Updated HUD narrowed federal ESA enforcement on May 22, 2026. Your state law now does most of the work. See what changed →
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Updated August 31, 2026

ESA Law Guides for Every State

Fifty-one plain-English guides to emotional support animal law, one per state and the District of Columbia. Each one covers the state's own statutes, its enforcement agency, whether a waiting period applies, and what HUD's May 2026 change did to it.

AuthorIvan MelloWriter, housing and disability policy
Expert reviewed byAndrew Patel, LCSWLicensed Clinical Social Worker
Last reviewedAugust 31, 2026
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Why there are fifty-one of these

Until 2026, one federal document answered most emotional support animal questions in housing. HUD's 2020 assistance animal notice told landlords across the country that untrained emotional support animals were not pets and could not be charged pet fees, and that was largely the end of the conversation.

On May 22, 2026, HUD rescinded that notice and adopted a training-based enforcement standard. The federal statute did not change and neither did anyone's right to sue, but the agency that enforces it now pursues complaints only where an animal has been individually trained to perform a disability-related task.

That pushed the weight onto state law, and state law varies enormously. Five states require a thirty-day relationship before a letter can issue. Thirteen have protection that legal commentary specifically identifies as independent of HUD. Three have no state fair housing agency at all. A single national answer is no longer a useful one, which is why these are written state by state.

Strong state-law backup · 13 states

Protection That Does Not Depend on HUD

Legal commentary published after the May 2026 change specifically identifies these states as having emotional support animal protection grounded in their own law.

CA California Emotional Support Animal Laws 30-day rule · Cal. Health & Safety Code § 122318 CO Colorado Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · C.R.S. § 24-34-502 FL Florida Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Fla. Stat. § 760.27 HI Hawaii Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · HRS § 515-3 IL Illinois Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · 775 ILCS 5/3-104 ME Maine Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · 5 M.R.S. § 4582-A MA Massachusetts Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · M.G.L. c. 151B NV Nevada Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · NRS § 118.105 NJ New Jersey Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq. NY New York Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(18) OR Oregon Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · ORS § 659A.145 PA Pennsylvania Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · 43 P.S. § 955(h) WA Washington Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · RCW § 49.60.222

Moderate state-law backup · 35 states

A State Law and an Agency, but an Unsettled Answer

These states have their own fair housing statutes and civil rights agencies. How those agencies treat untrained emotional support animals after the federal change is still working itself out.

AK Alaska Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · AS 18.80.240 AZ Arizona Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · A.R.S. § 41-1491.19 AR Arkansas Emotional Support Animal Laws 30-day rule · Act 1013 of 2021 (HB 1420) CT Connecticut Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-64c DE Delaware Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · 6 Del. C. § 4603A DC District of Columbia Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · D.C. Code § 2-1402.21 GA Georgia Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · O.C.G.A. § 8-3-202 ID Idaho Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Idaho Code § 67-5909 IN Indiana Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Ind. Code § 22-9.5-5 IA Iowa Emotional Support Animal Laws 30-day rule · SF 2268 (2020) KS Kansas Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · K.S.A. § 44-1016 KY Kentucky Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · KRS § 344.360 LA Louisiana Emotional Support Animal Laws 30-day rule · HB 407 (2021) MD Maryland Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Md. Code MI Michigan Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · MCL § 37.1506a MN Minnesota Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Minn. Stat. § 363A.09 MO Missouri Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · RSMo § 213.040 MT Montana Emotional Support Animal Laws 30-day rule · HB 703 (2023) NE Nebraska Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-318 NH New Hampshire Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · RSA § 354-A:8 NM New Mexico Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · NMSA § 28-1-7 NC North Carolina Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · N.C.G.S. § 41A-6 ND North Dakota Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · N.D.C.C. § 14-02.5 OH Ohio Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Ohio Rev. Code § 4112.02(H) OK Oklahoma Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · 25 O.S. § 1452 RI Rhode Island Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4 SC South Carolina Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · S.C. Code § 31-21-40 SD South Dakota Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · SDCL § 20-13-20 TN Tennessee Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · T.C.A. § 4-21-601 TX Texas Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Tex. Prop. Code § 92.026 UT Utah Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Utah Code § 57-21-5 VT Vermont Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · 9 V.S.A. § 4503 VA Virginia Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Va. Code § 36-96.3:1 WV West Virginia Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · W. Va. Code § 5-11A-5 WI Wisconsin Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Wis. Stat. § 106.50(2r)

Limited state-law backup · 3 states

No State Fair Housing Agency

Here a HUD complaint or a private federal lawsuit is essentially the whole toolkit, which is why the 2026 change lands hardest in these three.

AL Alabama Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Federal FHA only MS Mississippi Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Federal FHA only WY Wyoming Emotional Support Animal Laws No waiting period · Federal FHA only

Find Out Where You Stand in About Ten Minutes

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