An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is a companion animal that helps relieve symptoms of a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, or panic disorder. ESAs provide comfort simply by being present, and they are not required to perform specific trained tasks.

In housing, ESAs are treated as assistance animals when you have a valid ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional.

Yes. Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), housing providers must consider reasonable accommodation requests for ESAs when you have appropriate documentation from a licensed clinician.

If you want to see how this works across the state, you can review our ESA letters in Texas overview page .

Airlines are no longer required to treat ESAs as service animals. Most airlines now classify them as pets and apply their standard pet policies for fees, carrier rules, and size limits.

A valid ESA letter is still very important for housing, even if airline policies have changed.

An ESA offers emotional comfort by its presence and is mainly protected in housing.

A Psychiatric Service Dog (PSD) is individually trained to perform specific tasks that help with a mental health disability, such as interrupting panic attacks or guiding you out of a crowd. PSDs are treated as service animals under the ADA and generally have broader public access rights than ESAs.

An ESA letter is a formal document written by a licensed mental health professional that states:

• You have a qualifying mental health condition or disability, and
• An ESA is part of your treatment plan, and helps reduce your symptoms.

Housing providers usually rely on this letter when deciding whether to approve your ESA as a reasonable accommodation and to waive standard pet rules and fees.

In Texas, an ESA letter should come from a licensed mental health professional who is authorized to practice in the state. This may include:

• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
• Psychologist or psychiatrist

Generic online registries or certificates, without a clinical evaluation, do not replace a legitimate ESA letter from a Texas based provider.

Landlords covered by the Fair Housing Act must seriously consider ESA accommodation requests, but they may deny or limit an ESA when:

• The documentation is not from a licensed provider or appears fraudulent.
• The animal poses a direct threat to others or has a history of serious aggression.
• Allowing the animal would create a significant financial or administrative burden.

Most Texas landlords accept ESAs when documentation is legitimate and the animal can safely live on the property.

Laws do not set a strict expiration date, but many housing providers expect ESA documentation to reflect current clinical care, usually within the last year.

For that reason, many Texans choose to update their ESA letter every year or whenever there is a change in diagnosis, provider, or housing situation.

In most housing covered by the Fair Housing Act, assistance animals such as ESAs are not treated as pets.

That means landlords generally may not charge standard pet deposits, monthly pet rent, or pet fees just because you have an ESA. You can still be responsible for any damage your animal actually causes.

Yes, when you have proper ESA documentation and the apartment is covered by the Fair Housing Act. Even buildings with a no pet policy must consider assistance animal requests as a reasonable accommodation, unless a valid exception applies.

If you want city specific details, you can also read more about ESAs in:

• ESA letters for Houston renters
• ESA letters for Dallas apartments
• ESA letters for San Antonio housing

The general steps are:

• Complete a mental health screening with a Texas licensed clinician.
• Discuss your symptoms, daily functioning, and how your animal supports you.
• If appropriate, the provider writes a formal ESA letter as part of your treatment plan.

At Texas Service Animals, you start with a secure online questionnaire and then meet with a Texas licensed psychotherapist. You can begin any time using our free ESA and PSD evaluation form .

Under the ADA, a trained service dog, including a psychiatric service dog, is generally allowed in most public places such as stores, restaurants, hotels, and government buildings, as long as the dog is under control and not causing a disruption.

Yes. Businesses may ask you to remove a service dog that is aggressive, out of control, or not housebroken. You should still be allowed to receive services without the dog.

In most situations, service dogs must be on a leash, harness, or tether unless those tools interfere with the dog's work or your disability. If a leash or harness is not used, the dog must still be under your control through voice commands or other effective handling.

When it is not obvious what service the dog provides, staff are usually allowed to ask only two questions:

• Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
• What work or tasks has the dog been trained to perform?

They are not allowed to ask about your diagnosis, require medical records, or demand special identification cards.