Our standards

Independent clinical judgment

The decision about documentation belongs to the clinician. Pet ESA Service runs the assessment, payment and verification support, but no one outside the clinical relationship decides whether you receive a letter. Payment covers the evaluation, never a promised result.

Licensed in your state

Every evaluation is done by a licensed mental health professional, such as an LCSW, LPC, LMHC, LMFT or psychologist, who holds an active license in the state where you live. That lets your housing provider verify the license on the state board's website and keeps the letter aligned with state rules, including relationship periods in states like California, Arkansas, Louisiana and Montana. Meet the network on our clinicians page.

A real evaluation, not a template

Your clinician reviews your assessment and connects with you by phone or video when your state's rules or their clinical judgment call for it. Letters are written from that evaluation and state your disability related need without naming a diagnosis.

This matters more since HUD's May 22, 2026 enforcement memo, whose appendix describes a boilerplate online ESA letter that did not support a finding when follow up questions went unanswered. A letter grounded in a real evaluation, from a clinician who can be reached, is the kind that holds up.

Transparent pricing and a full refund

Prices are one time payments in US dollars: $89 for one pet, $109 for two, $129 for three, $149 for four, $79 for a renewal and $99 for a psychiatric service dog evaluation. There are no subscriptions, memberships or automatic renewals. See the pricing page.

If the clinician does not approve your completed assessment, you receive a 100% refund of the evaluation payment to your original payment method. The full terms are in our refund policy.

Privacy

Your letter does not name your diagnosis. When a housing provider asks us to verify a letter, we confirm that it is authentic and share the clinician's license details; anything more requires your written consent. Payments are handled by Stripe, and card numbers are not stored by Pet ESA Service. Please do not send medical records through general email. Our privacy page has the details.

Accuracy after the 2026 HUD change

We updated our housing guidance for HUD's May 22, 2026 memo. We explain plainly that HUD's fair housing office now finds reasonable cause only for trained animals, and that the Fair Housing Act, state laws, private lawsuits and Section 504 still matter. We do not claim that landlords have to approve every ESA, that a letter removes pet fees everywhere, or that ESAs can fly in the cabin or enter public places.

Every legal claim on this site is dated and sourced, and our editorial policy explains how we review and update content. If you are ready for an evaluation held to these standards, start the free assessment.