Your Landlord Sent You a Pet Screening Link
Colorado property managers increasingly outsource animal paperwork to screening platforms. The single most consequential choice you make in those portals happens on the first screen — and most tenants pick the wrong option.
Two Doors, and They Are Not Equivalent
Every screening platform offers roughly these two paths. Choosing the left one is what keeps your submission inside fair housing territory.
Assistance animal / accommodation request
- Treated as a reasonable accommodation request, not a pet registration
- Normally free to the applicant
- Reviewed against your clinician documentation
- Outcome feeds a housing decision your landlord is legally responsible for
- Does not commit you to pet rent or a pet deposit
Pet profile
- Registers the animal as an ordinary pet
- Often carries a profile fee
- Leads directly to pet rent and a pet deposit on your ledger
- Nothing about your clinical need is captured
- Unpicking it later takes longer than choosing correctly now
What Happens After You Submit
The sequence is fairly consistent across platforms, and knowing it tells you when silence is normal and when to chase.
Submission and intake
You complete the accommodation form and attach your clinician letter. You should receive a reference number immediately. Save it.
Document authenticity review
The reviewer checks that a real licensed clinician issued the letter, that the licence is current, and that the document is not a template purchased from a registry site.
Clinician contact, sometimes
Some reviewers contact the issuing clinician to confirm the letter is genuine. A practice that cannot be reached is a common failure point for letters bought online.
Recommendation to the housing provider
The platform returns a finding. It is a recommendation, not a verdict. Your landlord decides, and the legal duty stays with them.
Ledger update
Once approved, pet charges should not be applied. If they appear anyway, see our pet fees and deposits guide.
About That Fee
"Pet screening service charge" is one of the more common Colorado searches that lands here, and it usually signals a wrong turn earlier in the flow.
An accommodation request should not sit behind a paywall
If you are being asked to pay in order to submit assistance animal documentation, check first that you are in the accommodation flow rather than the pet profile flow — a paid prompt is often the first clue you are in the wrong one. If you are certain you are in the right flow and a charge still blocks you, raise it with the housing provider in writing. The duty to receive and consider your request belongs to them, not to the vendor they hired.
What Reviewers Are Genuinely Looking For
Understanding the checklist makes the difference between a clean approval and a request that stalls in review for weeks.
A verifiable licence
Name, licence type and number, and a jurisdiction that makes sense for you. Colorado licences are verifiable through the state's professional licensing lookup.
An actual clinical relationship
Evidence that an evaluation happened rather than a form being filled in. This is where instant-certificate purchases fail.
A connection, not a diagnosis dump
The letter should link a disability-related need to the animal. It does not need to disclose your diagnosis, and you are not obliged to hand over medical records.
Currency
A letter from several years ago invites questions. See renewal for when refreshing it is genuinely warranted.
Contactability
A working phone number or practice email for the issuing clinician. Unreachable issuers are the single most common reason a review stalls.
Internal consistency
Dates, names and the animal described should agree across every document you submit.
If the Portal Rejects Your Documentation
A rejection from a vendor is not the end of the matter, and it is not the same as a denial from your landlord.
Ask for the specific deficiency
"Insufficient documentation" is not an answer. Request in writing which element failed so it can be addressed rather than guessed at.
Take it to the housing provider
Your accommodation request is made to them. Put it in writing directly, attaching the same documentation and the portal reference.
Check whether the letter is the problem
Letters from registry sites are refused routinely. A genuine clinical evaluation by a Colorado-licensed clinician is a different category of document.
Know the escalation route
If a refusal hardens into a denial, our denial and appeal guide sets out the Colorado and federal complaint paths and their deadlines.
Questions About Screening Portals
What Colorado tenants ask us once the link lands in their inbox.
Do I have to use the screening portal at all?
If your housing provider has adopted one, using it is usually the fastest route. You can also submit your accommodation request directly to the housing provider in writing, and many tenants do both so there is a record outside the vendor's system.
Will the portal see my medical records?
It should not need them. Verification concerns whether a disability-related need exists and whether the clinician is genuine. You are not required to disclose a diagnosis to obtain a housing accommodation.
How long does review take?
Commonly a few business days once the documentation is complete. The usual cause of delay is an issuer the reviewer cannot reach.
My landlord uses a portal but I already have an approved accommodation. Do I redo it?
Ask before resubmitting. An existing approval does not evaporate because the property changed vendors, though management may want the documentation on file in the new system.
Does a portal approval bind my landlord?
It carries weight but the decision is the housing provider's. That also means a portal rejection does not settle the question either.
Current Evaluation Plans
Live pricing from our checkout. A documented evaluation by a Colorado-licensed clinician is what survives portal review.
More Colorado Resources
Related guidance for Colorado tenants dealing with property managers and portals.
Get Documentation That Passes Review
Our free screening takes about five minutes and tells you whether a Colorado-licensed clinician is likely to find an assistance animal appropriate for you. No cost, no obligation.
Start Free Screening View PricingGeneral information about Colorado housing practice, not legal advice. Third-party platform policies change; confirm current requirements with your housing provider.
