Arkansas Emotional Support Animal Laws (2026 Guide)
What Arkansas law actually says about emotional support animals in housing, what HUD's May 2026 change did to it, and where the state stands compared with the rest of the country.
- State-law protection: moderate state backup — Arkansas has a state fair housing law and an enforcement agency, but ESA-specific treatment is unsettled
- Waiting period: 30 days, required by statute
- Key statute: Act 1013 of 2021 (HB 1420)
- Enforcement: Arkansas Fair Housing Commission
- Public access rights: none — in Arkansas or any other state
Two laws apply, and only one of them changed
Emotional support animals in Arkansas housing sit at the intersection of a federal statute and a state one. Reading either in isolation gives a misleading picture, and most of what is published online reads only the federal half.
The federal Fair Housing Act requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. Congress has not amended that duty. What changed is how the enforcing agency reads it.
Arkansas law adds Act 1013 of 2021 (HB 1420). That is a separate legal source with a separate enforcement body, and HUD's memorandum expressly states that state and local law is unaffected.
What HUD did on May 22, 2026
HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued an enforcement memorandum permanently rescinding its 2020 assistance animal notice, FHEO-2020-01. In its place it adopted a training-based standard: FHEO will find reasonable cause and recommend charges only where the animal has been individually trained to perform work or tasks directly related to the complainant's disability.
This is essentially the ADA's service animal test imported into fair housing enforcement, with one difference worth noting — HUD's version is not limited to dogs. A trained animal of another species can still qualify.
Two consequences follow. Accommodation requests for trained assistance animals are treated as presumptively reasonable. Requests for untrained emotional support animals are not, and are assessed case by case.
What survived: the statute itself, the private right of action (generally a two-year window), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in federally assisted housing, and all state and local law. HUD has said it intends formal notice-and-comment rulemaking to align its regulations with the ADA; that process has not concluded.
Arkansas state law in detail
- Act 1013 of 2021 (HB 1420) Requires an established provider relationship before an ESA letter can issue
Arkansas is one of five states with a mandatory waiting period, so a same-day letter here is not legal — and any site that sells you one is selling you a problem.
The 30-day rule
Arkansas requires a client–provider relationship of at least 30 days before a licensed professional may issue an emotional support animal letter. Five states impose such a rule: Arkansas, California, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana.
These provisions were written for a specific reason. Websites offering instant letters after a two-minute questionnaire were producing documentation that no clinician had any real basis for signing, and legislatures responded by requiring a relationship rather than a transaction. The practical effect is two appointments about a month apart.
A same-day letter marketed to Arkansas residents does not comply with this rule. That is worth knowing before paying for one.
What a Arkansas housing provider may and may not do
May: request reliable documentation of the disability-related need where neither the disability nor the need is obvious; verify that a licence is genuine; deny where the specific animal poses a direct threat that cannot be reduced, would cause substantial physical damage, or where the accommodation would be an undue financial or administrative burden; and rely on the federal exemptions for owner-occupied buildings of four units or fewer and single-family rentals let without a broker.
May not: demand medical records or a specific diagnosis; require certification, registration or proof of training for an emotional support animal; charge a fee to process the request; apply a breed or weight rule as an automatic bar without assessing the individual animal; or retaliate for the request having been made.
How Arkansas compares
Arkansas sits in the large middle group: a real state fair housing law and a functioning agency, but no settled answer yet on how untrained emotional support animals are treated after the federal shift.
| State | State-law backup | Waiting period | Enforcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Moderate state backup | 30 days | AFHC |
| Louisiana | Moderate state backup | 30 days | LA AG |
| New Mexico | Moderate state backup | None | NMHRB |
| Oklahoma | Moderate state backup | None | OK AG |
Key dates
- HUD publishes FHEO-2020-01
Assistance animals, including untrained emotional support animals, are not pets and cannot be charged pet fees.
- DOT rule takes effect
Airlines may treat emotional support animals as pets. Unchanged since.
- Arkansas enacts Act 1013 of 2021 (HB 1420)
Requires an established provider relationship before an ESA letter can issue
- HUD withdraws its 2013 and 2020 notices
Removed as part of a broader clearing-out of sub-regulatory guidance.
- Training-based enforcement standard adopted
FHEO pursues complaints only for individually trained assistance animals. State and local law unaffected.
Air travel
No state, Arkansas included, can change air travel rules. The Air Carrier Access Act and its implementing regulation at 14 C.F.R. Part 382 are federal, and since January 2021 airlines have been permitted to treat emotional support animals as ordinary pets — carrier fee, size limit, under the seat. Trained service dogs travel in the cabin at no charge with the DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form, which the handler attests to rather than a clinician signing.
Practical takeaways for Arkansas renters
- Get documentation from a clinician licensed in Arkansas, and start at least 30 days before you need it.
- Make the accommodation request in writing, naming the specific policy you want modified.
- Do not attach a purchased registration or certificate. No registry exists, and their presence undermines a real letter.
- Keep every message. Case-by-case analysis is decided on records.
- Know that Arkansas Fair Housing Commission is a state-level route independent of HUD's enforcement policy.
Questions
Arkansas ESA Law FAQs
Are emotional support animals protected by law in Arkansas?
In housing, yes — though the source of that protection changed in 2026. The federal Fair Housing Act still requires housing providers to consider reasonable accommodations, and Arkansas adds its own through Act 1013 of 2021 (HB 1420), enforced by Arkansas Fair Housing Commission. Outside housing, emotional support animals have no access rights anywhere in the United States — that belongs to trained service animals under the ADA.
Does Arkansas require a waiting period before an ESA letter?
Yes. Arkansas is one of five states — alongside California, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana — that require an established client–provider relationship, generally at least 30 days, before a mental health professional may issue an emotional support animal letter.
Can a Arkansas landlord charge a pet deposit for an emotional support animal?
Before May 2026, HUD guidance said no for any assistance animal. That guidance was rescinded, and HUD now treats fee waivers as presumptively reasonable only for animals individually trained to perform a disability-related task. In Arkansas the answer now depends on state law and on the individual case. Damage actually caused by an animal has always been chargeable, in every state.
Is it illegal to fake an ESA letter in Arkansas?
Arkansas has no ESA-specific penalty statute, but submitting documentation you know to be false is fraud, and misrepresenting an animal as a trained service animal is a criminal offense in a large number of states. Obtaining a letter from a licensed clinician who has actually evaluated you is legal everywhere.
Who can write an ESA letter in Arkansas?
A healthcare professional holding an active Arkansas license — typically a licensed psychologist, clinical social worker, professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner. Licensure is state by state even when the appointment is by video, which is why an out-of-state signature is the most common reason a letter is rejected.
Where do I file a housing discrimination complaint in Arkansas?
With Arkansas Fair Housing Commission at state level, or with HUD through the HUD Southwest Regional Office (Region VI). A private lawsuit under the Fair Housing Act is also available, generally within two years.
Do emotional support animals fly in Arkansas?
Air travel is federal and state law does not touch it. Since the Department of Transportation's rule took effect on January 11, 2021, airlines may treat emotional support animals as pets. Trained service dogs still fly in the cabin with DOT forms attested by the handler.
Sources
- Act 1013 of 2021 (HB 1420) — look it up in the Arkansas Code Arkansas Legislature
- Find Arkansas Fair Housing Commission in HUD's directory of state and local fair housing agencies HUD Fair Housing Assistance Program
- HUD Southwest Regional Office (Region VI) — serves Arkansas U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604 — discrimination in the sale or rental of housing Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
- 24 C.F.R. Part 100 — HUD regulations implementing the Fair Housing Act Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- File a housing discrimination complaint with HUD HUD Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
- ADA 2010 Revised Requirements: Service Animals U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Next
Getting a Letter in Arkansas
This guide covers what the law says. If you are trying to actually obtain documentation — who can sign it, what it costs, how long it takes here — that is a separate page.
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