How to Get Your Emotional Support Animal Certification
in Alabama
In Alabama, there are essential laws safeguarding Emotional Support Animals (ESAs), though not everyone may fully embrace them. For countless Americans, their furry companions offer invaluable emotional support to overcome life’s myriad challenges. However, it’s crucial to be aware that bringing an uncertified animal into a rental property can lead to eviction, along with substantial fees and penalties.
Landlords are obligated to adhere to both state and federal regulations pertaining to these support animals. Non-compliance can result in legal repercussions and financial penalties. It’s worth noting that while these pets don’t possess the same rights as Psychiatric Service Animals (PSAs), they are safeguarded against discrimination in rental properties under the federal Fair Housing Act.
American Service Pets is here to provide pet owners with the necessary certification, allowing them to rent a home, travel, and enjoy public access with their support animals. Bid farewell to concerns about pet deposits and additional charges. Discover if you meet the criteria for an Alabama ESA letter by taking our straightforward simple quiz.
The Role of Emotional Support Animals
The use of Emotional Support Animals for people who struggle with psychological trauma is supported by both state and federal governments. ESAs can be virtually any type of animal that brings you comfort and support, such as turtles, birds, or reptiles. On the other hand, Psychiatric Service Animals are almost always dogs because they are more easily trained.
For those with an Emotional Support Animal in Alabama, the companionship that an animal provides can be critical to functioning in everyday life. The psychological and physical rewards of ESAs include:
Emotional Relief
ESAs can boost the natural mood enhancers seratonin and domanine. Just interacting with an animal you love can spur this boost. Having the outside stimulus of an animal can also interrupt negative spiraling that can come with anxiety and depression.
Holistic Treatment
Common mental illnesses like anxiety, panic, and depression can be treated with medication, but Americans are increasingly searching for natural ways to alleviate their symptoms. Emotional Support Animals can serve as this form of holistic treatment.
Providing Comfort
Studies have shown that simply cuddling and playing with a beloved animal can reduce heart rate, blood pressure, and stress. This can be a huge relief when it comes to potentially overwhelming aspects of personal life, such as relationships, financial matters, and health concerns.
Many people in Alabama have Emotional Support Animals that they rely on. American Service Pets offers ESA letters for these pet owners. You can find out if you qualify in just a few minutes.
Laws Governing Emotional Support Animals in Alabama
Emotional Support Animals are friends and traveling companions, but they are not trained to perform life-saving tasks or assist disabled individuals in the way Psychiatric Service Animals are. Emotional Support Animals and PSAs serve similar but different purposes and are afforded similar but different rights by state and federal governments.
Official Emotional Support Animals in Alabama have some protection under the law, but uncertified animals within the state do not have access rights. Official letters must have the approval of a licensed doctor in Alabama, and they can be used all over the country. However, laws can vary from state to state, so make sure you check prior to doing any traveling. Here are relevant laws related to ESAs in Alabama:
Housing Laws
Federal fair housing laws protect tenants with Emotional Support Animals in Alabama. As a result, landlords cannot turn away anyone for having an Emotional Support Animal. This includes apartments, houses, public housing units, and condos. Landlords also cannot apply pet rent increases or deposits and must allow these animals in their rentals unless they cause an “undue financial burden.”
Undue financial burden can mean several things in Alabama, including:
- Property damage
- Threat to any other tenants
- Homeowner allergies
Landlords in Alabama have the right to request an ESA letter from a healthcare professional. Renters who present fraudulent documents are subject to prosecution, as misrepresenting an Emotional Support Animal in Alabama leads to a fine of $100 and 100 hours of community service.
Public Access
An Emotional Support Animal in Alabama does not have the same public access rights that a PSA has. At the end of the day, the venue owner has the final say, but it’s a good idea to call ahead in order to ensure you can bring your ESA before you leave.
Workplace Laws
Similar to public access laws, Alabama employers are not under a legal obligation to allow Emotional Support Animals in their facility. While there is no guarantee, presenting an ESA letter to a more lenient employer could convince the employer to allow your ESA to accompany you to work provided the animal will not disrupt the workplace environment.
Travel Laws
Emotional Support Animals are no longer allowed in the cabin during air travel. Public transportation services such as buses, trains, and railways are under no legal obligation to board ESAs. Some rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft have less stringent policies, but you have to check ahead of time.
American Service Pets is proud to offer a simple three-step process to provide letters for owners in need of an Emotional Support Animal in Alabama.
FAQ
The Basics
Yes. In addition to following the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Alabama has its own state laws. Alabama law is not quite as detailed as ADA law, but you are entitled to defer to whichever set of laws will provide the most protection.
A service animal is defined as an animal that is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. Service animals can include guide/seeing eye dogs for the visually impaired, hearing dogs for the deaf or hard of hearing, seizure alert dogs, and allergen alert dogs. As of 2011, the Alabama law was updated to expand its service dog laws beyond physical disabilities, including psychiatric service dogs.
Alabama follows the ADA’s definition of an individual with a disability, which is “a person who has a physical or mental impairment, including physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability, that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual.”
Service animals are limited to dogs and trained miniature horses. The ADA does not restrict service animals to a particular dog breed.
Yes. As of 2019, it is a Class C misdemeanor in Alabama to knowingly misrepresent a pet as a service animal or service animal-in-training in order to gain benefits in housing or public accommodations. Those guilty of service dog fraud will be fined $100 and made to serve 100 hours of community service, to be performed with an organization that serves people with disabilities or one that has been approved by the court.
Yes. The trainer of a service animal has the same rights and privileges to public accommodations as individuals with disabilities while engaged in the training of said service animal.
No, neither state nor ADA law covers emotional support animals because they are not trained the way service animals are.
FAQ
Public Accommodations & Travel with a Service Animal
The definition of public accommodation in Alabama is very broad. It includes a variety of transportation, a hotel, a timeshare that is a transient public lodging establishment, a lodging place, a place of public accommodation, amusement, or resort, and any other places to which the general public is invited. The ADA goes into more detail about all the places that qualify as public accommodations, but it is similarly broad in scope to the state’s law.
A public establishment can only ask two questions: 1) Is the animal a service animal? 2) What tasks does it perform for you?
Religious organizations do not fall under ADA public accommodations protections. Swimming pools are also an exception, though a service dog must be allowed on the pool deck and in a changing/locker room at a pool facility. At places that do qualify as public accommodations, service dogs can be removed or denied access if they are causing an immediate health and safety threat, if they are not housebroken, or if they are out of control.
Transportation under Alabama public accommodations law includes a common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or mode of transportation.
No, a service animal cannot be required to have any kind of documentation or specific garment. The animal must be trained, but a handler has the right to train their animal themselves if they so choose.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) protects against employment discrimination based on a number of categories, including disability. Individuals with a disability-related need for a service dog have the right to request a reasonable accommodation for their service dog in the workplace.
Generally service animals are allowed to access areas of healthcare facilities that are open to the general public, such as patient rooms or waiting rooms. They may be barred from certain sterile environments, such as a burn unit or operating room.
Interfering with a service animal and its ability to perform its duties is generally at least a misdemeanor charge for anyone guilty of this action.
Alabama follows the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), which defines a service animal as a dog (regardless of breed or size) trained to do work or perform tasks to assist a qualified individual with a diability, and may include psychiatric service dogs. Minature horses are excluded in this definition.
Airlines can require a passenger to provide a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) form attesting to the animal’s health, behavior, and training and a U.S. DOT form attesting that the animal can either not relieve itself or can relieve itself in a sanitary manner (if the animal will be on a flight that is 8 or more hours).
The ACAA does not address service animals in-training, so airlines are not required to carry them as they do not meet the requirements of an ACAA-defined service animal. However, airlines can make their own individual policies.
FAQ
Housing Law
Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), landlords are required to make reasonable accommodations to allow pets who serve as assistance animals. Potential tenants can submit reasonable accommodation requests to landlords or housing management teams, who in turn have the legal right to ask for proper documentation for animals. This documentation comes in the form of a letter from a professional, such as a therapist, counselor, social worker, or psychiatrist, or a family member or caretaker. It outlines the fact that the applicant is a person with a disability, the need for an assistance animal, and the fact that the animal in question actually does assist the person with the disability.
Yes. Landlords do have the right to “charge a security deposit and seek additional funds from the tenant if there is any damage caused by the animal to the home.”
Yes. According to the Central Alabama Fair Housing Center’s website, the term “assistance animals” includes animals who provide emotional support. Because emotional support animals are included in this definition, tenants are not bound to having only a dog or miniature horse the way they would be if the law only referred to service animals.
FAQ
Discrimination Complaints
If you believe you have experienced a civil rights violation when it comes to public accommodations, contact the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to file an official complaint. You can also find your closest local US. Attorney through the DOJ here. For disability-related workplace discrimination, you can contact the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Birmingham or Mobile District Offices at 800-669-4000 or fill out this online complaint form. Remember that this complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged incident.
If your fair housing rights have been violated, you can contact the Central Alabama Fair Housing Center (CAFHC) at 334-263-4663 or fill out their online intake form. You may also file a complaint directly through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or a local or state housing agency.
How to Get Certification for an Emotional Support Animal in Alabama
American Service Pets provides you with a fast, simple process to certification for your Emotional Support Animal. Just follow these quick steps:
Complete Out the Questionnaire
The first step is to answer the American Service Pets questionnaire. The simple questionnaire will help to determine if you meet the criteria for an ESA letter in under half an hour.
Get Approved
With American Service Pets, you’ll have the choice to submit your file to your own doctor or one in our nationwide network for approval. Our doctors are available 24/7, and most requests are approved within a few minutes. Approval is then emailed to you.
Enter Your Pet in the National Directory
By adding your pet to the national directory, you’ll create an online profile that can be important at a later date due to the fact that it shows your pet’s status and ESA letter.
Almost 95% of candidates meet the criteria for an ESA letter. Get yours with American Service Pets right now.
Advantages of American Service Pets
More than 45,000 pet owners have now certified their Emotional Support Animals, thanks to American Service Pets. Here’s why we’re the service you need:
- All-in-one approval process
- You get a chance to confer with a licensed healthcare professional
- No prescription required
Our easy process quickly ends any worries about being separated from your animal or being punished for having one. Take our short online test now to get started.
Nationwide Experts in Emotional Support Animal Certification
Don’t tolerate aggravations from people who don’t understand the health benefits of this vital connection. American Service Pets helps pet owners register their animals as Emotional Support Animals in Alabama. Set aside concerns about rental housing or extra fees for having an ESA.
Take our test now, and you can get your pet certified for an ESA letter in just a few minutes with American Service Pets.
Disclaimer: We would like to emphasize that while the terms “certification” or “registration” may be used in relation to Emotional Support Animals, there is no official certification process for ESAs or any form of ESA registry as of this date. As such, the use of these terms should not be interpreted as legally recognized designations by government or regulatory authorities. Remember, ESAs can provide a valuable source of comfort and support, but their recognition relies on proper documentation from a healthcare professional and adherence to relevant laws and guidelines.
