It can be confusing when you are trying to navigate your way through accommodations for your pets, especially when you are looking at emotional support animals versus service animals. Both animals intersect in the benefits they bring to their owners. However, there are some important differences to keep in mind.
Under fair housing law, both emotional support and service animals are allowed in housing where otherwise they may not be, as long as there is appropriate documentation.
Under ADA law, emotional support animals are not afforded the same protections as service animals in terms of public access and travel.
The main difference is that an emotional support animal does not require special training and licensing. For this reason, emotional support animals may not be allowed in certain public domains (such as stores, restaurants, and airplanes) in the ways that a service animal would be. Emotional support animals are mainly identified to assist with mental health and psychiatric conditions, whereas a service animal is trained to physically support their owner with specific tasks that an emotional support animal will not be able to do (seeing eye, etc).
