Can a landlord verify an ESA letter?

Yes. A landlord can look up the license on the state licensing board's site and call or email the provider's office to confirm they wrote it. What a landlord should not ask for is your diagnosis, how severe your disability is, or your medical records; Iowa's law, § 216.8B, bars all three.

Is an ESA registration or certificate the same as a letter?

No. A registration, ID card or certificate is a convenience at most, and Iowa's law says outright that a registration of any kind is not enough on its own. The letter from a licensed provider is the document a landlord asks for. Our registration explainer has the detail.

Do ESA letters expire?

No federal rule gives a letter an expiry date, but landlords usually look for one dated within the last year. Iowa puts it in law: a finding is valid for 12 months or the lease, whichever is longer. Arkansas asks the provider of an emotional support dog letter to evaluate the need once a year. Our renewal guide covers the rest.

Does the checker save or send my letter?

No. It runs entirely in your browser: what you paste is never uploaded, stored or sent anywhere, and it is gone when you leave the page.

If my letter passes, will my landlord accept it?

A complete letter is the document landlords look for, but the decision is theirs, and state laws differ. HUD withdrew its 2020 guidance and, since May 22, 2026, its own office pursues only cases with trained animals, so a refusal now runs through state agencies and the courts. Our HUD rules page explains what changed.

Free tool

This Free Checker Shows What an ESA Letter Is Missing

A valid ESA letter names a licensed provider, their license number and state, a recent date and their signature, and says you have a disability the animal helps with. Paste a letter, or tick what it has, and the checker shows what is missing and what looks wrong, with the law or the landlord check behind each line.

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Check a letter For landlords

ESA letter checker

Paste the letter or tick what it has, and see what's missing

Pick your state first: five states ask more of a letter, and the checks change with them.

The result

Waiting for a letter

Paste a letter, or try the sample, and each check below fills in.

The provider's name and license type
A landlord's first check is that a licensed mental health or medical professional wrote it. Who can write an ESA letter: the license table
A license number
Anyone can look it up on the state licensing board's site, and California's law requires it on the letter. Cal. Health & Safety Code § 122318
The state that issued the license
Landlords check that the provider is licensed where you live. Who can write an ESA letter: the license table
A date in the last 12 months
No date found
No federal rule sets an expiry date, but landlords usually expect a letter from the last year, and Iowa's law sets 12 months. Iowa Code § 216.8C
Says you have a disability and the animal helps with it
That link is the reasonable accommodation the Fair Housing Act is about; the diagnosis itself need not appear. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) (Fair Housing Act)
The provider's signature
Signed by hand or e-signature; an unsigned letter is the first thing a landlord sends back. Who can write an ESA letter: the license table
A phone number or email for the provider
It lets a landlord confirm the provider wrote it, without asking about your health. Who can write an ESA letter: the license table

What it reads for

Seven things every ESA letter needs, and where each comes from

The same seven a leasing office checks, plus the extra lines California, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana and Iowa write into law.

A licensed provider
A name and a license type from the who-can-write table: a counselor, social worker, psychologist, psychiatrist or nurse practitioner.
A license number
The one detail anyone can look up on the state board's site, and California's law requires it.
The right state
A license from the state you live in, which California, Arkansas and Montana write into their laws.
A recent date
Within about 12 months. Iowa's law sets it; elsewhere it's what landlords expect.
The need
That you have a disability and the animal helps with it. The diagnosis need not appear.
A signature
By hand or electronic. An unsigned letter goes straight back.
A way to confirm it
A phone number or email for the provider's office, so a landlord can check who wrote it.
Red flags it looks for
- Registration, certificate or ID wording
- “Lifetime” or no-expiry wording
- No license number
- A provider who never spoke with you

Who counts as a licensed provider is in who can write an ESA letter, and each state's rules are in ESA laws by state.

For landlords and property managers

Landlords can run the same checks before they answer

Since HUD withdrew its 2020 guidance on what a housing provider may ask for, there is no federal list. Iowa's housing law, § 216.8B, is the clearest one any state has written, so the kit below follows it. Check your own state's rules too.

Sources: HUD withdrawal of FHEO-2020-01, 91 FR 17291 (Apr. 6, 2026) · Iowa Code § 216.8B

A yellow Labrador in a plain working harness lying alert on a wooden floor while a beagle sleeps on a mustard blanket on the sofa

A landlord may ask for

A letter from a licensed provider, when the disability or the need for the animal isn't obvious. Iowa Code § 216.8B
A letter for each animal, when a resident asks to keep more than one. Iowa Code § 216.8B
Proof the animal meets the state and local licensing and vaccination rules any pet must meet. Iowa Code § 216.8B
Confirmation that the provider is licensed and wrote the letter, from the state board and the provider's office. Who can write an ESA letter: the license table

Don't ask for these

The resident's diagnosis, or how severe the disability is. Iowa Code § 216.8B
Medical records or therapy notes. Iowa Code § 216.8B
An online registration, ID card or certificate in place of the letter: Iowa's law says none is enough on its own. Iowa Code § 216.8B

Landlord kit

A short policy and a checklist give every request the same answer

Copy either one, or print both on one page. The brackets are yours to fill.

Reasonable accommodation policy for assistance animals

[Property name] welcomes requests from residents with a disability to keep an assistance animal, including an emotional support animal, as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act and [state] law.

1. A resident can make a request in writing or in person to [office contact]. No special form is required.

2. If the disability or the need for the animal is not obvious, we may ask for a letter from a licensed health care professional stating that the resident has a disability and that the animal helps with it. We will not ask for a diagnosis, its severity or medical records.

3. We may confirm that the professional holds an active license and wrote the letter. An online registration, ID card or certificate does not replace the letter.

4. If a resident asks for more than one animal, we may ask for supporting information for each one.

5. We may ask for proof that the animal meets the licensing and vaccination rules that apply to any animal here.

6. We answer every request in writing within [number] days of receiving what we need.

7. Before charging pet rent, a pet deposit or a pet fee for an assistance animal, we check [state] law; several states bar them.

8. The resident remains responsible for the animal's care and for any damage it causes, as with any resident.

Adapt it to your state's law before you use it.

Verifying an ESA letter

The letter names the provider and their practice, on letterhead or with an office address.
It gives the provider's license type, number and issuing state.
The license shows as active on the state licensing board's website.
The provider is licensed in the state where the resident will live.
It is signed, and dated within about the last 12 months.
It says the resident has a disability and the animal helps with it. A diagnosis is not needed.
California or Arkansas (dogs), Louisiana or Montana (any animal): the provider had treated the resident for at least 30 days. Iowa: the letter says whether they had.
A call or email to the provider's listed office confirms they wrote it. Ask only that, never about the resident's health.
The decision goes to the resident in writing.

Link to it

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Tenant groups, property managers and pet sites are welcome to link to the checker. The code is one plain link.

Free ESA letter checker

<a href="https://www.esacard.com/esa-letter-checker" style="display:inline-block;padding:8px 16px;border-radius:999px;background:#2b2a5c;color:#ffffff;font:600 14px/1.3 system-ui,sans-serif;text-decoration:none">Free ESA letter checker</a>

Questions people ask about checking an ESA letter

Check that it names a licensed provider with a license type and number, that the license is from the state you live in and active on the state board's site, that it is dated within about the last year and signed, and that it says you have a disability the animal helps with. In California and Arkansas (for dogs) and in Louisiana and Montana (any animal), the provider must have treated you for 30 days first. The checker above runs those checks on a letter you paste.

Need a letter? Ask the provider who already treats you first. In New Jersey and New York, ESA Card's live video evaluation with a licensed therapist is $120; elsewhere, the main telehealth services charge $129 to $199 for one housing letter. Want a card to carry with it? The $39$59$79$99 ESA Card kit puts your animal's photo and name on a wallet card.