Psychiatric service dogs
PSD Letter
A letter from a licensed professional documenting your mental health disability and the tasks your dog is trained to perform. For housing requests and airline paperwork.
Read this first
The Training Is What Counts
A dog becomes a psychiatric service dog by being individually trained to perform tasks that help with a disability. Not by being registered, not by wearing a vest, and not by a letter. If your dog isn't trained to do specific tasks yet, an ESA letter is the honest choice and it costs less.
Examples of Trained Tasks
A task is something the dog actively does. Comfort from its presence alone is not a task, which is the line between a PSD and an ESA.
- Interrupting a panic attack by nudging, pawing, or applying pressure
- Deep pressure therapy to reduce anxiety
- Reminding you to take medication at a set time
- Guiding you out of a crowded place when you're overwhelmed
- Waking you from a night terror
- Room searching before you enter, for PTSD-related fear
- Interrupting repetitive or self-harming behavior
- Fetching a phone or medication during an episode
What the Letter Does
- Records that you have a mental health disability
- Lists the tasks your dog is trained to perform
- Supports a housing accommodation request
- Supports the case you make on airline paperwork
What it doesn't do
- Certify or register your dog, which nothing can
- Grant public access rights, which come from training
- Replace the DOT form your airline asks for
- Train your dog
PSD Letter Cost
- Up to 2 dogs$149
- Up to 3 dogs$229
- ESA letterUp to 2 pets $129
A licensed mental health professional writes a letter saying your animal is part of your treatment. You give it to your landlord to ask to keep your pet.
- ESA letter3 or more pets $199
The same letter, written for a home with three or more support animals. Every pet is named, because landlords look at each one separately.
- PSD letterUp to 2 dogs $149
A letter that records your mental health disability and the tasks your dog is trained to do. Helps with housing requests and airline paperwork.
- PSD letterUp to 3 dogs $229
For handlers with more than two trained dogs. Each dog and the tasks it performs are written up on their own.
You are charged only after a provider approves you. No subscription, and nothing renews.
Start screeningPSD Letter FAQs
What is a psychiatric service dog?
A dog individually trained to perform specific tasks that help with a mental health disability. The training is what makes it a service dog. Under the ADA that gives it public access rights an emotional support animal does not have.
Does a PSD letter certify my dog?
No, and nothing does. There is no certification, registration, or licensing for service dogs anywhere in the US, and the Department of Justice says registration papers convey no rights. A PSD letter documents your disability and the tasks your dog performs. It does not create the dog's status, and you are not required to carry one.
Do I need a PSD letter to go in public with my dog?
No. Under the ADA, staff may only ask whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability, and what work or tasks it has been trained to perform. They cannot demand paperwork. Many handlers still want a letter for housing, and for the conversation with a landlord.
Can I fly with a psychiatric service dog?
Yes, trained service dogs are still accepted. Airlines require the Department of Transportation's Service Animal Air Transportation Form, which you complete and sign yourself. A clinician's letter can support your case, but the DOT form is the document airlines actually ask for.
Do you train the dog?
No. We only write the clinical letter. The training is separate work, done by you or a professional trainer, and no letter can substitute for it. If your dog isn't task-trained yet, an ESA letter is the honest option and it costs less.
How much does a PSD letter cost?
$149 for up to two dogs and $229 for up to three. It costs more than an ESA letter because the visit is longer: the professional has to document both your disability and the specific tasks your dog performs.