The process to obtain a legitimate ESA letter online is similar to what it would be otherwise – it just saves you the hassle of waiting in traffic or long lines for an in-person appointment. All you have to do is connect with a licensed mental health professional who can determine if you qualify for an emotional support animal and then write you an ESA letter if you do.
Online services like Pettable can do the heavy lifting of matching you with a licensed mental health professional in Missouri. Not only does Pettable's vast network include LMHPs in every state, but each licensed therapist is also an expert in writing a legitimate and foolproof ESA Letter.
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.
If you struggle with a mental or emotional disability, you may find a coping mechanism in obtaining an emotional support animal. Missouri and federal law are aware of the struggle of mental illness and will protect an individual's right to live anywhere with an emotional support animal.
Some states in America have particular laws about emotional support animals. Missouri is one of those states. You must be aware of this law if you are a Missouri resident and an emotional support animal owner. In 2020, Missouri's governor instated a rule prohibiting individuals from deliberately misrepresenting an emotional support animal. This law specifically prohibits people from putting harnesses or vets on their pets to make it seem like they are emotional support animals if they are a pet.
If you’re an ESA owner in Missouri, you probably already know that public establishments are under no legal obligation to accommodate emotional support animals – only service animals. This includes stores, restaurants, theaters, museums, libraries, hospitals, hotels, and workplaces.
If you wish to bring your emotional support animal with you to a place that is not explicitly pet-friendly, your best option is to have your ESA letter on hand. Although the venue is not required to admit your emotional support animal, the owner or manager (or your boss) may be willing to make an exception if you can present a valid ESA letter to help explain your situation.
This also includes commercial aircraft (under the Air Carrier Access Act), so if you’re hoping to fly with your ESA, you should contact the airline well in advance of your travel date. If they do not accept ESAs on board, your ESA may still be able to travel with you as an ordinary pet, subject to the airline’s pet fees and policies.
Thankfully, housing legislation is more lenient to ESA owners. Specifically, you have the right to have your emotional support animal live with you, even in a rented apartment with a “no pets” policy. According to the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), housing providers must make reasonable accommodations for any tenant (or potential tenant) who provides a legitimate ESA letter. The landlord must also waive their usual pet charges, and even breed and weight restrictions.
The Fair Housing Act grants service animals and emotional support animals special housing privileges. Landlords must make reasonable accommodations to allow ESAs to live in any residence, even if a building has a no-pet policy. Emotional support animals are also exempt from weight, size, breed restrictions, pet fees, and deposits. That said, if your assistance animal causes any damage to your home, you may be held responsible for paying for those damages.
The Fair Housing Act protects people with disabilities from facing discrimination when obtaining housing. Under this law, a landlord must provide reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities to have the same opportunity to live elsewhere. To grant people with mental disabilities this equal opportunity, landlords must grant housing rights to ESAs or service animals and their handlers.
While emotional support animals are included in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) definition of assistance animals, ESAs are not recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act. That means that employers are not obligated to allow ESAs into work environments. However, some employers may be willing to work with their employees on a case-by-case basis. For instance, if your ESA is not disruptive and no one in your office is allergic to dogs, your employer may allow your emotional support animal to inhabit your workplace. Check with your local HR department or pet policy for more information.
An LMHP who can work in Missouri must be the one to determine if you qualify for an emotional support animal. They can properly assess your symptoms and mental health condition to discover if you have a disability-related need for such an assistance animal.
Many people suffering from mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and phobias, will likely qualify for an emotional support animal. However, an LMHP will consider every individual's situation case by case. To be eligible for an ESA, not only must you have a mental illness, but your ESA must also be able to alleviate at least one of the symptoms of your mental health disorder.
Many people are confused about how an emotional support animal can help treat an individual suffering from a mental or emotional illness. Here are some of the few ways that ESAs can support people with disabilities.
One of the best things about animals? No matter what happens, they always provide their caretakers with unconditional love. Receiving unconditional love can be particularly beneficial for individuals with mental health issues, especially if they are not receiving that love from others.
Receiving this care and attention from an ESA can be the first step in an individual's mental health improvement, leading to them re-engaging with the world and people around them.
Whether you are grappling with depression or OCD, it can be difficult for people with mental disorders to regulate their emotions. While some individuals may be experiencing regular bouts of panic and stress, others may feel extreme sadness and depression. An ESA can help reduce daily anxiety, regulate physiological arousal, and improve an individual's overall mood.
Because animals demand regular attention, an ESA or assistance animal is a good distraction and can divert its owner's attention away from their thoughts and feelings.
Having an animal to care for and attend to can give individuals who have a mental disability a higher purpose in life. Additionally, an ESA inadvertently provides its owner with a day-to-day routine. ESAs need to be walked and fed, forcing their owners to go outside and get some exercise, whether they are taking trips to the grocery store to buy dog food or taking their animals on walks around the block. Regardless of what a person goes through, an emotional support animal will always force its owner to get out of bed and start the day.
Obtaining a letter for psychiatric service dogs in Missouri is similar to getting an emotional support animal letter. Only a licensed health professional who lives in the state of Missouri can provide a resident of the state with a PSD letter. Similar to ESA letters, there are also online services that can grant individuals with PSD letters. These online services will connect you with a therapist from your state, who you will meet for a consultation. If the therapist deems you eligible for a PSD, they will also provide you with a psychiatric service dog letter. Pettable can offer both emotional support animal letters and psychiatric service dog letters.
To receive a PSD letter, you must have a service animal with specific training to perform a task directly related to your mental disability. For instance, owners may train a psychiatric service dog to perform room checks for an individual suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Too many "ESA providers" out there are trying to scam their users by following processes that are not in line with federal and legal requirements. At Pettable, our excellent legal team takes measures to ensure we're compliant with federal and state laws every step of the way. Together with our world-class mental health professionals, they go to great lengths to ensure your PSD or ESA letter will work for you. After all, if your letter still doesn't work for you, you get your money back.
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.
Just look at how we compare to other major ESA providers online. With our satisfaction guarantee, our live consultations with therapists, and a transparent team, Pettable is a clear choice
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.
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