Describe your Houston days
Describe what makes daily life hard, the animal that helps and your Houston address, from a Montrose garage apartment to a Clear Lake townhome.
Space City · Harris County ESA Letters
ESA Letters and PSD Letters for Houston, From Texas-Licensed Clinicians
Start with free screening questions, pick a plan, then meet a Texas-licensed clinician by video. If your evaluation supports a letter, it is signed and made out for the people deciding on your home: a Houston landlord, an apartment leasing office or UH campus housing.
Texas-licensed care only
Inner Loop to Kingwood
$0 Houston screening
Houston, Texas
Harris County · 2,304,580 people in the 2020 census
Free Houston screening
T-3
T-2
T-1
A Three-Step Countdown to Your Houston Letter
The screening is a few online questions with no charge. It tells you whether an evaluation makes sense before anything is paid.
Meet a Texas clinician
Once checkout is done, your answers go to a clinician with a Texas license, who sets up a telehealth visit.
A clear answer, in writing
If the clinician supports your request, the signed letter appears in your account as a digital file; if not, you are told why, and the plan falls under our refund policy.
Ready for launch?
Start My Houston Screening
- Done entirely online
- Private Houston answers
- A Texas licensee decides
Pricing
Transparent, One-Time Pricing for Houston Letters
Compare the current evaluation fees, read live from our checkout. The Houston screening is free. You buy a plan at checkout before your evaluation, and if your Texas-licensed clinician cannot support a letter, our refund policy lets you ask for the payment back within 30 days of purchase. Questions? Read our FAQ page or contact us.
ESA Housing Letter For One Pet
Clinical review for one emotional support animal and a Texas housing letter.
$149.00/ one-time
- Official ESA letter if supported
- Licensed professional review
- Valid for 1 year
- Digital copy
- Email support
- 24-48 Hour
Most Popular
ESA Housing Letter For Multiple Pets
One evaluation covering the support provided by each of your animals in a Texas home.
$159.00/ one-time
- ESA letter for multiple pets
- All approved pets on one letter
- Valid for 1 year
- Digital copy
- Priority phone and email support
- Renewal reminders
- 24-48 Hour
PSA Letter
A psychiatric service dog evaluation with a clinician licensed in Texas.
$199.00/ one-time
- Official PSD letter if supported
- Licensed professional review
- Valid for 1 year
- Digital copy
- Email support
- 24-48 Hour
Bundle Packages
Compare the combined letter and document options.
Bundle
ESA Letter + Certificate Bundle
An ESA letter and certificate together in one document package.
$199.00/ one-time
- Official ESA letter if supported
- ESA certificate
- Licensed professional review
- Valid for 1 year
- Digital copy
- Email support
- 24-48 Hour
Letter + Certificate + ID
PSD Letter + Certificate + ID Card
A PSD letter, certificate and ID card in one package.
$225.00/ one-time
- Official PSD letter if supported
- PSD certificate
- PSD ID card
- Licensed professional review
- Valid for 1 year
- Digital copy
- Priority email support
- 24-48 Hour
Clinical review
Secure payment
Digital documents
One-time plan fee
Need help choosing? Take the free screening first or compare every plan. Documentation depends on clinical approval; optional certificates and cards do not establish access rights.
Why Houston Tenants Choose American Service Animals
Large Houston management companies check documentation closely. These are the reasons our letters hold up when they do.
Exit 1 A Texas license on every letter
The letter names the clinician's Texas license, and a property manager can confirm it on the state's public lookup in a minute.
Exit 2 An evaluation, not a form fill
A licensed clinician talks with you and decides. Nobody gets a letter just for paying, and nobody is placed in a registry.
Exit 3 Written for the people who decide
Letters are addressed for leasing offices, property managers, condo boards and campus housing, the offices Houston renters actually deal with.
Exit 4 A price you see before checkout
Plan prices appear above and are paid once. If a letter cannot be supported, the refund policy applies to the plan.
ESA Letters for University of Houston Students
UH reviews emotional support animal requests for its campus-managed housing under its ESA policy, UH SAM 01.D.11, and the accommodation comes before the move-in paperwork.
Campus-managed housing the policy covers
- Centennial Hall
- Cougar Village I
- Cougar Village II
- Moody Towers
- Cougar Place
- The Quad
- Bayou Oaks
- University Lofts
No animal moves in until the request is approved through this process and by Student Housing and Residential Life. An approved ESA is never left alone overnight.
What Student Housing asks for after its "Next Steps" email
- The Emotional Support Animal Policy and Procedure Form, signed and dated.
- Vaccination records: rabies for every animal; DHLPP, Bordetella and influenza for dogs; FPV/FVRCP for cats.
- Proof that the animal is spayed or neutered.
- Proof of a City of Houston license for the dog or cat.
Justin Dart, Jr. Student Accessibility Center
4369 Cougar Village Drive, Building 568, Houston, TX 77204. Phone 713-743-5400.
Your clinician's letter may go into the documentation the Dart Center reviews, though only UH decides whether it is enough.
Licensing a Dog or Cat With BARC in Houston
BARC, the city's animal shelter and adoption agency, issues Houston pet licenses through the Houston Permitting Center. An emotional support animal is licensed like any other pet.
Bringing an Emotional Support Animal on METRO
Trained service animals on METRO
Ride on METRO buses and trains. METRO counts guide dogs, signal dogs and any animal trained individually to do work for someone with a disability, and the handler must keep the animal under control.
ESAs and pets on METRO
Welcome on board as non-service animals, as long as they are transported and properly restrained in an animal carrier for the entire ride.
Texas Housing Law, Briefly, for Houston Renters
Three provisions come up most often in Houston leases. The full state picture is on our Texas pages.
- Accommodation requests
- Property Code section 301.025 treats it as discrimination when a landlord refuses a reasonable rule or policy change that a tenant with a disability needs for equal use of the home. Whether that reaches untrained ESAs after HUD's May 2026 change is not settled.
- Service dogs and deposits
- Human Resources Code section 121.003(h) bars an extra deposit or charge for a service animal; damage beyond normal wear stays the handler's cost.
- Deposit refunds
- Property Code section 92.103 gives the landlord until the 30th day after you surrender the unit.
Free and Low-Cost Help for Houston Renters
Lone Star Legal Aid, Houston office
Free civil legal help for people who qualify, from its office at 1415 Fannin Street. Apply online or by phone. Office page
City fair housing hotline
Houston's Housing and Community Development Department answers fair housing and tenant questions with referrals and information, not legal advice. HCD contacts
Civil Rights Division at TWC
A written, sworn housing complaint goes to the TWC Civil Rights Division by the first anniversary of the problem. TWC housing discrimination
Houston Neighborhoods We Serve
- Montrose
- Houston Heights
- Midtown
- EaDo
- Third Ward
- Museum District
- Rice Military
- Upper Kirby
- Uptown
- Westchase
- Alief
- Spring Branch
- Meyerland
- Clear Lake
- Kingwood
Every Houston address is handled the same way, by telehealth with a clinician licensed in Texas, whether you rent inside the Loop or out past Beltway 8.
Houston ESA and PSD Questions
How much does a City of Houston pet license cost?
BARC charges $20 per year when the dog or cat has been spayed or neutered and $60 per year when it has not. Owners 60 and over pay $2 yearly for a sterilized pet, and renewing late costs $10 more.
Do Houston service dogs pay the license fee?
A sterilized service dog, including hearing and seeing dogs, can get a sterilized pet license on application without the first fee. The yearly renewal fee still applies.
Is an emotional support animal allowed on METRO buses and trains?
Yes, if it rides in an animal carrier. METRO allows non-service animals, emotional support animals included, only when they are transported and restrained in a carrier for the whole trip.
What does the University of Houston ask for before an ESA moves into a residence hall?
After approval through the Justin Dart, Jr. Student Accessibility Center, Student Housing and Residential Life asks for the ESA policy form, vaccination records, proof of spay or neuter and proof of a City of Houston license.
Where is BARC and how do I reach it?
BARC is at 3200 Carr Street, Houston, TX 77026, phone 713-229-7300. Licenses can be applied for online, in person there or by mail, and processing can take up to 15 business days.
Is there free legal help for Houston tenants?
Lone Star Legal Aid's Houston office at 1415 Fannin Street takes applications online and by phone at (713) 652-0077 or (800) 733-8394.
Who can a Houston renter call with a fair housing question?
The city's Housing and Community Development Department runs a fair housing hotline on 832-394-6200 that gives referrals and information but no legal advice. Formal complaints go to the Texas Workforce Commission within a year, or to HUD.
When should my Houston landlord return my security deposit?
Under Section 92.103 of the state's Property Code, the deadline is the 30th day after you surrender the unit, and the landlord may wait for your written forwarding address.
More Texas Pages for Houston Residents
Two Ways a Houston Landlord Can Check Your ESA Letter
Every letter we issue for a Houston address is signed under a Texas license, and a leasing office does not have to take our word for it.
Scan the code on page one
The QR code printed on the first page opens the letter's record on americanserviceanimals.com, which shows:
- Whether it is active, revoked or expired
- The dates it was issued and expires
- The name of the clinician who signed it
Search the Texas license
The license printed on the letter can be searched on the public site of the board that issued it:
- Behavioral Health Executive Council, the board behind Texas psychologists, LPCs, LCSWs and LMFTs
- Texas Medical Board for physicians, psychiatrists included
- Texas Board of Nursing for nurse practitioners
The clinician's email and phone are hidden on the record for privacy; support@americanserviceanimals.com can confirm them for a landlord.
Get Your Houston Letter Started Tonight
A few minutes of free screening questions is all it takes to begin. When a Texas-licensed clinician backs your request, the letter is ready in your account for your leasing office.
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