Georgia · GA
Yes. Georgia has no emotional support animal statute, so no law sets a waiting period, session count or in-person visit. Your right to keep the animal in a no-pets rental is a reasonable-accommodation request under the Georgia Fair Housing Law (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(a)(7)(B)(ii)). The evaluation is a video consultation with a clinician licensed in Georgia. If you qualify, the signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours. The price is $99, paid at checkout before the consultation.
is the most any security deposit may be, pet deposit included
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1for the landlord to return your deposit with written reasons
O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34to complain to Georgia's Commission on Equal Opportunity
O.C.G.A. § 8-3-208to sue in superior court, paused while a GCEO case is pending
O.C.G.A. § 8-3-217Georgia, with the capital marked
Georgia at a glance
Each answer is one line, with the section of Georgia law it comes from. The detail is further down the page.
No. The state has no statute on emotional support animals, their letters or the people who write them. Your housing right is a reasonable-accommodation request made under the Georgia Fair Housing Law, with the federal FHA behind it. The Code's only mention of emotional support is an exclusion from the service-dog definition, in force since 1 July 2026.
O.C.G.A. §§ 8-3-202(a)(7)(B)(ii), 30-4-1(5)No. No statute or board rule sets a minimum client relationship, a session count, a prior in-person visit or an expiry date for the letter. The only standards are the general practice rules: the clinician must hold a Georgia licence and, for telehealth, must assess that remote care suits you and document your consent.
O.C.G.A. § 43-10A-7(a); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 135-11-.01A clinician licensed in Georgia, or one holding a PSYPACT authority or a Counseling Compact privilege for the state. The counselling, social work and family therapy practice act bars unlicensed practice and has no telehealth or out-of-state exception, so under that act a clinician licensed only elsewhere cannot write for a renter here. Video evaluation is lawful under the boards' rules.
O.C.G.A. §§ 43-10A-7(a), 43-39-22, 43-10A-51No. Since 1 July 2026 a service dog is a dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks, and a dog that solely provides comfort, companionship or emotional support is excluded. Deliberately misrepresenting yourself as qualified to use a service dog, to obtain accommodations or rights, is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature: a fine of up to 2,000 dollars, up to 30 days' confinement, or both.
O.C.G.A. §§ 30-4-1(5), 30-4-4(b)Georgia law does not forbid it; the no-extra-charge rule is for service dogs only. Ask for the charge to be waived as part of your accommodation request. Whatever is charged, a pet deposit is a security deposit: the total is capped at two months' rent on leases signed or renewed since 1 July 2024, and it must come back within 30 days with written reasons for any deduction.
O.C.G.A. §§ 30-4-3(b), 44-7-30(3), 44-7-30.1, 44-7-34Not always. A private owner of three or fewer single-family homes, renting without a broker, and an owner who lives in a building of four or fewer units are outside the state act, including its disability clause. An owner of five or more units, or anyone in three or more rental transactions in a year, is in the business and cannot claim the exemption.
O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(b)(1), (c)One year to the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity, counted from when the refusal happened or ended. Two years to sue in superior court, with the clock paused while a GCEO case is pending, and actual and punitive damages, injunctions and attorney's fees available.
O.C.G.A. §§ 8-3-208, 8-3-217Georgia law
Georgia has no statute on emotional support animals, their letters or their writers. Your right to keep one in a no-pets rental comes from the Georgia Fair Housing Law, which makes it unlawful to refuse "reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services" that may be necessary for a person with a disability to use and enjoy a dwelling (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(a)(7)(B)(ii)). A landlord must consider the request; lawful refusals are limited to grounds such as a tenancy that would be a direct threat to others or cause substantial physical damage (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(d)). The second layer is the service-dog chapter. Since 1 July 2026, under HB 668, the Mara Jade Act, a service dog is one individually trained to do work or perform tasks; a dog that solely provides comfort, companionship or emotional support is excluded (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-1(5)). Deliberately misrepresenting yourself as qualified to use a service dog, to obtain accommodations or rights, is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature: a fine of up to 2,000 dollars, up to 30 days' confinement, or both (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-4(b)). Call your animal an emotional support animal, never a service dog. No state rule sets a waiting period, session count, in-person visit or expiry date; the one requirement is a clinician lawfully licensed here (O.C.G.A. § 43-10A-7(a)).
Source: O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(a)(7)(B)(ii) (Georgia Fair Housing Law, Ga. L. 1990, p. 1284; last amended 2020). This is general information, not legal advice.
The federal Fair Housing Act still recognises the accommodation, and you can still enforce it in court. Since May 2026, HUD itself has stopped pursuing complaints about untrained emotional support animals, so in practice your protection comes from Georgia law and the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity.
“A refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services”
Federal vs Georgia
| Topic | Federal (Fair Housing Act) | Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| Fees and deposits | No fee rule in the federal statute. HUD's former no-fee guidance has been withdrawn since 17 September 2025 (HUD enforcement memo, 22 May 2026). | No statute bars a pet deposit or pet rent for an emotional support animal; the no-extra-charge rule is for service dogs (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-3(b)). A pet deposit is a security deposit, capped at two months' rent and refundable within 30 days (O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-30, 44-7-30.1, 44-7-34). |
| Documentation | The federal Act asks only that the accommodation may be necessary; no federal statute sets a letter format. | No letter format, licence rule or validity period in state law. The GCEO rule defers to the federal regulation's examples (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 186-2-.02(4)(e)2), and the state's voucher-programme form asks for the clinician's licence number (DCA Reasonable Accommodation Request form, 1 June 2026). |
| Timing | No federal deadline for a landlord's answer, and no federal waiting period before a letter. | No response deadline for private landlords and no waiting period for the clinician. Once you file, GCEO must open its investigation within 30 days and aims to finish within 100 (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 186-2-.03(4)). |
| Who may write | Federal law does not say. | Any clinician lawfully practising in Georgia: a Georgia licence, a PSYPACT authority or a Counseling Compact privilege (O.C.G.A. §§ 43-10A-7(a), 43-39-22, 43-10A-51). There is no writer statute specific to emotional support animal letters. |
| Exemptions | Under the federal Act: a building of four or fewer units where the owner lives, and single-family homes let by an owner of three or fewer. | The same two exemptions, and here they reach disability claims (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(b)(1)). Owners of five or more units, and anyone in three or more rental transactions in 12 months, are in the business and covered (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(c)). |
| Where to file | HUD, whose 22 May 2026 memo limits its enforcement to trained animals, or a federal district court. | The Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity, a HUD partner agency, or superior court without filing with GCEO first (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-217). If HUD opens the same facts first, GCEO loses authority over them (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-206(e)). City of Atlanta renters also have the Atlanta Human Relations Commission. |
| Deadline | One year for a HUD complaint and two years for a federal suit under the FHA. | One year to GCEO from when the practice occurred or ended (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-208); two years to superior court, with GCEO time excluded (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-217); 180 days to the Atlanta commission. |
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Your timeline in Georgia
Nothing in Georgia law makes you wait, so the timeline is set by the evaluation itself, not by a statute. The screening is free and takes no card. You pay at checkout, then meet a clinician licensed in Georgia by video or phone. If you qualify, the signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours of that consultation.
Free screening with no card: a short set of questions about your housing and how the animal helps you. Nothing is charged at this stage. No Georgia rule requires a prior in-person visit or a waiting period before the consultation (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 135-11-.01).
Pay at checkout, then join your clinician, licensed in Georgia, on a live video or phone call. Under the Composite Board's TeleMental Health rule the clinician assesses that remote care suits you and records your verbal and written consent (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 135-11-.01). This is a clinical evaluation, and not everyone qualifies.
If you qualify, your signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours of the consultation. It shows the clinician's licence type and Georgia licence number, a finding of disability and disability-related need without a diagnosis, and a line that it is not a service-dog document (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-1(5)). If you do not qualify, the fee is refunded.
Housing
Under the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)) and Georgia's own fair-housing law, a housing provider must consider a reasonable-accommodation request for an assistance animal, including where pets are prohibited. Each line below carries the section it comes from.
What they may do
What they may not do
Illustrative exchange
Most refusals are not a flat no. They are a question the housing provider is not allowed to ask, or a fee they are not allowed to charge. Here is the shape of a typical exchange in Georgia, with the rule beside each reply.
A made-up exchange to show the rules, not a real tenant or landlord.
Pet fees and deposits
No Georgia statute bans a pet fee, pet deposit or pet rent for an emotional support animal. The no-extra-charge rule in O.C.G.A. § 30-4-3(b) covers a person who has a service dog, and since 1 July 2026 a dog that solely provides comfort, companionship or emotional support is not a service dog (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-1(5)). Ask for the charge to be waived as part of your accommodation request; no state law makes the landlord grant it. What the law does fix: a pet deposit is a security deposit (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30(3)), the total deposit may not exceed two months' rent on leases signed or renewed since 1 July 2024 (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1), and it must be returned within 30 days with written reasons for any deduction and nothing kept for ordinary wear and tear (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-34). A nonrefundable pet fee is not a deposit and is not capped, and pet rent is unregulated.
Small landlords
Georgia's exemptions are the federal pair, and they cover disability claims. A private owner who holds no more than three single-family dwellings and rents without a real estate broker, agent or salesman, and without discriminatory advertising, is outside the state act; so is the owner of a building housing no more than four families who lives in one of the units (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(b)(1)). Anyone who owns a dwelling for five or more families, or took part as principal in three or more rental transactions in the previous 12 months, is in the business and cannot claim the exemption (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(c)). Check which side your landlord falls on before relying on the letter.
If your landlord says no
Phone: 404-656-1736 · File a complaint
Deadline: One year from the day the refusal happened or ended (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-208). Complaints are written and sworn; intake starts with the online questionnaire or a call to the Intake Coordinator on 404-463-4706, and the toll-free line is 800-473-6736. The investigation must begin within 30 days of filing and should finish within 100 (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 186-2-.03(4)).
Court: A superior-court suit is open for two years, whether or not you filed with GCEO, and time spent in a GCEO case is excluded (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-217). Remedies include injunctions, actual and punitive damages, court costs and attorney's fees.
Retaliation: No fair-housing retaliation clause was found in the state act, but the landlord-tenant code may apply: a landlord that files for eviction, raises rent, cuts services or ends the lease within three months of a tenant exercising a legal right in good faith faces a civil penalty of one month's rent plus 500 dollars (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24). No Georgia court has yet applied it to an accommodation request.
File with GCEO rather than HUD. If HUD has already opened the same facts, GCEO loses authority to act on them (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-206(e)), and HUD now pursues only trained-animal cases. GCEO is HUD's partner agency for the state, so a GCEO filing is treated as dual-filed with HUD (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 186-2-.03(2)).
Your envelope, item by item
Keep a dated copy of everything you send.
What to send your landlord
One paragraph asking for a reasonable accommodation for an emotional support animal under the Georgia Fair Housing Law (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(a)(7)(B)(ii)). Name the animal and its species, say plainly that it is not a service dog, date it and keep a copy. If your landlord lives out of state, send it to the Georgia broker it must employ for a single-family or duplex rental (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25).
A signed letter on letterhead from a clinician licensed in Georgia, showing the licence type and number, the date, a finding that you have a disability as the state defines it (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-201(7)) and a disability-related need for the animal. No statute dictates the wording; this is what the state's own voucher-programme form asks a verifier to confirm (DCA Reasonable Accommodation Request form, 1 June 2026).
Your diagnosis and your records. No statute bars the question, but the Department of Community Affairs' own accommodation form tells the clinician "do not provide diagnosis" (DCA Reasonable Accommodation Request form), and a landlord needs only reliable information about disability and need (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 186-2-.02(4)(e)). Never describe the animal as a service dog (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-4(b)).
Georgia sets no deadline for a private landlord's answer, so ask for a written reply and chase it in writing. A refusal, or silence that amounts to one, starts two clocks: one year to file with GCEO (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-208) and two years to sue in superior court (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-217).
If your housing provider questions the letter, your clinician responds directly at no extra cost.
Georgia renters by city
The housing right and the complaint route are the same in Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Athens, Valdosta and Albany, because both come from state law. The Georgia Fair Housing Law applies in every county, and the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity takes complaints from any renter in the state, by phone or online, within one year (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-208). Consultations are by video or phone with a clinician licensed in Georgia, so the timeline is identical in all eight cities: free screening, one live consultation, and if you qualify a signed PDF usually within 24 to 48 hours. One city adds a route of its own: renters inside the City of Atlanta can also file with the Atlanta Human Relations Commission within 180 days. Marietta, Roswell and Warner Robins follow the statewide rules.
Myths in Georgia
Georgia keeps an emotional support animal registry, and the registry certificate or ID card is what a landlord wants to see.
FactFalse. Georgia has no emotional support animal registry, no certificate and no statute that recognises one, so a card, a vest or an online badge gives a landlord nothing to act on. What counts is a letter from a clinician licensed in Georgia with the licence number on it, which is also what the state's own accommodation form asks a verifier for (DCA Reasonable Accommodation Request form, 1 June 2026).
Georgia landlords cannot charge a pet deposit or pet rent once you have an ESA letter.
FactNo Georgia statute says that. The no-extra-charge rule covers a person who has a service dog (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-3(b)), and since 1 July 2026 a dog that solely provides comfort, companionship or emotional support is not a service dog (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-1(5)). You can ask for the charge to be waived as part of the accommodation. What the law does fix is that a pet deposit counts toward the two-months'-rent cap and comes back within 30 days (O.C.G.A. §§ 44-7-30.1, 44-7-34).
Georgia has no law against misrepresenting an animal, so calling your emotional support animal a service dog is harmless.
FactThat was true before 1 July 2026 and is not true now. Deliberately misrepresenting yourself as qualified to use a service dog, to obtain accommodations or rights, is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature: a fine of up to 2,000 dollars, up to 30 days' confinement, or both (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-4(b)). Honestly describing an emotional support animal as one remains lawful.
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For people who already have housing sorted and need psychiatric service dog documentation only.
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Georgia FAQ
A disability as the Georgia Fair Housing Law defines it: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of one, or being regarded as having one (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-201(7)), plus a disability-related need the animal meets. A diagnosis by itself does not settle it. Only a licensed clinician can make that finding, and not everyone qualifies; if you do not, the fee is refunded.
Book a live consultation, by video or phone, with a clinician licensed in Georgia. No state rule imposes a waiting period or in-person visit, but the clinician must assess that telehealth suits you and record your consent (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 135-11-.01). The letter carries their licence type and number. The price is $99, paid at checkout before the consultation, and the signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours if you qualify.
There is no emotional support animal statute. Three laws matter instead. The Georgia Fair Housing Law gives you the accommodation request (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(a)(7)(B)(ii)). The practice acts require the clinician who writes your letter to be licensed in Georgia or to hold a compact privilege (O.C.G.A. §§ 43-10A-7(a), 43-10A-51). And since 1 July 2026 the service-dog chapter excludes emotional support dogs and punishes misrepresentation (O.C.G.A. §§ 30-4-1(5), 30-4-4(b)).
Some do, and Georgia's rule lets them ask for reliable documentation of a non-obvious disability and need (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 186-2-.02(4)(e)). That is why the letter shows the clinician's licence type and Georgia licence number, which can be checked with the licensing board. No state rule sets an expiry date or a 12-month renewal, though a landlord may reasonably ask for current documentation at a new lease. If yours is questioned, your clinician confirms it.
Yes, on limited grounds. A landlord may refuse a tenancy that would be a direct threat to others or cause substantial physical damage (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(d)), may decline an undue burden or fundamental alteration (DCA Landlord-Tenant Handbook) and may be exempt as a small landlord (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202(b)(1)). The statute names no other ground but is silent on breed, size and video letters, so get the refusal in writing. A refusal starts your one-year GCEO clock (O.C.G.A. § 8-3-208).
Not usefully, and never as a service dog. Georgia has no crime for falsely claiming an emotional support animal, but a landlord may ask for reliable documentation of a disability and need (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 186-2-.02(4)(e)), and a bare claim gives it nothing to act on. Calling an untrained dog a service dog to get housing rights is a misdemeanor since 1 July 2026, with a fine of up to 2,000 dollars (O.C.G.A. § 30-4-4(b)).
$99 for a housing letter, $149 together with a psychiatric service dog letter, or $79 for a PSD letter and consultation on its own. The consultation and landlord verification support are included, and the price is the same across every state.
Nearby states and resources
ESA letter rules, timeline and cost in Florida.
ESA letter Florida →Page coming soon. The hub lists every state and which pages are live.
ESA letter rules by state →Page coming soon. The hub lists every state and which pages are live.
ESA letter rules by state →Sources
General information, not legal advice. Last reviewed 2026-10-08 by Darren Rafel, LCSW. Statutes change; we re-check each state page and record the date above.
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