How to register cat as emotional support animal reddit

Sorry for the delay in my reply. I'm currently in the middle of a flare-up.

WARNING: THIS IS LONG!!!

The info below only applies to the USA on a federal level, but there are also state specific laws that call this out. My source is from the Fair Housing Act (the law that gives you the right to have an ESA in pet free housing) and the Air Carrier Access Act (the law that allows you to bring ESAs on a flight).

To clarify, if you regularly see a doctor or mental health professional though some sort of tele-doc program (example: BetterHealth ) that should still qualify for them to write a letter supporting ESAs. I'm speaking directing about websites that only focus on selling "prescriptions", "certificates", "licenses", "registration", and gear used on an untrainted dog to enter a dog-free environment.

Here is the most recent guidance from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for how the Fair Housing Act (FHA) should apply to assistance animals:

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. Under the Fair Housing Act, a housing provider may request reliable documentation when an individual requesting a reasonable accommodation has a disability and disability-related need for an accommodation that are not obvious or otherwise known. 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.

By contrast, many legitimate, licensed health care professionals deliver services remotely, including over the internet. 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.

Here is the new Fair Housing Act FAQ which was also put together by Housing and Urban Development:

Question: As a housing provider, will the Assistance Animals Notice help me to understand the documentation requirements regarding assistance animals for persons with disabilities, including what to do if a tenant provides me with documentation from the internet?

Yes, the guidance provides best practices for housing providers regarding when they can request more information or documentation regarding a disability and disability-related need for an assistance animal. As the Assistance Animals Notice explains, in appropriate instances, housing providers may ask for more information consistent with the Fair Housing Act. The guidance describes the type of information that a housing provider may request when processing a reasonable accommodation request. One reliable form of documentation is a note from a person’s health care professional that confirms a person’s disability affecting a major life activity and related need for an assistance animal for therapeutic purposes when the health care professional has personal knowledge of the individual. HUD has heard from housing providers, persons with disabilities, and other groups and individuals who are concerned about commercially available documentation from the internet. The guidance explains that, in HUD’s experience, documentation from websites that sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents and animal gear for animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee is not sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal. However, in some circumstances, documentation may be reliable where provided by legitimate, licensed health care professionals delivering health care services remotely, including over the internet. The guidance helps housing providers to navigate these questions regarding information and documentation of a disability affecting a major life activity and disability-related need for an assistance animal.

This is from the Air Career Access Act (ACAA). While it doesn't specifically call these websites out, most websites that I'm referring to don't meet these qualifications, mostly because the disabled individual isn't under the esa-selling-person's care or being treated by them:

(e) If a passenger seeks to travel with an animal that is used as an emotional support or psychiatric service animal, you are not required to accept the animal for transportation in the cabin unless the passenger provides you current documentation (i.e., no older than one year from the date of the passenger's scheduled initial flight) on the letterhead of a licensed mental health professional (e.g., psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, including a medical doctor specifically treating the passenger's mental or emotional disability) stating the following:

(1) The passenger has a mental or emotional disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fourth Edition (DSM IV);

(2) The passenger needs the emotional support or psychiatric service animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at the passenger's destination;

(3) The individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional, and the passenger is under his or her professional care; and

(4) The date and type of the mental health professional's license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued.

While not law yet, this is the proposed addition to the law cited above in ACAA:

Many airlines also indicated that they believe passengers wishing to travel with their pets may be falsely claiming that their pets are service animals so they can take their pet in the aircraft cabin or to avoid paying a fee for their pets. The increase in the number of service animals in aircraft cabins has led some to believe that many of these animals are really pets but are being passed off as service animals. There is also concern that vests, harnesses, and other items, which traditionally have been considered to be physical indicators of a service animal's status, are easily purchased online by fliers trying to misrepresent their pets as service animals. Airlines have also reported to the Department that certain entities may, for a fee, be providing individuals with pets a letter stating that the individual is a person with a mental or emotional disability and that their animal is an ESA or PSA, when in fact they are not.

Additionally, while the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) doesn't apply to ESAs (ESAs don't have public access, SDs do), it does apply to the related assistance animal, service dogs (SD) and their public access. I feel it's related to how the federal government has viewed these documents as far back as 2015. Here is the relevant quote from the ADA's FAQ:

Q17. Does the ADA require that service animals be certified as service animals?

A. No.  Covered entities may not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, as a condition for entry.

There are individuals and organizations that sell service animal certification or registration documents online. These documents do not convey any rights under the ADA and the Department of Justice does not recognize them as proof that the dog is a service animal.

If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them. I have memorized these laws, as well as a specific few states' laws as they apply to assistance animals. I know this is a lot of info.

For the record, I don't judge people for doing this when they didn't know any better. In most cases, they've been scammed and misled. Almost always, it wasn't done out of malice and they have a legitimate need for an ESA. I know lots of people who have made this mistake and I was very close to doing so myself once. It's only the people that know it's fraudulent and will still use these websites that I have an issue with. The best way to fix this situation, is to establish care with a doctor or mental health professional, either in person or through some tele-doc program. That way, when you need a letter next (for a flight or a new house) you have a doctor who can back up your legitimate need for an ESA. Due to current circumstances, many mental health professional are working over the phone and/or video call.

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