longer answer is a bit more nuanced in that each ESA must help you with your disability in some way shape or form. Additionally, your request must be reasonable (i.e. bringing 5 Great Danes into a California studio apartment likely won't be reasonable).
Yes, it is legal in California to receive an ESA letter online that certifies your animal as a support animal. Just make sure you have a live consultation with a mental health professional licensed in the state of California.
While California laws allow service animals to enter any public place, emotional support animals do not have the same access. This means hotels are not required to allow ESAs. However, it may still be worth asking the hotel before you book if they might be willing to accommodate your ESA. Otherwise, you can seek out a pet-friendly hotel to stay at instead.
No, a landlord cannot deny an emotional support animal in California if you have a valid ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional in your state.
The easiest and quickest way to find out if you qualify for an emotional support animal letter is to connect with a licensed mental health professional online. Telemedicine eliminates the hassle of long lines or needing to go physically in person for an evaluation. Connected with experienced mental health professionals from the comfort of your own home to find out if you qualify for an emotional support animal in California.
Pettable is the only provider that offers a Money Back Guarantee encompassing a full 100% refund for two reasons: (1) if you do not qualify for a letter after your consultation or (2) your landlord does not accept it after filing a complaint with the HUD.
The details:
For California residents, effective January 1, 2022, new law AB 468 requires those seeking an ESA letter for dogs to establish a client-provider relationship with the individual for at least 30 days prior to providing documentation, which will result in having two consultations before qualifying.
To find out if you qualify for an ESA in California, connect with a mental health professional licensed in the state of California who is familiar with the stateâs ESA laws. They can evaluate your mental and emotional disability to determine if you qualify for an ESA.
Public places, such as restaurants and stores, have no legal obligation to accommodate your ESA. But, of course, it doesnât hurt to ask, and some places may allow your furry companion inside if you simply show them your ESA letter.
Anxiety can qualify for an emotional support animal in California if it presents as a disability that impairs your life in one or more ways. To find out if your anxiety qualifies for an ESA get in touch with one of our clinicians for a mental health evaluation risk free (if you don't get approved we'll refund you 100%).
Yes, any licensed mental health professional can âprescribeâ an ESA (or, in other words, write an ESA letter) in California â including therapists.
While there is no official âregistrationâ for emotional support animals, you do need an ESA letter to legitimize your animal as an ESA. Once you obtain a valid ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional, your dog is recognized as an official ESA.