Talk with a licensed New York therapist today. If they approve you, your signed emotional support animal letter lands in your inbox 15 minutes later. If they do not approve you, you pay nothing.
Four stages. Most people are through the whole thing inside twenty minutes, and no money moves until a clinician signs.
Evenings and same-day openings are common, seven days a week between 7 AM and 11 PM Eastern.
Five minutes on your symptoms, your building and the animal that helps you, completed before you meet anyone.
A New York-licensed physician or therapist, by video or phone, reaching their own independent conclusion.
Approved, and the signed PDF is in your inbox within 15 minutes. Declined, and the hold on your card is released.
Federal enforcement narrowed in May 2026. New York is one of the states where that matters least, and it is worth understanding exactly why.
On May 22, 2026, HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity rescinded its 2020 assistance animal notice and said it will now find reasonable cause only where an animal is individually trained to perform disability-related work or tasks.
HUD FHEO enforcement memorandum, May 22, 2026If you rented in most states, that would be bad news. In New York it changes far less than the headlines suggested, for three reasons.
New York has its own, stronger law. The New York State Human Rights Law requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, and it is enforced by the New York State Division of Human Rights, not by HUD. New York's definition of disability is broader than the federal one. A HUD memo does not touch it.
New York City law goes further still. The NYC Human Rights Law is one of the most protective in the country, and the NYC Commission on Human Rights has published guidance stating plainly that housing providers must permit emotional support animals as a reasonable accommodation unless doing so would be an undue hardship, and must exempt them from no-dog, breed, weight and size policies. An emotional support animal does not need to be trained to perform a task under that guidance.
Subsidised housing was carved out. HUD's memo does not address obligations under the ADA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, so if you live in NYCHA housing or use a Section 8 voucher, those separate duties are unaffected.
Being straight with you: what did change is your federal complaint route. A HUD complaint about an untrained emotional support animal is now unlikely to succeed. In New York that matters less than elsewhere, because the State Division of Human Rights and, in the five boroughs, the City Commission on Human Rights are the stronger venues anyway. A letter is still documentation of a clinical opinion, not a permit, and nobody can promise a landlord or a co-op board will say yes.
One flat fee per letter. No subscriptions, no renewal traps, and no charge unless a licensed New York clinician approves you.
$129
Housing documentation, up to 2 animals
$199
Housing documentation, 3 or more animals
$149
Task-trained dog documentation, up to 2 dogs
$229
Task-trained dog documentation, up to 3 dogs
A single fee, billed once. Your card is held at booking and charged only when a New York-licensed clinician signs. A decline releases the hold.
The difference comes down to training. An emotional support animal helps through its presence. A psychiatric service dog is trained to perform specific tasks. In New York that distinction matters much more outside your home than inside it.
| Emotional support animal | Psychiatric service dog | |
|---|---|---|
| Species | Any domestic animal reasonable to keep at home, subject to the NYC Health Code in the five boroughs | Dogs only under New York's public accommodation law |
| Training required | None. The animal helps by being there | Yes. The dog must be individually trained to do work or tasks tied to your disability |
| Housing | Protected as a reasonable accommodation under the State and, in the five boroughs, City Human Rights Laws | Protected the same way, and also meets HUD's narrower 2026 federal standard |
| Stores, restaurants, the subway | No access right. New York Civil Rights Law covers guide, hearing and service dogs only | Yes, under the ADA and Civil Rights Law Article 4-B |
| Air travel | Airlines may treat it as a pet since the 2021 DOT rule change | Airlines accept the DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form |
| Our fee | From $129 | From $149 |
Not sure which one describes your situation? Book the consultation anyway. Your clinician will tell you honestly which document fits, and you will not be charged for a letter you cannot use.
Plenty of sites will sell you a PDF. These are the things that decide whether a managing agent or a board actually accepts it.
The first thing a managing agent checks. An out-of-state provider gets a request questioned before anyone reads the substance of it.
A form with no consultation attached is what taught New York boards to distrust this entire category. We do not issue letters that way.
Our clinicians earn the same either way, and your card is held rather than charged until one of them signs.
Co-op and condo boards read closely and ask precise questions. The letter answers them without disclosing your diagnosis.
Boards routinely come back over an apartment line or a date. Every re-issue is free, however many times it takes.
Encrypted end to end, HIPAA-aligned access controls, never sold, and never sent to your landlord or board without your written instruction.
Every evaluation is handled by a licensed professional who makes an independent decision. No one on our team is paid more for approving you.
Takes the cases where physical illness and mental health are tangled together, including anxiety that grew out of chronic pain or a long recovery.
Carries most of our housing caseload, and writes for the managing agent who has to sign off rather than for the file.
Runs our psychiatric service dog assessments and is the clinical reviewer for every word published on this site.
Inside New York City the Human Rights Law is at its strongest, and the gatekeepers are at their most demanding. Each borough page covers who actually decides where you live.
We serve the whole state online. These are the ten largest cities, each with a page covering the local rental market and how accommodation requests actually work there.
Population figures on this page come from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025, reference date July 1, 2025.
Yes, when it is written by a clinician licensed in New York who has actually evaluated you. New York does not require an in-person visit, and telehealth evaluations are a normal part of clinical practice here. What matters to a landlord, managing agent or co-op board is that a licensed professional assessed you and is willing to put their licence behind the opinion.
For most New York clients, the signed PDF arrives within 15 minutes of the clinician approving you. The consultation itself usually takes 15 to 20 minutes, so the whole process often finishes inside an hour of your appointment starting.
Then you are not charged. We only bill after approval. Your clinician will explain what they found and, where it helps, point you toward other support.
No. When an assistance animal is granted as a reasonable accommodation it is not treated as a pet, so pet rent, pet deposits and breed fees do not apply. You stay responsible for any actual damage the animal causes. If a landlord charges anyway, the New York State Division of Human Rights handles complaints statewide, and the NYC Commission on Human Rights handles them in the five boroughs.
No. It narrowed HUD's own federal enforcement. The New York State Human Rights Law and the NYC Human Rights Law are separate, still in force, and in New York City notably more protective than federal law. What changed in practice is that a federal HUD complaint about an untrained emotional support animal is now unlikely to succeed, so the state and city agencies are the route to use.
No. New York's public accommodation protections under Civil Rights Law Article 4-B cover guide dogs, hearing dogs and service dogs, which must be individually trained. An emotional support animal has no public access right in New York. If you need public access, a task-trained psychiatric service dog is the correct path.
We serve the whole state, including all five boroughs, Yonkers, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Schenectady, Utica, Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Everything happens online, so upstate is covered the same as Manhattan.
The $129 ESA letter covers up to two animals. If you have three or more, the $199 letter names each of them. For psychiatric service dogs, $149 covers up to two dogs and $229 covers up to three. New York sets no numeric cap, but your clinician does need to be able to explain the need for each animal.
Nothing legal on this page is asserted without a source behind it. Open them and read the originals rather than taking our summary on trust.
Choose a slot that works for you. The consultation usually runs under 20 minutes, and an approved letter reaches your inbox 15 minutes after sign-off.
