Pennsylvania · PA
Yes. An emotional support animal letter in Pennsylvania follows a live video evaluation with a clinician licensed in Pennsylvania. Act 118 counts a qualifying ESA as an assistance animal (68 P.S. § 405.2). A landlord may ask for proof only if your need is not apparent: written, reliable, based on direct knowledge, describing the need (68 P.S. § 405.3). Not everyone qualifies. If you do, the signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours. The price is $99.
for documentation: written, reliable and based on direct knowledge, describing the need
68 P.S. § 405.3(b)to file a housing complaint with the state's Human Relations Commission
43 P.S. § 959(h)most a landlord may hold for damages in year one, then one month
68 P.S. § 250.511atop fine, plus up to a year, for lying about a need for an assistance animal in housing
68 P.S. § 405.5; 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101(6), 1104(3)Pennsylvania, with the capital marked
Pennsylvania at a glance
Each answer is one line, with the section of Pennsylvania law it comes from. The detail is further down the page.
Yes, and it works in two parts. Act 118 of 2018 says an assistance animal includes an emotional support animal that qualifies as a reasonable accommodation (68 P.S. § 405.2). The same Act limits the paperwork a landlord may demand and makes misrepresentation in housing an offence (68 P.S. §§ 405.3, 405.5–405.6). The right to keep the animal comes from the Human Relations Act, which bars refusing a needed accommodation (43 P.S. § 955(h)(3.2)). The Commonwealth Court applied that clause to an untrained ESA in Jackson v. PHRC in 2024.
68 P.S. § 405.2; 43 P.S. § 955(h)(3.2)Three things, by statute: it is in writing, it is reliable and based on direct knowledge of your disability and need, and it describes that need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)). No form, licence number or expiry date is named. Ours goes further so a landlord can verify it. The clinician signs on their own letterhead after a live video evaluation and adds their Pennsylvania licence number and the evaluation date. Some evaluations end with no letter. We sell no certificates, registrations, ID cards or vests.
68 P.S. § 405.3(b)No. No statute, regulation or board rule sets a relationship length, a session count, an in-person visit or an expiry date for the letter. A clinician working by telehealth is held to the same standard of care as in an office (40 Pa.C.S. § 4805). The real test is that the writer has direct knowledge of your disability and need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)(2)). That is why the consultation is a live clinical evaluation, not a form you fill in and wait on.
68 P.S. § 405.3(b)(2); 40 Pa.C.S. § 4805Act 118 names no profession (68 P.S. § 405.3). Licensing law decides who may evaluate you. The Department of State says practitioners serving individuals in Pennsylvania need a Pennsylvania licence, in person or by an electronic visit. The one compact route usable today is PSYPACT, for an out-of-state psychologist with telepsychology authority. Your location during the call decides it, not your mailing address. Our letters come from a clinician licensed in Pennsylvania.
DOS Telemedicine FAQ Q14; PSYPACT mapNo statute forbids it. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission lists charging a fee for a support animal as an example of housing discrimination. That is an agency position you can raise in a complaint, decided case by case, not a ban written into law. So ask for the waiver in your accommodation request. Separately, whatever a landlord holds for damages is capped at two months' rent in the first year and one month after that (68 P.S. § 250.511a).
PHRC housing complaint page; 68 P.S. § 250.511aUsually, yes. The Human Relations Act's only small-landlord carve-out is a personal residence: a single house or a duplex where the owner lives (43 P.S. § 954(i), (k)). A building with three or more units never counts as one, even with the owner in it (16 Pa. Code § 45.4). An owner renting out one house they do not live in is covered. So is an owner-occupied triplex, although the federal Act often exempts both.
43 P.S. § 954(i), (k); 16 Pa. Code § 45.4Statewide, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission takes housing complaints within 180 days of the act (43 P.S. § 959(h)). Inside Philadelphia, the city's Commission on Human Relations allows 300 days, but not for a grievance already filed with the PHRC (Phila. Code § 9-1112(3)–(4)). Pittsburgh's Commission on Human Relations allows one year. A federal lawsuit needs no agency filing and stays open for two years (42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A)).
43 P.S. § 959(h); Phila. Code § 9-1112Pennsylvania law
Two statutes work together. The Assistance and Service Animal Integrity Act defines an assistance animal to include an emotional support animal that qualifies as a reasonable accommodation (68 P.S. § 405.2). The Human Relations Act supplies the right: refusing a reasonable accommodation that a tenant with a disability needs to use and enjoy a home is unlawful (43 P.S. § 955(h)(3.2)). That clause has no training test, and the Commonwealth Court applied it to an untrained ESA in Jackson v. PHRC in 2024. A landlord asked to waive a no-pet rule, or a size, weight, breed or number limit, may require documentation only when your disability or need is not readily apparent or known (68 P.S. § 405.3(a)). That documentation has three jobs: be in writing, be reliable and based on direct knowledge, and describe your disability-related need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)). A landlord who permits the animal is not liable for injuries it causes (68 P.S. § 405.4). Our letter meets all three after a live evaluation, shows the clinician's licence number and evaluation date, and is withheld when no qualifying need is found. Lying to get documentation, or knowingly creating a false housing-animal document, is an offence (68 P.S. §§ 405.5–405.6). Complaints go to the PHRC within 180 days (43 P.S. § 959(h)).
Source: Assistance and Service Animal Integrity Act, 68 P.S. §§ 405.1–405.6 (Act 118 of 2018, P.L. 733), with 43 P.S. § 955(h)(3.2). 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 Pennsylvania law, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and, in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the city commissions.
“Be reliable and based on direct knowledge of the person's disability and disability-related need for the assistance animal or service animal.”
Federal vs Pennsylvania
| Topic | Federal (Fair Housing Act) | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| Fees and deposits | Neither 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) nor 24 C.F.R. § 100.204 mentions fees. HUD withdrew its no-fee guidance effective 17 September 2025, so any waiver is part of what you ask for. | No statute bans an ESA fee. The PHRC lists charging a fee for a support animal as discrimination, an agency position you can raise in a complaint. Money held for damages is capped at two months' rent in year one and one month later (68 P.S. § 250.511a). |
| Documentation | The accommodation must be one that may be necessary because of a disability (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)). The statute prescribes no letter. | Required only when the disability or need is not readily apparent or known (68 P.S. § 405.3(a)). It must be in writing, reliable and based on direct knowledge, and describe the need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)). No form, diagnosis or licence number is named. |
| Timing | The federal text sets no waiting period before a letter and no deadline for the landlord's reply. | No waiting period, session count, in-person visit or response deadline in statute or regulation (68 P.S. § 405.3; 16 Pa. Code § 45.5). Telehealth is held to the in-person standard of care (40 Pa.C.S. § 4805). |
| Who may write | The federal Act names no profession and no licence rule for the writer. | No profession is named (68 P.S. § 405.3). The Department of State requires a Pennsylvania licence to serve someone located here, by video or in person (DOS Telemedicine FAQ). Out-of-state psychologists may use PSYPACT. |
| Exemptions | An owner-occupied building of up to four units, and some single-family homes rented by an owner of three or fewer (42 U.S.C. § 3603(b)). | Only a personal residence: a single house or duplex the owner lives in (43 P.S. § 954(i), (k); 16 Pa. Code § 45.4). A landlord with one rental elsewhere, or an owner-occupied triplex, is covered. |
| Where to file | HUD, which since May 2026 finds cause only for individually trained animals, or a federal court. | The PHRC, HUD's partner agency for the state, which decides its side under the state Act (43 P.S. § 959). In Philadelphia, the city Commission on Human Relations instead; in Pittsburgh, the city's Commission on Human Relations, also a HUD partner. |
| Deadline | One year for a HUD complaint (42 U.S.C. § 3610); two years for a federal lawsuit (42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A)). | PHRC 180 days (43 P.S. § 959(h)); Philadelphia 300 days (Phila. Code § 9-1112(3)); Pittsburgh one year. A suit under the state Act comes after the PHRC, within two years of its closing notice (43 P.S. § 962(c)). |
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Your timeline in Pennsylvania
No Pennsylvania rule sets a waiting period, so the evaluation sets the pace. The screening is free and asks for no card. You pay at checkout, before the live consultation. The clinician needs direct knowledge of your disability and need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)(2)). So the consultation is a genuine evaluation, and some people finish it without a letter.
Free screening, no card. You answer a few questions about your home, your animal and what it does for you, and confirm where you live. The clinician's licence has to match the state you are in. If a consultation looks unlikely to help, the screening says so before checkout.
Pay at checkout, then join a live video consultation with a clinician licensed in Pennsylvania. Expect questions about your symptoms, your daily limits and how the animal eases them, so any letter rests on direct knowledge (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)(2)). The clinician decides. Not everyone qualifies.
If you qualify, the signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours of the consultation. It is on the clinician's letterhead, with their Pennsylvania licence number and the evaluation date, and it describes your disability-related need without naming a diagnosis. If the clinician declines, no letter issues and you can ask for a refund within 7 days.
Housing
Under the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)) and Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania statute or regulation forbids pet rent, a pet fee or a pet deposit for an emotional support animal, and Act 118 has no fee clause (68 P.S. §§ 405.1–405.6). What exists is an agency position. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission's complaint page lists "Charging a fee for a support animal(s)" as an example of housing discrimination. That means you can challenge a fee in a complaint, judged case by case; it is not a ban written into law. The Commission's October 2026 draft animal guidance is only a proposal, out for comment until 15 November 2026, and its no-fee sentence names service animals, not ESAs. So ask for the waiver inside your accommodation request. The deposit itself is regulated for every tenant. A landlord may hold no more than two months' rent in escrow for damages during the first year, and one month's rent from the second year on (68 P.S. § 250.511a). No Pennsylvania court has decided whether a refundable pet deposit counts toward that cap. Within 30 days of move-out the landlord must send the balance with a written list of damages (68 P.S. § 250.512). Missing that step forfeits the right to keep any of it, and wrongful retention can cost double (68 P.S. § 250.512). Give your forwarding address in writing, or the landlord is relieved of that duty.
Small landlords
The state Act reaches far more small landlords than the federal one. Its only small-landlord carve-out is a personal residence: a building with living quarters for no more than two families, used by the owner or lessee as a genuine home (43 P.S. § 954(i), (k)). The Commission's rule describes it as a duplex or other house where the owner keeps a bona fide residence. It adds that a building of three or more separate units never qualifies, and that a building loses the status once the owner moves out (16 Pa. Code § 45.4). So a landlord renting out one house they do not live in is covered. So is an owner-occupied triplex or fourplex, though the federal Act often exempts both. In Jackson v. PHRC in 2024 the landlord rented one unit next to his own home and still paid out-of-pocket damages, humiliation damages and a civil penalty. Act 118's documentation and injury rules apply to any landlord or owners' association, with no size limit (68 P.S. § 405.2).
If your landlord says no
Phone: 717-787-4410 (TTY 717-787-7279 · PA Fair Housing Line 855-866-5718 · phrc@pa.gov) · File a complaint
Deadline: 180 days from the act (43 P.S. § 959(h)). There is no online form. Download the Housing and Commercial Property Intake Questionnaire, add the Disability Information Release for a disability claim, and email it or mail it to the nearest regional office in Harrisburg, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Start early; the count runs from the refusal, not from when you find the form.
Court: A suit under the state Act opens only after the PHRC route. If the Commission dismisses the complaint, or reaches no conciliation within a year, you may sue within two years of its closing notice (43 P.S. § 962(c)). The Commission itself can award actual damages, including for humiliation, and civil penalties of up to 10,000, 25,000 or 50,000 dollars depending on prior violations (43 P.S. § 959(f)). A federal suit needs no agency filing and is open for two years (42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A)).
Retaliation: Discriminating against you because you opposed a practice the Act forbids is itself unlawful (43 P.S. § 955(d)). In Jackson v. PHRC the Commonwealth Court upheld a retaliation finding against a landlord who served a notice to quit dated five days after the tenant's doctor's note.
The PHRC is HUD's Fair Housing Assistance Program agency for the state and dual-files complaints that also fall under federal law. Its own half is decided under the state Act, which has no training test (43 P.S. § 955(h)(3.2)). Inside Philadelphia you may choose the city's Commission on Human Relations instead, but it will not accept a grievance already filed with the PHRC (Phila. Code § 9-1112(4)). Pittsburgh renters can also use their city commission within one year.
Your envelope, item by item
Keep a dated copy of everything you send.
What to send your landlord
Ask your landlord, or the executive board if you live in an association, to make an exception to the no-pet rule or the size, weight, breed or number limit (68 P.S. § 405.3(a)). Name the animal and its species, and say the request relates to a disability. If pet charges apply, ask for them to be waived in the same note. Date it and keep a copy.
One signed letter on the clinician's own letterhead, with their Pennsylvania licence number and the date of your live evaluation, so a landlord can verify both. It is written, it rests on the clinician's direct knowledge, and it describes the disability-related need the animal meets, which covers each part of 68 P.S. § 405.3(b). It names no diagnosis.
A registry entry, a certificate, an ID card or a vest. The PHRC's draft guidance calls certificates sold online "not necessary". Intentionally fitting a vest on an animal that is not an assistance animal, for housing, is itself an offence (68 P.S. § 405.6(a)(3)). Pet Support Letter sells none of these. The one document is the clinician's letter, after a live evaluation that some people do not pass.
No statute gives the landlord a deadline to answer, so ask for a written reply within a reasonable time and follow up in writing. If the answer is no, or a fee or extra deposit appears, note the date. The PHRC clock is 180 days (43 P.S. § 959(h)), Philadelphia's is 300 days (Phila. Code § 9-1112(3)) and Pittsburgh's is one year.
If your housing provider questions the letter, your clinician responds directly at no extra cost.
Pennsylvania renters by city
Act 118 applies in every county, so the letter standard is identical in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading and Scranton (68 P.S. § 405.3). The statewide route is identical too: the PHRC, with regional offices in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, takes complaints within 180 days (43 P.S. § 959(h)). Two cities add a local commission with a longer clock, set out below. Renters in Allentown, Erie, Lancaster, Reading and Scranton, and in Bethlehem and Wilkes-Barre, use the PHRC; HUD lists no other local partner agency in the state. Consultations run by live video with a clinician licensed in Pennsylvania, so the timeline is the same in Erie as in Lancaster. It is a free screening, one evaluation, and a signed PDF that usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours if you qualify. Students in Penn State housing at University Park send the request through the university's housing office, which runs its own process. One limit applies everywhere: an ESA has no right to enter shops or restaurants, because the public-places offence protects dogs trained or being trained to perform tasks (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 5531, 7325).
Myths in Pennsylvania
Act 118 bans pet rent, pet fees and pet deposits for an emotional support animal in Pennsylvania.
FactAct 118 has no fee clause, and no state statute or regulation bars the charge (68 P.S. §§ 405.1–405.6). The PHRC lists charging a fee for a support animal as discrimination, an agency position you can raise case by case. Its October 2026 draft guidance is a proposal open for comment until 15 November 2026, and its no-fee sentence covers service animals only. What the law caps is the deposit: two months' rent in year one, one month after (68 P.S. § 250.511a).
A valid letter must carry a treatment-plan statement and expire after 12 months, or an online ESA registration or certificate will do instead.
FactNeither is true. The statute asks only that documentation be written, reliable and based on direct knowledge, and describe the need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)). It sets no expiry date and no required wording. The PHRC's draft guidance says certifications are not required and documents sold online are not necessary. Our letter adds the clinician's licence number and evaluation date so a landlord can verify it. We sell no certificates, registrations, ID cards or vests.
Pennsylvania has no penalty for faking an ESA, so a downloaded letter is harmless.
FactWrong. Intentionally misrepresenting a need for an assistance animal in housing is a third-degree misdemeanour, and so is making false statements to get documentation (68 P.S. § 405.5). The cap is 2,500 dollars and one year (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101(6), 1104(3)). Knowingly creating or providing a false housing-animal document, or a fake vest, is a summary offence with a fine of up to 1,000 dollars (68 P.S. § 405.6). An honest request backed by a real evaluation is what the law protects.
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.
Signed PDF within 24 to 48 hours of your consultation. Same-day evaluations are often available for early bookings. Read the guarantee and refund terms.
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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Pennsylvania FAQ
Two. First, a disability: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a record of one, or being regarded as having one (43 P.S. § 954(p.1)). Second, documentation when the landlord may ask for it: written, reliable and based on direct knowledge, and describing your disability-related need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)). No registry, training or species rule exists. A clinician licensed in Pennsylvania decides whether you qualify, and some people do not.
Through a live evaluation, not a questionnaire or a registry. Take the free screening, pay $99 at checkout, then meet a clinician licensed in Pennsylvania by video. The writer needs direct knowledge of your disability and need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)(2)), so some evaluations end without a letter. If you qualify, the signed PDF usually arrives within 24 to 48 hours, on the clinician's letterhead with their licence number and the evaluation date.
If PA here means physician assistant, nothing in the statute rules one out. It names no profession and asks for documentation that is reliable and based on direct knowledge of your disability and need (68 P.S. § 405.3(b)). The Department of State's rule is that whoever serves you here holds a Pennsylvania licence (DOS Telemedicine FAQ). A self-filled template is not documentation, and false statements to obtain one are an offence (68 P.S. § 405.5).
Only on narrow grounds. Refusing a reasonable accommodation you need is unlawful (43 P.S. § 955(h)(3.2)). A landlord may refuse an undue hardship, including a demonstrable threat of harm to others (16 Pa. Code § 45.5(d)). An owner-occupied single house or duplex is exempt (43 P.S. § 954(i)). A letter does not oblige the landlord to say yes; it obliges them to consider the request. A refusal starts your 180-day PHRC clock (43 P.S. § 959(h)).
No new statute changes ESA rights in housing; Act 118 of 2018 still governs (68 P.S. §§ 405.1–405.6). On 1 October 2026 the PHRC released a proposal: draft animal guidance naming ESAs as a housing accommodation and calling online certificates unnecessary. It is open for comment until 15 November 2026 and is not law until the Commission adopts it. In shops, protection still belongs to dogs trained or being trained to perform tasks (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 5531, 7325).
Mostly the person, not the dog: without a disability-related need, no letter issues. For a particular dog, a landlord may refuse where it poses a demonstrable threat of harm or the request is otherwise an undue hardship (16 Pa. Code § 45.5(d)). Size, weight and breed limits are rules you ask to waive, not automatic disqualifiers (68 P.S. § 405.3(a)). The PHRC's draft guidance adds that an animal out of control or causing damage may be removed.
$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 2026-10-22 by Darren Rafel, LCSW. Statutes change; we re-check each state page and record the date above.
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