An emotional support animal (ESA) is any animal that has been deemed necessary for your well-being by a licensed mental healthcare worker. Unlike a service dog, an ESA doesn’t have to be trained to perform any specific task – their simple presence is enough to provide comfort and relief from mental or emotional disability symptoms. Also, unlike a service dog, they can be any sort of animal – a dog, cat, rabbit, bird, fish, hamster, or anything reasonable that you and your mental healthcare worker find useful to you!
However, ESAs do share something in common with service dogs – they are both granted housing rights, thanks to the Fair Housing Act. This means that, in South Carolina (and anywhere else in the US), you must be allowed to live with your ESA, even in housing that doesn’t allow pets. They’re also exempt from breed or weight restrictions, and you cannot be charged a pet deposit, pet fees, or pet rent to live with them.
While this provides a summary of everything you will learn about emotional support animal laws in South Carolina, there’s much more to cover. In this article, we will take a look at the laws for an ESA South Carolina residents need to know. Continue reading to get your ultimate guide to ESA laws in SC.
South Carolina ESA Laws: Summary of Legal Protections
South Carolina, like many other states, doesn’t have its own emotional support animal laws. However, just because South Carolina doesn’t have a specific statute doesn’t mean that emotional support animals aren’t protected. The Fair Housing Act, a federal law that prevents housing discrimination on the basis of disability and other protected classes, grants ESAs housing protections in South Carolina.
There are also other things to note regarding South Carolina emotional support animal laws. We will cover all these so that you’re caught up on all the laws you need to know about emotional support animals and ESA letters in your state.
Emotional Support Animal South Carolina Regulations: ESA Laws in South Carolina
ESA laws in South Carolina govern different aspects of life, so we’ve broken them down into different parts to help you better understand everything.
South Carolina ESA Housing Laws
Under the Fair Housing Act, no one is allowed to deny an individual housing because of their ESA, but they are allowed to ask for proof that you need the animal. Therefore, a landlord can ask to see your ESA letter as proof that you need an emotional support animal because of a psychiatric disability.
Under the FHA, landlords are also not allowed to charge any deposits or fees for your emotional support animal. This does not extend to any damages your ESA may cause. If there are any damages, you, as the tenant, will be responsible for covering the expenses.
South Carolina ESA Employment Laws
Without any added legal protections for ESAs in South Carolina, employers don’t have a legal obligation to accommodate emotional support animals like landlords do when it comes to housing. It is up to the employer to decide whether or not they allow emotional support animals in the workplace.
However, service animals, including psychiatric service dogs (PSDs), are considered a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. We will cover more about psychiatric service dogs and how you can determine if one is a good option for you.
South Carolina ESA Travel Laws
Since ESAs aren’t trained to complete specific tasks, like service animals, they aren’t granted all the same rights. For instance, while you must be allowed to have your ESA with you where you live, that’s the only place you’re guaranteed access with your ESA. Unlike a service dog, they aren’t granted public access – which means they aren’t legally required to be allowed to travel with you on public transport or in stores and restaurants.
While some South Carolina businesses, workplaces, or public areas may decide to grant your ESA access, remember, it’s not a legal right – they can refuse your animal at their own discretion.
South Carolina ESA Travel and Flying Laws
Service dogs are allowed to fly in the cabins of airplanes for free, but this no longer applies to emotional support animals. The Air Carrier Access Act, which had protected emotional support animals, now only covers service dogs. Even if you do have a service dog, the airline can require you to fill out a form about your dog before your flight. This form will ask about your dog’s training as well as ensure that your dog can relieve itself without making a mess.
If you have an emotional support dog you would like to bring into the cabin of an airplane, your only option would be to see if you can take it as a carry-on inside a small carrier that can be stowed under your seat. Obviously, this will not be possible for every emotional support dog, but you always have the option to train your dog for psychiatric service dog work if their trainability allows it, which we cover in detail below.
How to Get an ESA Letter in South Carolina: ESA Letter South Carolina Requirements
The requirements for getting a South Carolina ESA letter are the same as in pretty much all the other states. You must establish a therapeutic relationship with a licensed mental health professional in your state of residence (SC), and they must diagnose you with a qualifying psychiatric disability before they can write an ESA letter for you.
However, even if you meet all these requirements, there’s no guarantee that your mental health provider will issue an emotional support animal letter South Carolina. They will evaluate your symptoms and then decide if an ESA would be the right treatment option. This uncertainty, along with the trouble of finding a therapist who accepts new patients, is a major problem for many South Carolina residents planning to get an ESA letter.
Luckily, there’s US Service Animals; we can help you have a much smoother experience obtaining an ESA letter from a mental health professional licensed in South Carolina.
How to Get an ESA Letter With US Service Animals
Here’s how our process works for those living in South Carolina.
- You’ll first complete the form on our ESA letter page.
- We’ll set you up with a mental health professional licensed in South Carolina.
- You’ll attend a consultation session via phone or live video to speak about your symptoms so that your mental health provider can determine if you qualify for an ESA.
- If you do, they will write your ESA letter, which you will receive via email. You can then print it and use it in housing situations.
Getting a legitimate ESA letter with US Service Animals is as simple as this. You can get your ESA letter in as quickly as 24 hours – all you need to do is state this when completing the form on our ESA letter page.
Who Can Write an ESA Letter in South Carolina?
Only a mental health professional licensed in South Carolina can write an ESA letter for someone living in South Carolina. This is a legal requirement, and it is the reason why we connect you specifically with a mental health professional who holds a valid license to practice in South Carolina.
ESA South Carolina Registration: ESA Certification in South Carolina
There’s a lot of misinformation about ESA registration. Many websites claim that it is a legal requirement, but in reality, it isn’t. Any service or organization that claims this is likely to be a scam. However, even though it isn’t a requirement, ESA registration can be a worthwhile investment for those who have already obtained an emotional support animal letter in South Carolina. Nonetheless, this entirely depends on the registry.
If you use the US Service Animals’ registry, for example, we will provide you with an ESA certification that has your animal’s details and a unique registration number. Using this number, anyone can verify your animal’s status as an emotional support animal. We will also issue your ESA an Animal ID Card that’s easier to carry and has all their details for extra convenience. These make registering your ESA with US Service Animals worth the extra step, even though it isn’t a legal requirement.
Get an ESA Letter in Cities Across South Carolina
Getting an ESA letter, as well as your experience exercising your rights, can be very different depending on the city in South Carolina. That’s why we’ve put together short guides for the top five most populated cities in South Carolina.
Below, we overview ESA laws in the most popular cities in South Carolina; 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.
Charleston
Charleston is the city where mental health professionals and landlords are most familiar with ESA documentation in South Carolina, thanks to the large rental market with many corporate apartment complexes that have no-pet policies. Added with the fact that the city is the largest in South Carolina, finding a therapist to write an ESA letter shouldn’t be difficult in Charleston. However, landlords tend to be stricter when reviewing ESA letters.
North Charleston
Getting an ESA letter in North Charleston tends to be trouble-free, as the mental health professionals in the city are familiar with the process. However, the same can’t be said for the landlords in the city – many aren’t aware of the ESA rules, which can be troubling to deal with.
Columbia
As the state’s capital and home to the University of South Carolina, landlords in the city are very familiar with ESA accommodation requests. Since dorms are also covered under the Fair Housing Act, students in the city can use an ESA letter to have their emotional support animals in university housing. In fact, students make up a large portion of visits to mental health providers in Columbia for this reason.
Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant residents usually have a smooth experience both obtaining an ESA letter and using it to exercise their rights. However, many rentals in the city, especially the upscale ones, tend to have breed or pet weight restrictions. Even though you will override these with an ESA letter, it wouldn’t be a surprise to come across a property where undue hardship may apply.
Rock Hill
Rock Hill is filled with many small and mid-sized landlords who are less strict and accept emotional support animals without trouble, provided you have a valid ESA letter. However, mental health services in the city are fewer than in many other cities, which can make it challenging to obtain an ESA letter from a local provider.
ESAs vs Psychiatric Service Dogs in South Carolina
Psychiatric service dogs are a subset of service dogs that help people who have mental health conditions. They can assist a wide range of people struggling with varying mental conditions.
Mental health conditions that service dogs work well for include the following:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Social anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- OCD
Psychiatric service dogs go through extensive training to perform tasks like deep pressure therapy and tactile stimulation. This training gives them the necessary tools to help manage their owners’ conditions and the skills to open doors, guide people to safety, and apply deep pressure therapy. Emotional support animals, on the other hand, only need an ESA letter; they don’t have any training requirements.
Due to their differences in how they assist their owners, the Americans with Disabilities Act protects them in public spaces, in addition to the FHA’s housing protections.
How to Get a Psychiatric Service Dog in South Carolina
Given that psychiatric service dogs have training requirements, those in South Carolina have different options when it comes to getting a PSD. These options include hiring a professional dog trainer in South Carolina to train your dog, buying a fully trained psychiatric service dog, or training your own psychiatric service dog.
The first two are the most convenient but also the costliest options, with fully trained psychiatric service dogs costing anywhere from $7,500 to $35,000 in South Carolina, depending on the tasks the dog is trained to perform. Individual sessions with a South Carolina trainer typically range between $100 and $250 per session, which can add up to a significant amount.
The last but most affordable option for South Carolina residents is self-training. While this might seem unachievable at first, it is possible with the help of professional training materials. If this interests you, complete our PSD training form to find out if a psychiatric service dog is the right option for you.
FAQs About South Carolina Emotional Support Animal Laws
We answer frequently asked questions about ESA laws in South Carolina below.
Does South Carolina Recognize Emotional Support Animals?
There isn’t a state-specific emotional support animal law in South Carolina where these animals are recognized. However, with the federal Fair Housing Act, emotional support animals are recognized in South Carolina, where they get housing protections.
Are Online Consultations for ESA Letters Legal In South Carolina?
Yes, online consultations for ESA letters are absolutely legal in South Carolina. Whether you’ve received your ESA letter online or in person doesn’t matter as long as it is written by a mental health professional licensed in South Carolina.
Does South Carolina Have a 30-Day Client-Provider Relationship Requirement for ESA Letters?
South Carolina isn’t one of the states that requires mental health professionals to have a 30-day client-provider relationship before they can write an ESA letter. If deemed fit, a mental health professional can issue an ESA letter on the first session.
Can a Landlord Deny an ESA Letter in South Carolina?
Landlords in South Carolina, like everywhere else, cannot deny an ESA letter just because they don’t want an animal living in the property. However, there are instances where a landlord can legally deny an ESA, such as when the animal’s presence causes a health or safety risk, or in certain situations where the housing is exempt from the FHA (single home rented without a broker or a small landlord occupied apartment complex with 4 or fewer units). If these are met, then the landlord can deny an ESA letter in South Carolina.
Can A Landlord Charge a Pet Deposit for an Emotional Support Animal In South Carolina?
Landlords in South Carolina cannot charge a pet deposit for an emotional support animal. Similarly, pet rents, fees, or other extra charges for emotional support animals are forbidden.
Are Emotional Support Animals Allowed in Hotels in South Carolina?
Emotional support animals in South Carolina aren’t allowed in hotels because the FHA doesn’t apply to hotels. This also applies to Airbnbs and similar stays in the state.