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Georgia ESA Housing Letter

Online evaluation reviewed by a Georgia-licensed mental health professional, for a reasonable accommodation request under the Georgia Fair Housing Act

Laws checked November 2026. Georgia ESA laws in full

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  • Most evaluations reviewed within 48 hours
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18,000+ ESA letters issued since 2016.

Georgia at a glance

  • Georgia has no ESA statute: requests fall under the Georgia Fair Housing Act and the federal Fair Housing Act.
  • Georgia's 2026 service dog law (HB 668) leaves out dogs that only provide comfort or emotional support.
  • No Georgia statute requires a 30-day relationship before an ESA letter.
  • Complaints go to the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity, within one year.

How it works

  1. Complete your online evaluation

    Tell us about your symptoms, how they affect daily life, and your animal. Choose Georgia as your state.

  2. A Georgia-licensed professional reviews it

    Most evaluations are reviewed within 48 hours. If they need more information, they'll ask.

  3. Download your letter as soon as you're approved

    It's in your free dashboard, ready to print or send to your landlord.

What Georgia law says about emotional support animals

Georgia has no law written for emotional support animals. An ESA request is a request for a reasonable accommodation under the Georgia Fair Housing Act, alongside the federal Fair Housing Act.

  • Under the Georgia Fair Housing Act, refusing to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services, when they may be needed to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, is discrimination. (O.C.G.A. §8-3-202(a)(7)(B)(ii))

  • Georgia's act has the same small-landlord exemptions as federal law: a single-family house rented without a broker by an owner of no more than three, and a building for no more than four families where the owner lives in one unit. (O.C.G.A. §8-3-202(b)(1))

  • HB 668 of 2026, the Mara Jade Act, rewrote Georgia's service dog law from July 1, 2026. Its definition of a service dog leaves out a dog that solely provides comfort, companionship or emotional support, so that law doesn't cover ESAs. (O.C.G.A. §30-4-1(5), as amended by HB 668)

  • Georgia law says a person with a guide or service dog can't be required to pay extra compensation for it in housing, but is liable for damage. That rule doesn't extend to emotional support animals. (O.C.G.A. §30-4-3(b), as amended by HB 668)

  • Since HB 668, deliberately misrepresenting yourself as qualified to use a service dog, to get accommodations or rights under Georgia's service dog law, is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, with a fine of up to $2,000, up to 30 days in jail, or both. It's about service dogs; describe your ESA as an emotional support animal. (O.C.G.A. §30-4-4(b), as amended by HB 668)

Does Georgia have a 30-day rule for ESA letters?

We found no Georgia statute that requires a 30-day relationship, or any set number of sessions, before an ESA letter. We found no bill in Georgia's 2025–2026 session that proposed one; HB 668, the session's service dog law, doesn't. (HB 668 (2026))

Checked November 2026 at the sources listed at the end of this page. More on Georgia ESA laws.

What an ESA letter can and can't do in Georgia (2026)

What an ESA letter is. It's a written statement from a mental health professional licensed in Georgia that you have a disability and that an animal helps with it. You can give it to a landlord when you ask, in writing, for an exception to a no-pets rule. It is not a permit, and it doesn't make a landlord say yes.

What changed in 2025–2026. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) withdrew its 2013 and 2020 guidance on assistance animals, effective September 17, 2025 (Federal Register, April 6, 2026, Doc. 2026-06624). In a May 22, 2026 memo, HUD's fair housing office said it will find a violation in animal-accommodation complaints only in cases involving animals trained to provide disability-related assistance. The memo says requests to waive pet policies for animals trained to perform specific disability-related services are presumptively reasonable, and requests for untrained emotional support animals are not. What the 2026 HUD change means.

What didn't change. The federal Fair Housing Act still requires reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities (42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(3)(B)), and so does HUD's regulation (24 CFR 100.204). HUD's memo says it doesn't affect your right to bring a private lawsuit. Georgia's own rules are above.

What a letter can do: document your disability-related need when you request an accommodation, from a professional whose Georgia license your landlord can look up. What it can't do: force approval, waive pet fees on its own, or give your animal public-access or airline rights.

If your Georgia landlord says no

  1. Ask in writing and keep your own copy of the request, your letter and every reply.
  2. Ask for the reason in writing, and send any information your landlord didn't consider.
  3. Describe your animal accurately, as an emotional support animal, not a service animal.

  • File with the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity (GCEO), Fair Housing Division, within one year (365 days) of the discrimination. It starts with GCEO's online fair housing complaint questionnaire. (O.C.G.A. §8-3-208(a))

  • You can bring a lawsuit under the federal Fair Housing Act within two years. Georgia Legal Services Program and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society give free civil legal help to Georgians who qualify. (42 U.S.C. §3613)

  • You can also file with HUD within one year (42 U.S.C. §3610). Under its May 2026 memo, HUD finds a violation only where the animal is trained to provide disability-related assistance.

If your landlord denies your request in writing, you may also be eligible for a refund: see our refund policy.

Your Georgia reviewer

Your evaluation is reviewed by a mental health professional licensed in Georgia (Licensed Professional Counselor). Their name, license type and license number are printed on your letter.

Renting in Georgia

  • 34.3% of occupied homes in Georgia are rented US: 34.8%
  • 1,398,009 renter households
  • $1,393 median gross rent a month US: $1,413

Georgia is close to the national picture: 34.3% of its occupied homes are rented, against 34.8% across the US, and its median rent of $1,393 a month is $20 below the US median. That's most of Georgia's nearly 1.4 million renter households under the Georgia Fair Housing Act.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table DP04, 2020–2024: Georgia, United States.

Where Georgia renters can get help

We're not affiliated with these organizations. Details are from their own websites (checked November 2026).

Georgia ESA letter questions

Does Georgia's new service dog law cover emotional support animals?

No. HB 668, the Mara Jade Act, rewrote Georgia's service dog law from July 1, 2026, and its definition of a service dog leaves out a dog that solely provides comfort, companionship or emotional support. An ESA request in Georgia housing is a reasonable accommodation request under the Georgia Fair Housing Act and the federal Fair Housing Act.

Is it a crime in Georgia to pass off an ESA as a service dog?

Since HB 668, deliberately misrepresenting yourself as qualified to use a service dog, to get accommodations or rights under Georgia's service dog law, is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature in Georgia, with a fine of up to $2,000, up to 30 days in jail, or both (O.C.G.A. §30-4-4(b)). Describe your animal as an emotional support animal; an ESA letter doesn't make it a service dog.

Can my Georgia landlord charge a pet fee for my ESA?

It's unsettled. Georgia law bars extra compensation only for guide and service dogs (O.C.G.A. §30-4-3(b)), not ESAs, and HUD's May 2026 memo says requests to waive pet policies for untrained ESAs aren't presumed reasonable. If you're asked to pay, ask for the policy in writing.

Where do I report ESA housing discrimination in Georgia?

With the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity's Fair Housing Division, within one year of the discrimination (O.C.G.A. §8-3-208), at (404) 656-1736 or toll-free (800) 473-6736. You can also file with HUD within one year, or bring a lawsuit under the federal Fair Housing Act within two years.

Does Georgia require a 30-day relationship before an ESA letter?

No. We found no Georgia statute that requires a 30-day relationship or a set number of sessions before an ESA letter, and we found no bill in the 2025–2026 session that proposed one. A landlord may still ask for reliable information about your disability-related need when it isn't obvious.

Where can I get free legal help with a housing problem in Georgia?

Outside metro Atlanta, Georgia Legal Services Program serves 154 of Georgia's 159 counties. In Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society does. Metro Fair Housing Services is a fair housing nonprofit for the Atlanta area.

How long is an ESA letter good for?

We found no Georgia or federal law that sets an expiration date for an ESA letter. Many landlords ask for recent documentation. Your MyPetCerts letter is dated, and our Free Letter Verification for Landlords shows it as current for one year from its issue date.

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Sources (checked November 2026)

This page is general information for Georgia renters, not legal advice. For the full summary of Georgia's laws, see Georgia ESA laws.