Thanks to telehealth platforms like Pettable, going online to obtain an emotional support animal letter in Alabama has never been easier. All you have to do is schedule an appointment with one of Pettable’s mental health professionals who is licensed in your state. After conducting an evaluation, they'll provide you with an ESA letter if they determine that you’re eligible.
Answer a few questions about your ESA needs
We'll match you to a professional in your state
Receive it within 24 hours of getting approved *
We'll help with any extra forms you need signed and our therapists are available to talk to your landlord anytime, for an additional fee.
* For Arkansas, California, Iowa, Louisiana and Montana residents, new laws requires those seeking an ESA letter 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.
Thanks to a growing awareness of the importance of mental health, many people have come to understand and embrace the therapeutic benefits of having an emotional support animal. In Alabama (and other U.S. states), there is legislation in place that protects your right to live with your ESA, as long as you have a legitimate emotional support animal letter.
Under the terms of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), airlines are no longer required to admit emotional support animals on flights. Only service animals have this protection. However, the airline may consider accommodating you and your assistance animal if you can provide a valid ESA letter – you’ll never know unless you ask! Make sure to submit your request in plenty of time before you plan to travel, and be prepared for the airline to require your ESA to travel as an ordinary pet, instead.
When it comes to visiting public places, the guidelines are much the same – venues are not obliged to admit your emotional support animal. Doing so is entirely at the discretion of the owner or manager. However, you could always try presenting your ESA letter to see if they might make an exception.
On a more encouraging note, Alabama residents are protected by the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), which require landlords to make reasonable accommodations for emotional support animals, as long as the tenant can provide a valid ESA letter. ESA owners are also exempt from additional pet fees, deposits, and breed and weight restrictions.
However, keep in mind that in Alabama, it is a misdemeanor to falsely claim that an animal is a service animal. Get the proper documentation and always be truthful about the role your assistance animal plays in your mental health treatment plan. If you are unsure about the difference between a service animal and an emotional support animal, we recommend that you read the relevant section in the FAQ list below.
Only a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) who is authorized to practice in Alabama can properly assess your symptoms and determine whether you have a mental or emotional disability and a disability-related need for an emotional support animal. Examples of qualifying conditions include (but are not limited to) anxiety, depression, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
One of the main advantages of having an ESA letter for your support animal is that it protects both you and your pet in most living situations. This includes waiving any additional charges for rent, deposits, or pet fees. Furthermore, it permits the presence of your ESA in your residence even if the housing provider enforces a strict no-pet rule. This ensures you can retain your support animal in your home, provided they do not represent a danger to the property or other residents.
Possessing an ESA necessitates responsibilities that aid in forming a consistent, healthy daily routine. Engaging in activities like playing with your ferret, taking your dog for walks, or feeding your snake not only encourages physical activity but also shifts focus away from daily stressors, promoting overall well-being.
The act of looking after a support animal contributes to enhanced mental and emotional well-being. Your ESA plays a crucial role in alleviating feelings of solitude, offering essential companionship, and fostering feelings of confidence and self-esteem.
Should you find that a psychiatric service dog would be more beneficial to you than an ESA, Pettable is here to guide you through the process. Begin by completing our straightforward online PSD qualification questionnaire, and we'll handle the rest. We'll then link you with a mental health professional licensed in Alabama for a telehealth consultation, during which they will assess and diagnose your psychological disorder.
If you need to train your dog, consider enrolling in Pettable's online PSD training program, preparing you to train your dog to address your specific mental health requirements by performing essential tasks, such as retrieving medication or reacting in emergencies.
1. Money-Back Guarantee
At Pettable, you don't need to worry whether your letter will be effective or not. We offer a satisfaction guarantee, ensuring that if your letter doesn't serve its intended purpose, you receive a full refund.
2. Experienced Mental Health Experts
Our team consists of top-tier mental health experts capable of providing you with an ESA Letter prescription that's assured to be accepted wherever you reside in the United States. With extensive experience in ESA evaluations, our professionals have the authority to issue ESA letters confidently.
3. Exceptional Customer Care
Understanding the stress involved in securing approval from your landlord to live with an emotional support animal, we heavily invest in our customer support team. Our dedicated and knowledgeable specialists are here to ensure you receive the necessary support and attention throughout the process.
4. Nationwide Coverage
Our network encompasses mental health professionals licensed across all 50 states, ensuring widespread coverage and the ability to adhere to any schedule, making our services accessible wherever you are.
5. Zero-Risk Procedure
Our process is designed to be risk-free. If, after a consultation with one of our licensed mental health professionals, you are not approved for an ESA letter, we promise a full refund of your purchase (aside from a $30 consultation fee).
6. Authentic Connections & Evaluations
Obtaining a valid letter necessitates a live consultation with a mental health professional. Pettable ensures that our clinicians meet HUD standards and conduct thorough consultations via phone to understand you and your mental health needs accurately.
1. We Guarantee Our Letters Will Work For You
We believe you should not have to worry about your letter working or not. That's why at Pettable we offer a satisfaction guarantee - meaning your letter works or you get your money back.
2. World Class Mental Health Professionals
We have built a team of world class mental health professionals who can write you a PSD Letter prescription guaranteed to work anywhere you go.
3. Unparalleled Customer Support
We know getting your animal approved to travel or live with you can be stressful, which is why we invest so much in our team of dedicated support specialists to make sure you are always taken care of and have the support you need!
4. Licensed in all 50 states
Our network of mental health professionals is deep and spans across the entire country. Additionally, we have a deep team of mental health professionals to make sure we can meet any timeline.
5. Best In Class Legal Support
We are here to make sure your housing and travel needs are taken care of so you don't worry. Our legal team is dedicated to having your back should you need it!
6. Human Connection & Legitimate Evaluations
In order for your letter to work you need to have a live consultation with a mental health professional. At Pettable we make sure our clinicians adhered to HUD standards and conduct consultations over the phone to get to know you and your mental health situation well.
Still unsure? Just check out the chart below to see how our live consultations, customer ratings, and transparent process compare to other major online ESA providers.
MSW, LCSW
Jennifer Bronsnick is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Anxiety Treatment Specialist, & Heartmath Certified Trainer. She provides customized workshops and trainings to working professionals and teams to help build resilience and reduce stress with practical strategies.
MSW, LCSW
I graduated with a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before obtaining my Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in 2021. I have eight years of experience in the mental health field working in and with various populations, including case management, intake coordination, and residential, inpatient, and outpatient programs. I am certified in Brainspotting to help individuals deeply process negative emotions and trauma/significant life events. Additionally, I utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and safety planning in sessions/groups.
LCSW
As a clinical social worker, I have been able to work within multiple types of settings, such as hospitals, community centers, and family welfare. I enjoy having the clinical and administrative experience to holistically serve those I work with.
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.
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.
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.
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 we’ll refund 100% of your purchase.
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.
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 ESA letters contain the following:
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 – 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 ESA 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:
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 ESA 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 ESA 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 ESA 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.
At Pettable, we understand at a personal level the positive impact an animal can have on your life.
meet the teamGet peace of mind with a service you can trust.