Emotional support animals and service animals are both forms of assistance animals. Both provide support to people with disabilities. Both are protected under federal law. But they are protected by different laws, have different rights, and require different documentation. Knowing the difference is essential to understanding what you can and cannot demand from a landlord, an airline, a restaurant, or a public space.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is a dog (or in some cases a miniature horse) that has been individually trained to perform a specific task directly related to a person's disability. The task must be a trained behavior, not simply the calming presence of the animal.
Examples of trained tasks: guiding a person who is blind, alerting a person with hearing loss to sounds, detecting an oncoming seizure, or interrupting self-harm behavior in a person with PTSD. The animal must be trained to perform the task; the training can be done by the handler or a professional trainer — there is no certification requirement under the ADA.
Service animals have broad public access rights under the ADA. They are permitted in restaurants, hotels, stores, hospitals, government buildings, and virtually any public or commercial space. Businesses and landlords may only ask two questions: (1) Is this a service animal required because of a disability? (2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
Emotional support animals are not required to be trained to perform a specific task. Their therapeutic benefit comes from their presence and companionship, which alleviates symptoms of a disability such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, or other mental health conditions.
ESAs are protected primarily under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604) in housing contexts. The FHA requires landlords to make reasonable accommodations for ESAs even in no-pets buildings and prohibits charging pet fees for approved ESAs. Documentation from a licensed healthcare provider confirming the disability and disability-related need for the ESA is typically required.
ESAs do not have the same broad public access rights as service animals under the ADA. A restaurant or store is not required to permit an ESA. Airlines are not required to permit ESAs in the cabin (this changed after the DOT revised its air carrier access rules in 2021).
Species: Service animals are limited to dogs (and miniature horses in some cases). ESAs can be any animal — cats, rabbits, birds, and others can qualify under the FHA.
Training: Service animals must be trained to perform specific tasks. ESAs do not require task training.
Documentation: Service animal handlers cannot be required to show documentation or certification by most public entities (landlords can ask the two ADA questions). ESA handlers must typically provide a letter from a licensed healthcare provider in housing contexts.
Housing rights: Both are protected in housing under the FHA. Landlords must accommodate both, waive pet fees for both, and cannot apply breed or weight restrictions to either.
Public access: Service animals have broad ADA-protected public access rights. ESAs do not have ADA public access rights.
Airline travel: Service animals trained for psychiatric disabilities are generally permitted under DOT rules. Untrained ESAs may be refused cabin access by airlines following the 2021 DOT rule change.
For housing purposes — which is the focus of Tenant Pet Rights — both service animals and ESAs are forms of "assistance animals" under the FHA. A landlord cannot charge a pet deposit for either. A landlord cannot apply a breed restriction to either. A landlord cannot require either to use a third-party screening service as a condition of accommodation.
If a landlord tells you that your ESA "doesn't have the same rights as a service animal" in a housing context, they are either misinformed or attempting to mislead you. In housing, the Fair Housing Act treats them equivalently as reasonable accommodations.
— ESA vs. Service Animal in Housing (detailed guide)
— Can My Landlord Charge a Pet Deposit for an ESA?
— Can a Landlord Apply Breed Restrictions to an ESA?
— State ESA housing rights
Tenant Pet Rights publishes free legal information for renters with assistance animals. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for advice specific to your situation.