Emotional support animals (ESAs) are animals that provide comfort to neurodivergent individuals throughout their daily lives. These can be individuals who have anxiety or an illness that makes dealing with day-to-day activities more stressful than they would be for someone else, and these pets provide them with a sense of companionship and help relieve this stress with their presence. Unlike service animals, they do not have to be trained to provide support or complete tasks.
Since they are not trained to complete service animal tasks, ESAs are considered legally different from service animals. This means that they are not covered by the same laws that protect service animals. For this reason, it is essential for those who are interested in getting an emotional support animal to learn about ESA laws in Missouri.
In this article, we will cover everything about the laws that apply to an ESA Missouri residents need to know. Continue reading to get caught up with the emotional support animal laws in your state.
Missouri ESA Laws: Summary of Legal Protections
Missouri state laws don’t mention emotional support animals and therefore offer no protection for them. Emotional support animals are treated more like pets than service dogs. They are not permitted in places with pet restrictions, and they don’t have public access rights, like service dogs.
However, even though Missouri emotional support animal laws are basically nonexistent, ESAs still enjoy housing protections under the Fair Housing Act. We’ll cover this in detail below.
Emotional Support Animal Missouri Regulations: ESA Laws in Missouri
The sections below cover housing, employment, and travel laws that pertain to Missouri ESAs.
Missouri ESA Housing Laws
In Missouri, emotional support animals have housing protections granted to them by the Fair Housing Act, which is a federal law that prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants because of a disability among other things. Since emotional support animals are an integral part of a disability treatment plan, they are considered a reasonable accommodation. Landlords in Missouri must accommodate emotional support animals, even if there’s a no-pet policy.
However, the owner must have a valid ESA letter written by a mental health professional licensed in Missouri, which US Service Animals can help with, and the accommodation request must be reasonable in nature, meaning that the animal’s presence shouldn’t cause undue hardship for the landlord. The animal should also be well-behaved and must not cause any health or safety risks.
Missouri ESA Employment Laws
Unlike in housing, emotional support animals aren’t considered reasonable accommodations when it comes to employment. Employers aren’t legally required to allow an emotional support animal in the workplace, but can do so at their own discretion.
Considering the many benefits of having an emotional support animal at work, many employers in Missouri allow ESAs and pets at the workplace. Even though there isn’t a legal requirement, it wouldn’t hurt to speak about this with your employer or the HR department to see what options may be available.
Missouri ESA Travel Laws
In Missouri, only service animals have the freedom of travel (public access) to accompany their handlers in places like restaurants and shops unrestricted. The Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal law that grants this protection to service animals, doesn’t cover emotional support animals.
As you travel with an emotional support animal in Missouri, you’re going to be subject to standard pet policies. If a business has a no-pet policy, having an ESA letter won’t bypass the restrictions in place. This is one of the key areas where emotional support animals and service animals differ from one another.
Missouri ESA Travel and Flying Laws
Another key area where emotional support animals and service animals differ is traveling in public transportation, like taxis and MetroBus in St. Louis, and air travel. However, it wasn’t always like this. The Department of Transportation didn’t have a distinction between ESAs and service animals – until the Air Carrier Access Act was updated.
With this change, emotional support animals in Missouri don’t have the same freedom when it comes to air travel; they must follow pet travel rules. Psychiatric service dogs (PSDs), however, can fly without these restrictions, as they are considered service animals. If your ESA is a dog, you can consider training them for psychiatric service dog work, which we’ll cover in detail in the coming parts below.
How to Get an ESA Letter in Missouri: ESA Letter Missouri Requirements
The emotional support animal letter Missouri residents need to have for their animals isn’t difficult to get. Basically, all it takes to get a Missouri ESA letter is a consultation with a licensed mental health professional licensed in Missouri, which US Service Animals can facilitate. Here’s more on getting an ESA letter in Missouri and the process with US Service Animals.
If you want to take a detailed look at the process, be sure to check our guide on getting an ESA letter.
Do You Need an ESA Letter in Missouri?
Yes, an ESA letter in Missouri is an absolute must if you want to have a legally recognized emotional support animal and all the rights that come with having one. Your landlord, for example, will need a copy before accepting your accommodation request for an emotional support animal.
Emotional Support Animal Letter Missouri Process: Getting a Legally Valid ESA Letter
Getting a valid ESA letter in Missouri starts with speaking with a licensed mental health professional licensed in the state of Missouri, which we can help you with. Here’s how it looks to get an ESA letter with US Service Animals, covering every part of the process.
- Complete our ESA consultation form to find out if an ESA is the right treatment option for you.
- Connect with a mental health professional licensed in Missouri and attend a consultation call to speak about your symptoms and condition.
- Receive your diagnosis and find out if your condition qualifies for an ESA.
- If approved, you will get your ESA letter via email, which you can then print and use.
After following these steps, you will have your Missouri ESA letter and can use it for exercising your rights under the Fair Housing Act.
Who Can Write an ESA Letter in Missouri?
As someone who lives in Missouri, you must obtain your letter from a mental health professional licensed in your state of residence. Therefore, only a mental health professional who holds a valid license to practice in Missouri can write an ESA letter for Missouri residents. That’s why we specifically connect you with a mental health provider in Missouri.
ESA Missouri Registration: ESA Certification in Missouri
Once you obtain your ESA letter, you can also register your ESA with US Service Animals. Although this isn’t a legal requirement and doesn’t grant additional protections, it can provide you with additional documentation that will serve as proof of your animal’s status.
For example, upon registering your animal, we will issue an ESA certification that includes your animal’s details and their assigned registration number. Using this unique number, anyone can verify their status as an ESA online. It also verifies that you’ve worked with a legitimate service to obtain your ESA letter, leaving no doubts about its validity. Learn more about the benefits and take the first steps on our ESA registration page to learn more.
Get an ESA Letter in Cities Across Missouri
While the above section provides an overview of obtaining an ESA letter in Missouri, your experience may vary depending on which city you reside in. For example, finding a mental health professional in Independence tends to be easier compared to St. Louis, despite being a larger city with a higher number of mental health professionals.
Knowing individual differences in your city will make your experience smoother overall, especially if you choose to find a provider in person.
Below, we overview ESA laws in the most popular cities in Missouri; to find out more, including how to get a legally valid ESA letter in these cities, click on the linked heading for the city you’re curious about.
Kansas City
As the largest city in Missouri, obtaining an ESA letter in Kansas City is relatively easy as the city has a large number of licensed mental health professionals. However, those in Kansas City should also note that the city is also home to the highest number of Missourians struggling with a mental health condition. Still, getting an ESA letter in Kansas City tends to be less trouble than in much smaller cities.
St. Louis
St. Louis has one of the highest rates of visits to a mental health provider in Missouri, which can make it difficult to access care services. Although many mental health providers are based in St. Louis, the city often struggles to meet the demand. This makes many St. Louis residents turn to online services like ours to obtain an ESA letter.
Columbia
Columbia residents have it easier when it comes to obtaining an ESA letter and accessing mental health services in the city. Mental health professionals serving Columbia don’t have a hard time meeting the city’s demand. For those who are curious, the Columbia City Council also considered a pit bull ban in 2019, just like Springfield, but it was never passed.
Springfield
Springfield is a relatively big city that doesn’t trouble its residents when it comes to finding a licensed mental health professional to evaluate their condition and write an ESA letter. However, this isn’t always the case for those living in the city. Pit bull owners have it harder when it comes to getting an ESA letter, for example, as Springfield has a pit bull ban that makes mental health providers take a while before writing an ESA letter.
Independence
We could have said the exact same things about Independence as far as getting an ESA letter is concerned, but luckily, the pit bull ban has been repealed. Mental health professionals in the city won’t take ages before writing an ESA letter. However, landlords in the city may still be cautious about accommodating a pit bull emotional support animal and scrutinize the legitimacy of an ESA letter for one.
ESAs vs Psychiatric Service Dogs in Missouri
Psychiatric service dogs, or PSDs for short, are a unique type of service dog that are trained to help people with mental health disorders by completing various tasks. When it comes to training, psychiatric service dogs can perform tasks like fetching medicine, interpreting emotions, and leading owners to safe spaces if they’re having problems.
The primary difference between psychiatric service dogs and emotional support animals is the training requirement. While ESAs don’t have any training requirements, psychiatric service dogs must be trained to perform a disability-related task. If you’re interested in having your dog trained for this type of work, check out our article on the best service dog training in Missouri.
Another main difference is that while ESAs are only covered under the Fair Housing Act, psychiatric service dogs are also protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which gives them public access rights. With it, psychiatric service dogs can accompany their handlers in places that are open to the public, including restaurants, shops, and government buildings. This difference makes many want to get a psychiatric service dog, which we’ll cover below.
How to Get a Psychiatric Service Dog in Missouri
Getting a psychiatric service dog in Missouri is a bit more difficult than obtaining an ESA letter. Unlike emotional support animals, psychiatric service dogs don’t require any documentation. However, psychiatric service dogs have training requirements; they must be trained to perform a relevant disability-related task.
This means that those in Missouri can either train their dogs by themselves, hire a professional trainer, or buy a fully trained dog to have their own psychiatric service dog. Just like getting an ESA letter, we can help you train your own psychiatric service dog. Complete our PSD course consultation form to find out if a psychiatric service dog is the right option for you.
Why Emotional Support Animals Are Important
Emotional support animals provide comfort to those who might find normal day-to-day tasks stressful. They do this simply with their presence rather than performing a specific task to get their owner through a panic attack or other emotional distress. This is very important for some people to be able to go through their day normally.
Emotional support animals are not just for Missouri residents with anxiety. They also provide companionship to people who have disabilities that they feel make it hard to connect with other people. Their animal helps fill that connection and makes them feel less different and alone.
They help all types of people by just being there for them. They don’t require service dog training because they aren’t always performing specific tasks, but instead, they are showing that the person is cared for. This is important to help build emotional support for individuals and to help them live a better quality of life.
FAQs About Missouri Emotional Support Animal Laws
Below are answers to the commonly asked questions about ESA laws in Missouri.
Who Can Write an ESA Letter in Missouri?
Any mental health professional with a valid license to practice in Missouri can write an ESA letter. This includes therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed mental health nurse practitioners, and other qualified mental health professionals.
How Fast Can I Get an ESA Letter in Missouri?
Some states have a 30-day client-provider relationship requirement for mental health professionals before they can write an ESA letter, with some requiring multiple consultation sessions as well. Missouri isn’t one of these states. A mental health professional in Missouri can write an ESA letter after the first consultation, meaning you can get an ESA letter in as little as 24 hours, which is something we can help with.
Are Online Consultations for ESA Letters Legal In Missouri?
Yes, online consultations for ESA letters are legal in Missouri. Qualified professionals can evaluate a patient and essentially “prescribe” an ESA letter online; there’s no law that requires mental health providers to see a patient in person before issuing an ESA letter.
Can a Landlord Deny an ESA Letter in Missouri?
A landlord in Missouri can deny an ESA letter only in specific situations where the animal’s presence would cause undue hardship for the landlord. Landlords who aren’t subject to the Fair Housing Act can also deny an ESA letter. Learn more about when a landlord can deny an ESA to know your rights.
Can I Bring My ESA to Work in Missouri?
In Missouri, employers aren’t legally required to accommodate emotional support animals in the workplace as they do for psychiatric service dogs and other service animals. However, with many workplaces in the state allowing emotional support animals, it wouldn’t hurt to ask your employer with your ESA letter.
Are Emotional Support Animals Allowed in Hotels in Missouri?
Hotels aren’t covered by the Fair Housing Act. Therefore, they don’t have a legal obligation to allow emotional support animals. Psychiatric service dogs, however, are allowed in hotels, as they are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.