North Dakota · ND
Yes. North Dakota sets no waiting period, session count or expiry date for an ESA letter. A no-pets landlord may ask for documentation confirming your disability and its link to the animal, unless that need is obvious or already known (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). A pet security deposit for the animal is barred (§ 47-16-07.1(2)). A clinician licensed in North Dakota evaluates you live. If you qualify, the signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours. It costs $99.
for a service or companion animal you need as a reasonable accommodation
N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(2)to bring a housing complaint to the Department of Labor and Human Rights after the last date of harm
N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-18(1)to sue in district court instead, with no need to go to the Department first
N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-39in the largest owner-occupied building left outside the accommodation duty
N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-09(2)North Dakota, with the capital marked
North Dakota at a glance
Each answer is one line, with the section of North Dakota law it comes from. The detail is further down the page.
No. The documentation statute has no time element at all: no relationship length, no session count, no in-person meeting and no date on which a letter lapses. Its only conditions concern who supplies the paperwork and what it confirms. One live evaluation by a properly licensed clinician can therefore be enough, if that clinician finds you qualify.
N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5Only if the rental "is subject to a no pets policy", and never when your disability or disability-related need is readily apparent or already known to the landlord. In a building that allows pets, this documentation rule does not apply, although the general duty to make reasonable accommodations still does (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(3)(b)).
N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5Two points: that you have a disability, and the relationship between that disability and your need for the animal. Nothing in the statute calls for a diagnosis, a licence number, a set form or an expiry date. Disability means an impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity, a record of one, or being regarded as having one (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-01).
N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5A pet security deposit is off the table for a service or companion animal you need as a reasonable accommodation. The statute says nothing about monthly pet rent or non-refundable pet fees, so ask in writing for those to be waived. No state statute deals with breed or weight either, whatever some online summaries claim.
N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(2)Yes, in practice. Services given to a person in the state count as practising there, whatever the means and wherever the provider sits (N.D.C.C. § 43-51-02). The one remote exception continues a relationship formed where the clinician is licensed, which a new client never has (N.D.C.C. § 43-51-03(2)). A psychologist may use PSYPACT telepsychology authority instead, in force here since 1 August 2023 (N.D.C.C. ch. 43-32.1).
N.D.C.C. §§ 43-51-02, 43-51-03; N.D.C.C. ch. 43-32.1Not all of them. An owner who lives in a building for no more than four families is outside the accommodation clause. So is a private owner of three or fewer single-family houses who rents without a broker or discriminatory advertising, within a one-rental-per-24-months limit when the owner was not the last resident. Both mirror the federal carve-outs (42 U.S.C. § 3603(b)).
N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-09The Department of Labor and Human Rights takes housing complaints for one year from the last date of harm, online or on signed paper form SFN 52229 (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-18(1)). You can also sue in district court within two years. That clock pauses while an administrative hearing is pending, and you need not file with the Department first (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-39).
N.D.C.C. §§ 14-02.5-18(1), 14-02.5-39North Dakota law
North Dakota has no chapter on emotional support animals; it has a short documentation rule instead. Under N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5, a landlord whose rental is subject to a no-pets policy may ask for reliable supporting documentation when you request an assistance animal as an accommodation. That paperwork must confirm your disability and the relationship between the disability and your need for the animal. The statute says it may come from a physician or medical professional. A 2017 amendment adds that this source is not someone whose sole activity in the state is producing paperwork for animals (HB 1272, 2017 N.D. Sess. Laws ch. 317). If your disability or need is readily apparent or already known, no documentation can be required. Nothing in it sets a waiting period, session count, form or renewal date. The right itself comes from the Housing Discrimination Act, which treats refusing a reasonable accommodation in rules or policies as discrimination (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(3)(b)). Your landlord must consider the request and may refuse only on grounds the law allows, such as a direct threat to others or substantial physical damage (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(6)). Owner-occupied buildings of up to four units are exempt (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-09(2)). Complaints go to the Department of Labor and Human Rights within one year (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-18(1)).
Source: N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5 (HB 1191, 2015 N.D. Sess. Laws ch. 313; amended by HB 1272, 2017 ch. 317). 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 North Dakota law and the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights.
“Reliable supporting documentation must confirm the tenant's disability and the relationship between the tenant's disability and the need for the requested accommodation.”
Federal vs North Dakota
| Topic | Federal (Fair Housing Act) | North Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Fees and deposits | Federal text sets no fee rule (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204). HUD withdrew its no-fee guidance effective 17 September 2025, so any waiver is something you ask for. | No pet security deposit for a service or companion animal required as a reasonable accommodation (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(2)). Pet rent and non-refundable fees are not addressed, so request a waiver. Ordinary deposits stop at one month's rent (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(1)). |
| Documentation | The accommodation has to be necessary because of a disability (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)). No federal statute prescribes a letter. | In a no-pets rental, reliable documentation confirming the disability and its relationship to the need, unless that need is readily apparent or already known (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). No diagnosis or form is required. |
| Timing | No federal waiting period, and no federal deadline for the landlord's answer. | No waiting period, session count, renewal date or response deadline (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). Once you file, the Department aims to finish its investigation within 100 days (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-20(2)). |
| Who may write | Federal law does not name the writer. | "A physician or medical professional" (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). Remote services to a person in the state are practice there, so the writer needs a state licence or, for a psychologist, PSYPACT authority (N.D.C.C. § 43-51-02; N.D.C.C. ch. 43-32.1). |
| Exemptions | An owner-occupied building of four or fewer units, and single-family houses rented by an owner of three or fewer (42 U.S.C. § 3603(b)). | The same two, and both reach the accommodation clause; the owner-occupied building keeps only the advertising ban (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-09(1)–(2)). |
| Where to file | HUD, which since May 2026 finds cause only for trained animals, or a federal lawsuit. | The Department of Labor and Human Rights, HUD's Fair Housing Assistance Program partner, or district court with no need to file with the Department first (N.D.C.C. §§ 14-02.5-13, 14-02.5-39(3)). |
| Deadline | One year to HUD (42 U.S.C. § 3610(a)(1)(A)(i)); two years in federal court (42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A)). | One year to the Department (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-18(1)); two years in district court, not counting time an administrative hearing is pending (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-39(1)–(2)). |
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Your timeline in North Dakota
North Dakota adds no wait before an ESA letter, so the evaluation itself sets the pace. Because N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5 looks for reliable documentation, every letter here follows a live consultation, never a questionnaire alone. The screening is free and takes no card. You pay at checkout before the consultation, and not everyone who books one qualifies.
Begin with the free screening, which never asks for a card. A few questions cover your rental or the place you hope to rent, your animal, and how it helps you cope. The answers only show whether a consultation is worth booking; they decide nothing.
Talk with a clinician licensed in North Dakota, or a psychologist with PSYPACT authority, in a live video or phone consultation. The clinician asks about your history and daily life and judges whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-01). Some consultations end without a letter, because some people do not qualify.
If you qualify, the signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours of the consultation. It confirms your disability and its relationship to your need for the animal, the two points in N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5, and lists the clinician's licence details. If the clinician finds you do not qualify, ask for your full refund within 7 days.
Housing
Under the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)) and North Dakota'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 North Dakota, with the rule beside each reply.
A made-up exchange to show the rules, not a real tenant or landlord.
Pet fees and deposits
North Dakota law bars a pet security deposit for a service animal or a companion animal that a tenant with a disability needs as a reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(2)). That is the whole of the protection. The statute is silent on monthly pet rent and on non-refundable pet fees, so put a written request to waive them inside your accommodation request. "Companion animal" is not defined, and the bar depends on the animal being required as an accommodation, which is judged case by case under N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(3)(b). Your ordinary security deposit still applies. It may not exceed one month's rent, however it is labelled, unless you have a felony conviction or a past judgment for breaking a rental agreement; then two months is allowed (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(1)). The landlord keeps it in a federally insured interest-bearing account, and interest is owed unless you stayed less than nine months. Damage caused by your pet, unpaid rent, and cleaning or repairs beyond normal wear can be deducted. The rest comes back with an itemised written notice within 30 days after the lease ends and you hand over possession (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(3)). Withholding deposit money without reasonable justification exposes the landlord to treble damages (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(4)).
Small landlords
North Dakota copies the two federal exemptions, and both reach the accommodation duty. The first covers a building with living quarters for not more than four families living independently, where the owner lives in one of the units. There, the core housing bans, the accommodation clause included, do not apply; only the advertising ban survives (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-09(2)). The second covers a private owner of no more than three single-family houses at any one time who rents without a broker or agent and without discriminatory advertising. It applies to one rental in any 24-month period when the owner was not the last resident (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-09(1)). An owner in the business of selling or renting dwellings loses it, and owning a dwelling for five or more families counts as being in that business. Religious organisations and private clubs have narrow exemptions of their own (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-10). Every other landlord is covered, including an owner-occupier of a five-unit building. Check which group your landlord falls in before you rely on a state complaint.
If your landlord says no
Phone: 701-328-2660 (Relay ND 1-800-366-6888 or 1-800-366-6889 · toll-free 1-800-582-8032 · 600 East Boulevard Ave, Dept 406, Bismarck, ND 58505-0340) · File a complaint
Deadline: One year from the last date of harm (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-18(1)). File through the online housing form, or print and sign paper form SFN 52229 before you send it. The Department says it will contact you within 30 days. It must notify the landlord within 10 days of filing and aims to finish investigating within 100 days (N.D.C.C. §§ 14-02.5-18(2), 14-02.5-20(2)). Its pages list no filing fee.
Court: You may sue in district court within two years, with or without a complaint to the Department, and time spent in an administrative hearing does not count (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-39). A suit is barred after you agree to a conciliation settlement, or once the Department has begun a hearing on the record (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-39(4)–(5)). The court may appoint an attorney for you (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-40) and award actual and punitive damages with fees and costs (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-41). A federal suit is open for two years (42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A)).
Retaliation: Coercing, intimidating, threatening or interfering with you for exercising these rights is itself a discriminatory practice (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-45(2)). Intimidation by force or threat of force is a class A misdemeanour (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-45(1), (3)). The landlord-tenant chapter has no general retaliation section, so this is the provision to cite (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-45).
The Department is HUD's Fair Housing Assistance Program partner for the state, and HUD lists no North Dakota city agency, so there is no local layer. It must emphasise conciliation (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-13(6)). After a charge, either side may elect a civil action within 20 days of service (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-30). Its state-law clause has no training element (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(3)(b)), but the Department has published nothing on assistance animals since HUD's May 2026 memo, so no outcome can be promised. Free help: High Plains Fair Housing Center in Grand Forks (intake 701-203-1077; staffing reduced since September 2026) and the Protection & Advocacy Project (800-472-2670).
Your envelope, item by item
Keep a dated copy of everything you send.
What to send your landlord
Tell the landlord you have a disability, name the animal and its species, and ask for an exception to the no-pets rule as a reasonable accommodation (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(3)(b)). In the same note, ask for pet rent and any non-refundable pet fee to be waived. Date it and keep a copy, because the one-year clock runs from the last date of harm (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-18(1)).
Signed by a clinician licensed in North Dakota, or a psychologist with PSYPACT authority, with the licence type and number and the date and mode of the evaluation. It confirms your disability and its relationship to your need for the animal, the two points N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5 names. It gives no diagnosis and carries no expiry date.
ID cards, vests, database listings and downloaded templates add nothing, and no statute requires a particular form. If the landlord already knows your need, or it is plain to see, no paperwork can be required (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). Never describe the animal as a service animal; knowingly doing so to obtain housing is an infraction (N.D.C.C. § 25-13-02.2).
No statute gives the landlord a date to reply, so ask for a written decision and follow up in writing if it stalls. If the answer is no, or a pet security deposit appears on the lease, note the date. You then have one year to go to the Department or two years to go to district court (N.D.C.C. §§ 14-02.5-18(1), 14-02.5-39). High Plains Fair Housing Center answers on 701-203-1077.
If your housing provider questions the letter, your clinician responds directly at no extra cost.
North Dakota renters by city
An ESA letter in ND is judged by the same statutes in Fargo, West Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck, Mandan, Minot, Williston and Dickinson. One agency handles complaints from all eight: the Department of Labor and Human Rights in Bismarck, on 701-328-2660 or 1-800-582-8032, within one year (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-18(1)). HUD lists no city agency in the state, so there is no local layer to learn. Fargo and West Fargo renters often hear about therapists across the river in Moorhead. A clinician who sees you by video while you are in the state is practising here and needs a licence from the state (N.D.C.C. § 43-51-02). In Grand Forks, the High Plains Fair Housing Center gives free help statewide on 701-203-1077, though funding delays have cut its staff. A worker renting a flat or house in Williston or Dickinson during a Bakken posting has the same rights as any other tenant. Students in campus housing at UND, NDSU or Mayville State work with their school's disability office. Most ESA North Dakota questions online carry the same overstatements, so check them against the statutes cited here. Our process is identical in Minot and Mandan: a free screening, one live consultation and, if you qualify, a signed PDF that usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours. Away from home, an ESA has no right to enter shops or restaurants, because public access belongs to trained dogs (N.D.C.C. § 25-13-01.1). Since 2021, airlines may treat ESAs as pets.
Myths in North Dakota
An online ID card, vest or database listing makes an emotional support animal official in North Dakota.
FactNo state list of support animals exists, and a card or database entry has no legal effect. The statute points the other way: reliable documentation "may be provided by a physician or medical professional who does not operate in this state solely to provide certification for service or assistance animals", so a purchased paper is not the source it describes (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). What counts is a confirmation of your disability and its link to the animal, and none is needed when your need is already known.
A letter here is good for 12 months, after which you need a new one every year.
FactNo state law gives the letter an expiry date or a renewal duty (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). A one-year expiry was proposed in SB 2222 in 2025, and the Senate rejected it 1-44 on 17 February 2025. SB 2193 would have required two sessions and an evaluation at least 30 days before any letter. It passed the Senate but failed in the House 12-81 on 18 March 2025. Neither bill is law.
Under N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5, a landlord has to take your ESA, cannot charge any pet deposit, pet rent or fee, and letter mills face penalties.
FactN.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5 governs documentation only. The duty to accommodate sits in N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(3)(b), and a landlord may still refuse for a direct threat or substantial physical damage (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(6)). The money rule, N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(2), bars only a pet security deposit for a required companion animal; pet rent and non-refundable fees are not addressed. The penalties sit in N.D.C.C. §§ 47-16-07.6 and 25-13-02.2, and they apply to the person seeking the accommodation, not to whoever sold the paperwork.
Task-trained dogs are a different document. If your dog performs trained tasks for a psychiatric disability, read about the psychiatric service dog (PSD) letter online, written after a real consultation.
Typical competitor price $159 — you save up to $60
The reasonable-accommodation letter you give your landlord, after a live clinical evaluation.
Both letters from one course of care, including the consultations for each.
For people who already have housing sorted and need psychiatric service dog documentation only.
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Why this letter holds up
Read the exact terms. Money-back guarantee: full refund if you do not qualify, and a full refund if your housing provider refuses the letter.
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North Dakota FAQ
In housing, often yes. Refusing a reasonable accommodation to a rule such as a no-pets policy is discrimination under N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(3)(b), and that clause has no training test. A landlord may still say no for a direct threat or substantial damage (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-06(6)), and some small owner-occupied buildings are exempt (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-09). In shops and restaurants, no: public access belongs to trained service dogs (N.D.C.C. § 25-13-01.1).
It is the documentation a no-pets landlord may ask for. It confirms that you have a disability and how that disability relates to your need for the animal (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). It does not have to name a diagnosis. The test is an impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-01). A clinician makes that finding after evaluating you, and some people do not qualify.
A letter is only as useful as the writer's authority where you live. Services to a person in North Dakota count as practice in the state, whatever the means (N.D.C.C. § 43-51-02). So the writer needs a licence here, or PSYPACT authority for a psychologist. Ours come from a clinician licensed in the state. The evaluation costs $99, and if the clinician finds you do not qualify, you can ask for a full refund within 7 days.
For an ESA, four matter most. No pet security deposit for an animal you need as an accommodation (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(2)). An ordinary deposit of one month's rent at most, returned itemised within 30 days (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(1), (3)). Paperwork only in a no-pets rental, and none when your need is known (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.5). And one year to complain to the Department, or two years in district court (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5-39).
Never call your ESA a service animal: knowingly claiming a pet is one to obtain housing is an infraction (N.D.C.C. § 25-13-02.2). So is a knowingly false disability claim or fraudulent documentation (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.6(1)). An infraction sits in the criminal code, with a fine of up to 1,000 dollars (N.D.C.C. § 12.1-32-01(7)). After a plea or conviction, the landlord may evict. Describe your need plainly, attach the letter and ask in writing.
In public places, yes. Denying or interfering with the admittance of a person with a service animal is a class A misdemeanour (N.D.C.C. § 25-13-04). A service animal here is a dog trained to do work, perform tasks or assist a person with a disability (N.D.C.C. § 25-13-01.1). An emotional support animal is not trained in that sense, so it has no public-access right. No letter, ours included, turns a pet into a service dog.
$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
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Last reviewed 2026-11-07 by Darren Rafel, LCSW. Statutes change; we re-check each state page and record the date above.
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