Emotional support animal certificates.

Question

I know there are ways to get an emotional support animal certificate to help with housing. I've also heard there are many scams out there. Can you recommend a particular organizational that is trustworthy to apply for and receive an emotional support dog certificate?

New Jersey, USA

Answer

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued guidelines regarding assistance animals. An emotional support certificate from an organization is not required. Rather, people who want to provide evidence to a landlord about an emotional support animal should get a letter from their health care provider which indicates a connection between the disability and the need for the assistance animal, such as that the animal provides emotional support with respect to the individual’s disability.

HUD’s guidelines state, in part: “Some websites sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents for assistance animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee ...In HUD’s experience, such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal… One reliable form of documentation is a note from a person’s health care professional that confirms a person’s disability and/or need for an animal when the provider has personal knowledge of the individual… It is also recommended that the health care professional sign and date any documentation provided and provide contact information and any professional licensing information.”

For further information, see HUDAsstAnimalNC1-28-2020.pdf