The process of obtaining an emotional support animal (ESA) letter begins with an appointment with a licensed mental health professional (LMHP), as they have the expertise to assess your symptoms and determine whether you are eligible for an emotional support animal. Thanks to telehealth platforms like Pettable, this consultation can take place online, making the entire ESA approval process much simpler and more convenient. Get started with Pettable today and connect with one of our LMHPs from the comfort of your own home!
Due to Montana's HB 703 law on emotional support animals, ESA letters for Montana residents will require two separate consultations over 30 days to establish the necessary client-provider relationship. As a result, there is no express ESA letter option for Montana residents.
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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.
In 2023 Montana passed a state law (HB 703) on emotional support animals that has multiple implications for acquiring an ESA letter in the state. Most importantly, the law imposed a 30-day client-provider relationship requirement. You must have an existing relationship (minimum of 30 days) before a mental health professional can legally write you an ESA letter. Additionally, the state imposed strict rules on illegitimate ESA certification and registration methods, as well as punishments for healthcare providers who do not follow the new law.
At Pettable we have taken every measure necessary to ensure our process is legally compliant with all new regulations. As a result, if you are a Montana seeking to acquire an ESA letter through Pettable you will not be able to receive your ESA letter until 30 days have passed starting from your initial consultation.
The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) secures the rights of emotional support animal owners to equal access to housing. This means that your housing provider must make reasonable accommodations for your emotional support animal to live with you, as long as you have a valid ESA letter. Your ESA letter supersedes the landlord’s usual pet policies and exempts you from any pet deposits or fees, as well as breed and weight restrictions.
In 2023, Montana passed HB 703, which revised and clarified the state’s own ESA laws as they relate to federal regulations, winding up with some significant changes. The bill allows a landlord to request supporting information about a tenant’s need for a support animal, requiring a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) to identify the emotional need the animal relieves. But to make it official, you must have a professional relationship with the LMHP for at least 30 days before they can issue you an ESA letter.
However, the new law also prohibits landlords from requiring information about the tenant’s diagnosis or the severity of their disorder and further clarifies that a tenant is responsible for any damage to the property or injury to other tenants.
To qualify for an ESA letter in the state of Montana, an individual must be assessed as needing an emotional support animal by a licensed mental health professional (LMHP). They must also demonstrate that their pet domesticated animal helps relieve symptoms of or support for their disorder.
Due to law HB-703 to qualify for an ESA letter you will need to have at least 2 consultations over 30 days. Once the LMHP makes an official diagnosis, they can schedule a second appointment — a live, virtual evaluation of your relationship with your pet and how it supports your mental or emotional health. Because of HB 703, landlords are allowed to ask for more information about your support animal — an ESA letter solves that problem with ease.
For animal lovers in Montana, an ESA can help alleviate any of your emotional or mental challenges. Even with everything a pet typically provides, an ESA just elevates the relationship between human and animal further, bound by the need for mutual care. Some of the amazing benefits an ESA can offer include:
Emotional support animals provide comfort and support to individuals with mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and many other mental health conditions.
Having a regular routine and engaging in physical activity are shown to be beneficial for your mental health. Having an ESA present in your life encourages you to live a more active lifestyle, whether it be taking your dog for a walk, or just playing with your ESA. The responsibility of having to care for an animal promotes a healthy routine in your life.
As emotional support animals are federally protected under the Fair Housing Act, having one provides you with significant legal benefits for housing. If your pet is recognized as an ESA you will be able to live with them in any housing, waiving all "no pet" policies and costly pet fees.
Pettable is powered by a nationwide network of experienced mental health experts who can help you get an ESA letter and other support animal needs. These licensed mental health professionals can issue you an ESA letter that works for you in Montana and any other state. Whether you’re supplying your landlord with supplemental information or getting your pet fees waived, Pettable is here to support you. Plus, our legal team can intervene to help in any state, as well.
1. We Guarantee Our Letters Will Work For You
At Pettable, we’re so confident that our ESA letter will work for you that we offer a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee.
2. World-Class Mental Health Professionals
Our nationwide team of world-class mental health professionals is made up of experts in everything from writing ESA letters to prescribing a psychiatric service dog (PSD).
3. Unparalleled Customer Support
At Pettable, we know that starting your new life with an ESA can sometimes be confusing, and you need answers you can trust; our unparalleled customer service team is ready to serve you. Simply put: we have your back.
4. Licensed in All 50 States
No matter where life takes you, your Pettable ESA letter is backed up by an organization that is licensed in all 50 states, so you never have to worry about your next move.
5. Trusted By 200,000+ Pet Parents
We've helped over 200,000 pet parents secure housing accommodations with an ESA letter written by a licensed mental health professional. We know we offer the best ESA letter service online, but don't take our word for it, read our customer reviews.
6. Human Connection & Legitimate Evaluations
To qualify for your ESA letter, you have the advantage of speaking with a live LMHP with whom you can establish a connection as you navigate the world of support animals. Our team of experts provides you with the legitimate care you deserve.
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.
Pettable raises the standard with our commitment to making sure the process works for you. Our team of mental health experts, animal lovers, and legal eagles will take you through every step of bringing an ESA or PSD into your life. Plus, our money-back guarantee ensures that there’s no risk — only reward, which you and your pet will love.
We are confident that we are the best ESA provider out there, so we broke down the different services offered by every ESA service. And we looked for unbiased reviews from 3rd party sites.
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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