Avoid ESA Letter Scams
Many websites sell certificates or letters for emotional support animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee.
Simply purchasing a letter online from a site, business, or provider you have never worked with before does not meet requirements for ESA accommodation provision.
- If you did not talk to a board-certified doctor or licensed mental health professional who has personal knowledge of you through an ongoing and established therapeutic relationship, you have been sold an unenforceable document.
- Instant approvals, extremely cheap letters, or letters issued without ongoing assessment are red flags for scams. Such documentation from the Internet is not sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a disability-related need for an emotional support animal.
- There is no official registry for ESAs. Any website claiming to “register” your animal or provide a certificate as proof of ESA status is misleading and likely a scam.
- When in doubt, do not pay for a letter from a website. Instead, you should contact your current mental health professional.
A valid ESA letter must come from a licensed mental health professional or doctor who knows you personally through an ongoing and established therapeutic relationship.