The ESA Law Strictness Index

Sources verified August 15, 2026

20 states now regulate emotional support animal documentation by statute, and they cluster into two groups: 4 states that require an established provider relationship before a letter may issue, and 16 more that set documentation standards without a waiting period. The remaining 30 states run on the federal Fair Housing Act floor. Every placement below comes from the statute itself, linked on each state's page.

Tier 1: Waiting-Period States (4)

The strictest tier. A provider must have a client relationship with you at least 30 days old before ESA documentation may issue, so no lawful same-day letters exist here. California created the template in 2022; Montana, Arkansas, and Louisiana followed. Iowa sits just outside this tier deliberately: its statute requires the provider to certify whether a 30-day relationship existed, not to have one.

Waiting period

California

A client-provider relationship at least 30 days old is required before ESA documentation may be issued.

Cal. Health & Safety Code § 122318

Waiting period

Louisiana

A 30-day therapeutic relationship and a clinical evaluation at least 30 days before the documentation are both required, plus at least two sessions with the individual before issuing it.

Support and Service Animal Integrity Act, La. R.S. 46:1971-46:1978

Waiting period

Montana

A 30-day client-provider relationship is required before a practitioner may provide ESA documentation, making Montana the second state after California with a waiting period.

Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-114

Waiting period

Arkansas

A 30-day client-provider relationship is required before a provider may document the need for an emotional support dog, with an exception for people verified to be homeless.

Ark. Code Ann. §§ 20-14-1001 to 20-14-1004

Tier 2: Documentation-Statute States (16)

These states regulate what ESA documentation must contain, who may write it, or how landlords may verify it, without imposing a waiting period. Common threads: exclusions for certification mills, license details in the letter, and penalties for fraudulent documentation.

State	Statute	Signature requirement
Indiana	Ind. Code ch. 22-9-7	Landlords may request written verification from a health service provider stating the disability, the disability-related need, and how the ESA helps manage it, when the disability is not readily apparent.
Iowa	Iowa Code §§ 216.8B and 216.8C	A written finding from a licensed provider is the supporting documentation, and it must certify whether the provider-patient relationship, in person or via telehealth, has existed for at least 30 days.
Kentucky	KRS 383.085	ESA documentation must come from a provider in a genuine therapeutic relationship: a licensed clinical social worker, professional counselor, APRN, psychologist, or physician with an active Kentucky practice, or an out-of-state provider with an ongoing relationship for people who move in.
Minnesota	Minn. Stat. § 504B.113	Documentation must come from a licensed professional, and anyone operating primarily to certify service or support animals is excluded by name from that definition.
North Dakota	N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.5	Landlords of no-pet rentals may require reliable supporting documentation of the disability-related need for a service or assistance animal.
Oklahoma	Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 113.2	Assistance animal is defined to include emotional support animals, and landlords may request reliable supporting documentation of the disability-related need.
Alabama	Ala. Code §§ 24-8A-1 to 24-8A-5	Landlords may require reliable documentation of the disability and the disability-related need, but only when neither is readily apparent or already known.
Colorado	C.R.S. §§ 12-240-144, 12-245-229, 12-255-133 and § 24-34-309	Providers asked to document the need for an assistance animal in housing must make written findings on the disability and the disability-related need, or a written finding that they lack sufficient information.
Florida	Fla. Stat. § 760.27	Registrations of any kind, including ID cards, patches, and certificates obtained from the internet, are not by themselves sufficient to establish a disability-related need.
Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-3	Online vests, tags, and registration documents are expressly not valid verification of an assistance animal under Hawaii law.
Illinois	Assistance Animal Integrity Act, 310 ILCS 120	ESA documentation must come from someone with a genuine therapeutic relationship with the tenant; entities that issue certificates without a meaningful assessment are expressly excluded.
Pennsylvania	Assistance and Service Animal Integrity Act, Act 118 of 2018	Documentation may be requested only when the disability is not readily apparent, must be written, must be based on direct knowledge of the person's disability, and must describe the disability-related need.
South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws §§ 43-32-34 to 43-32-36	Landlords may require reliable supporting documentation, but not when the disability or the need is readily apparent or already known.
Tennessee	Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-7-111	Reliable documentation means written documentation from a health care provider with actual knowledge of the disability, a state-licensed professional serving people with disabilities with actual knowledge, or a caregiver, reliable third party, or government entity with actual knowledge.
Virginia	Va. Code §§ 36-96.3:1 and 36-96.3:2	Reliable documentation may come from anyone with whom the requester has a genuine therapeutic relationship, defined as good-faith provision of medical, program, or personal care services.
Wisconsin	Wis. Stat. § 106.50	A licensed health professional who misrepresents a patient's disability or ESA need for housing forfeits at least $500, one of the only state penalties aimed directly at the letter writer.

Tier 3: Federal-Floor States (30)

No state statute specifically regulates ESA letters here. The federal Fair Housing Act sets the rules, as courts have long applied it: a letter from a licensed professional documenting a disability-related need. Most of these states still penalize misrepresenting a service animal. (HUD rescinded the 2020 guidance in 2025; see the 2026 change for what that affected.)

Kansas · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Mississippi · Missouri · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · Ohio · Alaska · Arizona · Connecticut · Delaware · Georgia · Idaho · Rhode Island · South Carolina · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Washington · West Virginia · Wyoming · Oregon

Methodology

Placements are derived from the statutes, verified at each legislature's own site on August 15, 2026, and re-verified when laws change. Tier 1 requires a statutory provider-relationship or waiting-period rule. Tier 2 requires a statute specifically governing ESA documentation in housing. Everything else is Tier 3, whatever its service-animal misrepresentation rules. Five years ago Tier 1 had one state; it now has 4, and legislation is pending in more states. Each state page carries the citations.

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