How to get a PSD letter

Do you need a PSD letter

A PSD letter is meant for people who have a psychiatric disability and a dog that is trained, or being trained, to perform tasks related to it. Under the ADA, a service animal is a dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. Comfort from a dog's presence alone isn't a task.

If your dog helps you emotionally but isn't trained to do specific tasks, an emotional support animal (ESA) letter is the accurate document for housing. We don't issue ESA letters, but we'll be honest with you if that's the better fit.

• You have a mental health condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities
• Your dog performs, or is being trained to perform, specific tasks that help with that condition
• You need documentation for a housing request or want it for travel planning

Talk with a licensed clinician

The letter must come from a licensed professional who has actually assessed you. That could be your own therapist, psychiatrist or physician, or a clinician you see through an evaluation service. If you already have a treating provider, asking them is a reasonable first step.

With usaPsdletter.com, you book online for free. The booking step confirms your state, because our clinicians can only evaluate you where they can lawfully practice. You then have a 5–10 minute phone or video evaluation with a licensed clinician.

The PSD evaluation

Expect questions about how your condition affects daily life and how your dog helps. The clinician will want to understand the tasks your dog performs, such as interrupting panic symptoms, waking you from nightmares or creating space in crowds, and how those tasks connect to your needs.

Answer honestly. The clinician's job is to make an independent professional judgment, and a letter is issued only when the clinical findings support one. If the clinician doesn't find a letter appropriate, you don't pay.

It helps to prepare a few notes before the call: the tasks your dog performs or is learning, roughly how long you've been working together, and any treatment you're receiving. You don't need to bring medical records, and you can share as much or as little detail about your history as you're comfortable with.

Receive and review your letter

If approved, you receive a signed letter as a PDF. A legitimate letter should identify the clinician by name, license type, license number and issuing state, and include the date. It confirms that you have a disability and a disability-related need for your dog; it doesn't need to state your diagnosis.

Our letter costs $149 for one or two dogs and $229 for three dogs. There's no subscription or membership.

Where to use your PSD letter

Housing is the main place a letter helps. The Fair Housing Act and HUD's regulations require housing providers to make reasonable accommodations in their rules and policies, such as a no-pets policy, when needed for a person with a disability. When your disability or need for the animal isn't obvious, a provider may ask for reliable documentation. HUD withdrew its 2020 assistance-animal guidance in September 2025, but the underlying law still applies.

For flights, airlines may require the DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form, plus a Relief Attestation Form for flights of 8 hours or more. Airlines can't require other documentation except to meet certain foreign or territorial rules. Your letter can accompany the DOT form, but the DOT form is what airlines may require.

At work, service dog requests go through the ADA's reasonable accommodation process, and employers may ask for reasonable documentation of the disability and the need.

What a PSD letter can't do

A PSD letter is not needed for public access and does not grant it. In stores, restaurants and other businesses, staff may ask only two questions and can't require documentation. A letter also isn't a certificate or registration, and it doesn't guarantee any landlord, airline or employer will accept your request; each decides case by case under the applicable law.

Watch for services that promise approval, sell ID cards or vests as proof of status, or skip a real evaluation. Many states penalize misrepresenting a pet as a service animal, so an honest evaluation protects you too.