Speak privately by video with a Missouri-licensed mental health clinician. A supported evaluation produces an ESA or psychiatric service dog letter, signed by the clinician, for apartments and rental homes from Kansas City to St. Louis, written by the kind of qualified professional Missouri law calls for.
The Missouri River meets the Mississippi just north of St. Louis. Your screening works the same way: your answers and a Missouri clinician's review join into one decision.
From a phone or a computer, answer brief questions about your mental health, the animal and your Missouri rental at a time that works for you.
After you check out, a Missouri-licensed clinician reviews your responses and arranges a video visit when that is clinically appropriate.
A favorable evaluation means a signed digital letter in your account. When the clinician cannot support one, you learn the reason, and a refund request is open to you for 30 days after buying the plan.
Each figure comes straight from our live checkout. Missourians screen for free, pay for the chosen plan at checkout, and then meet the clinician; a request a Missouri-licensed clinician cannot support may be refunded on request within 30 days of purchase. Questions? Read our FAQ page or contact us.
For Missouri tenants with one emotional support animal
For Show-Me State homes with two or more emotional support animals
For Missouri handlers whose dog has task training for a psychiatric disability
Letters bundled with a certificate or ID card
The ESA letter and a certificate, packaged together
PSD letter, certificate and ID card together
In its current form, in effect since August 28, 2020, section 209.204 names emotional support in its definition of an assistance animal and makes faking one a crime.
"An animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks, or is being trained to work, provide assistance, or perform tasks, for the benefit of a person with a disability, or that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects of a person's disability."
The same subsection adds that dogs are the most common assistance animals, but other animals can be assistance animals too.
"All documentation for an assistance animal shall be from a qualified professional as permitted under the Fair Housing Act" or the Rehabilitation Act, the statute says.
That is why we do not sell registrations. A clinician licensed in Missouri evaluates you first, and a letter follows only when the evaluation supports one.
Knowingly creating documents that falsely say an animal is an assistance animal.
Knowingly giving someone else documents that falsely say an animal is an assistance animal.
Knowingly putting a harness, collar, vest or sign of the kind used by people with disabilities on an animal that does not qualify as an assistance animal.
Knowingly giving a health care provider a false material fact in order to obtain assistance animal documentation. Be truthful on every screening question.
Up to 15 days in jail (558.011) and a fine of up to $750 (558.002).
Up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, under the same two sections.
Anyone who violates the subsection is also civilly liable for any actual damages the misrepresentation causes.
Subsection 2 sets the same penalties for misrepresenting a dog as a trained service dog.
Section 213.040 of the Missouri Human Rights Act treats a refusal to adjust rules, policies, practices or services reasonably, where a person may need that for equal use of a home, as housing discrimination. The state's Governor's Council on Disability explains how that applies to animals.
HUD's May 22, 2026 enforcement memorandum shrank HUD's own enforcement to animals with training for disability-related tasks. It leaves the Missouri Human Rights Act, a state law, untouched. We found no Missouri Commission on Human Rights statement on HUD's change, so check with the Commission on how it treats a request like yours.
The clock starts on the day of the discrimination. The bars below are drawn to scale; the deadlines come from section 213.075, section 213.111 and the Commission's filing page.
In a housing case you can ask the Commission in writing for a right-to-sue letter after you file. The lawsuit is then due within 90 days of that letter, and no later than two years after the discrimination.
All 114 Missouri counties, plus the independent City of St. Louis, can reach our telehealth ESA and PSD evaluations. Below, cities we serve sit with their counties.
From the Iowa line down to the Bootheel, it works alike everywhere: the screening happens online, and when appropriate a Missouri-licensed clinician meets you through telehealth.
"At American Service Animals, providing compassionate support at scale is essential. With our licensed professionals, we assist individuals across multiple states, delivering timely evaluations and trusted guidance, reducing uncertainty and simplifying the certification process, so our team can focus on meaningful, high-quality care for every client."
We work exclusively with licensed mental health professionals authorized to practice in Missouri and most states
Generic online registries or certificates, without a clinical evaluation, do not replace a legitimate ESA letter from a nationally licensed provider.
Serving clients in Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia, Independence, Lee's Summit, O'Fallon, St. Charles, St. Joseph, Joplin, and all cities across Missouri.
Start Your Free EvaluationOne pet, one ESA housing letter: $149. The Missouri screening costs nothing; the plan is charged when you check out, before your evaluation, and if a Missouri-licensed clinician cannot support a letter, you have 30 days from purchase to request a refund.
No. Missouri runs no ESA registry, and no government agency issues the registrations sold online. Under section 209.204, documentation for an assistance animal has to come from a qualified professional, which makes the clinician's letter the document that counts.
Section 209.204 says the documentation must come from a qualified professional as permitted under the Fair Housing Act or the Rehabilitation Act. The Governor's Council on Disability says a landlord may ask for documentation from a treating health care or mental health professional. Our letters are written by clinicians licensed in Missouri.
The Governor's Council on Disability says tenants do not have to pay a fee or deposit for an assistance animal but are responsible for any damage it causes. Separately, section 535.300 caps any security deposit at two months' rent.
HUD's reasonable-cause findings now cover only animals trained for disability-related work or tasks. The Missouri Human Rights Act, which the memo does not change, still bars refusing reasonable accommodations in housing rules or policies. With no Missouri Commission on Human Rights statement on HUD's shift that we could find, ask the Commission how it would handle your case.
A complaint to the Missouri Commission on Human Rights is due within 180 days, and a HUD complaint within one year. After filing with the Commission you can ask for a right-to-sue letter; the lawsuit is then due within 90 days of that letter and no later than two years after the discrimination.
Yes. Under section 209.204, knowingly misrepresenting an animal as an assistance animal is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 15 days in jail and a fine of up to $750, plus civil liability for actual damages. A second or later violation is a class B misdemeanor.
Yes. Section 209.200 defines a mental health or psychiatric service dog as a dog individually trained for tasks that serve its owner's psychiatric disability, and section 209.150 allows a person with a disability to bring a service dog into public places with no extra charge.
For Missouri readers, general information only, current as of October 2026; nothing here is legal advice. Statutes, regulations and agency positions move, and your facts decide your case. Screening does not guarantee a letter. Further reading: ESA rights in plain language, how each state handles ESAs and our story. If you are in crisis, please call or text 988 whenever you need to.
Describe your animal's role to a Missouri-licensed clinician to learn which kind of letter applies, if either does. The screening is free.
