Emotional support animals do not need any special training under federal law. Unlike service animals, which must be individually trained to perform specific tasks related to a disability, ESAs have no formal training requirement at all. Their legal role is to provide therapeutic emotional support through companionship, not to perform trained tasks. That said, a completely untrained animal can create real problems for you, and in some cases, a landlord can legally remove an ESA that behaves poorly.
The Legal Distinction Between ESAs and Service Animals
The difference comes down to one word: tasks. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is a dog trained to perform a specific task directly related to a person’s disability, like guiding someone who is blind, alerting someone to a seizure, or pulling a wheelchair. The Department of Justice is explicit: if a dog’s mere presence provides comfort, it is not a service animal under the ADA.
Emotional support animals fall into a separate category. The Department of Housing and Urban Development recognizes that people with disabilities may need an assistance animal in their home that provides emotional support, “even if the animal is not individually trained as a service animal.” HUD’s own guidance states it has recognized the need for support animals, “both trained and untrained,” for decades. This distinction matters because it shapes where your ESA is protected and where it isn’t.
Where ESA Protections Actually Apply
ESAs are primarily protected in housing. Under the Fair Housing Act, landlords generally cannot refuse to accommodate an emotional support animal, even in buildings with no-pet policies, as long as you have a letter from a licensed mental health professional confirming that the animal helps with a diagnosed condition. That letter doesn’t need to say anything about the animal’s training status.
ESAs do not have public access rights. You cannot bring an emotional support animal into a restaurant, grocery store, or other business the way you can with a service dog. They also lost their protected status on airlines in 2021, when the Department of Transportation revised its rules to recognize only trained psychiatric service dogs for cabin access. California has gone a step further with a state law requiring anyone who sells or provides a dog as an emotional support animal to give the buyer written notice that the dog “does not have the special training required to qualify as a guide, signal, or service dog.”
Why Training Still Matters in Practice
No training is legally required, but that doesn’t mean you can skip it without consequences. Housing providers have the legal right to deny or revoke an ESA accommodation if the specific animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or would cause substantial physical damage to the property. Courts have backed landlords in removing assistance animals when owners repeatedly failed to keep them under control.
The kinds of behavior that can get your ESA removed are more common than you might think: being off leash in shared spaces, jumping on other residents, tripping people, not being cleaned up after, making disruptive noise, or showing aggression toward other animals. If your landlord notifies you of a problem, they’re required to give you a reasonable chance to fix it. But if the pattern continues, you can lose the accommodation entirely. An animal that isn’t housebroken can also be barred.
This means that while the law doesn’t require training, your ability to keep your ESA in your home depends on the animal behaving in a way that’s safe and manageable. An “animal under control” generally means it stays on a leash when appropriate, doesn’t jump on people, doesn’t damage property, and doesn’t create a nuisance for neighbors.
What Good ESA Training Looks Like
Mental Health America’s guidance is straightforward: “ESAs don’t need any special training, beyond the normal training a pet needs.” For most dogs, that means basic obedience, reliable housetraining, and the ability to stay calm around strangers and in unfamiliar situations.
If you want a more concrete benchmark, researchers who have studied ESA standards suggest the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen test as a reasonable baseline. It evaluates a fairly basic standard of temperament and behavior: sitting politely for petting, walking on a loose leash, staying calm around other dogs, and responding to basic commands. Passing it isn’t required for any legal purpose, but it gives you confidence that your dog can handle the kinds of situations that arise in apartment buildings, shared hallways, and elevators.
For animals other than dogs, or for dogs with anxiety or reactivity issues, getting an assessment from a veterinarian, animal behaviorist, or professional trainer can serve a similar purpose. Having documentation that a qualified professional has evaluated your animal’s temperament can be useful if a landlord ever questions whether your ESA is safe to have in the building.
Your Liability as an ESA Owner
You are legally responsible for your emotional support animal’s behavior, just as you would be for any pet. If your ESA bites someone, damages a neighbor’s property, or causes injury in a common area, you face the same civil liability as any animal owner. The ESA designation protects your right to have the animal in your home. It does not shield you from consequences if the animal causes harm.
Increased civil litigation between landlords and tenants over ESAs has become a growing area of housing law. Property damage, noise complaints, and safety incidents are the most common triggers. The simplest way to protect both your housing situation and your legal standing is to invest in the kind of basic behavioral training that keeps your animal calm, controlled, and predictable in a shared living environment.