Why we insist on the consultation
It is not a marketing flourish. It is what the statute requires, and it is why our letters hold up when a property manager looks closely.
Colorado-licensed clinicians, booked online
Get your Colorado ESA Letter in 15 minutes
Talk with a licensed Colorado therapist today. If they approve you, your signed emotional support animal letter lands in your inbox 15 minutes later. If they do not approve you, you pay nothing.
- A real evaluation, as Colorado law requires
- Front Range, Western Slope and everywhere between
- Free re-issue if your landlord or HOA needs a correction
HIPAA Compliant
256-bit SSL Encrypted
FHA Compliant Letters
ADA Compliant Letters
No Charge If Not Approved
How it works, start to finish
Four stages. Most people are through in about twenty minutes, and no money moves until a clinician signs.
Choose a slot
Evenings and same-day openings are common, seven days a week between 7 AM and 11 PM Mountain time.
Answer the screening
Five minutes on your symptoms, your housing and the animal that helps you, completed before you meet anyone.
Meet your clinician
A genuine evaluation with a Colorado-licensed provider. This step is not optional here, and the reason is on this page.
Receive the letter
Approved, and the signed PDF is in your inbox within 15 minutes. Declined, and the hold on your card is released.
Colorado wrote ESA protection into law in 2026
While federal enforcement narrowed, Colorado went the other way. If you rent here, this is the most important thing on the page.
On June 9, 2026, Governor Polis signed House Bill 26-1045. It adds definitions of "assistance animal" and "emotional support animal" to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, defines reasonable accommodation in housing, and states that the mere presence of an assistance animal is neither a direct threat to health or safety nor presumed to cause substantial property damage. It took effect on August 12, 2026.
Colorado House Bill 26-1045 · C.R.S. §§ 24-34-301, 24-34-501, 24-34-502The timing was not a coincidence. HUD rescinded its 2020 assistance animal notice on May 22, 2026 and narrowed federal enforcement to animals individually trained to perform tasks. Colorado legislators responded by putting emotional support animals into state statute, where a federal policy memo cannot reach them.
The practical effect for a Colorado renter is unusually clear. Permitting an assistance animal is treated as presumptively reasonable, and a blanket prohibition is presumptively discriminatory. A housing provider may still ask for reasonable documentation where the disability is not obvious, and must engage in a good-faith interactive process rather than simply saying no.
Being straight with you: strong law is not a guarantee. A provider can still refuse where a specific animal's documented conduct is a genuine threat, or where the accommodation would be an undue burden. And Colorado is one of the few states that regulates the letter itself, which is the next section and the reason we will not sell you an instant PDF.
Colorado regulates who may write your letter
Most states leave this alone. Colorado does not, and it changes what a legitimate ESA service can offer you.
Colorado's Mental Health Practice Act requires a bona fide provider-patient relationship before a licensed professional issues an emotional support animal recommendation. The state's Division of Professions and Occupations has told licensees they must first establish whether a disability exists, then determine whether an assistance animal would provide a therapeutic benefit for it, and must be sufficiently familiar with the patient to make both judgements.
C.R.S. § 12-245-229 · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and OccupationsRead that plainly and a whole category of website becomes unlawful to rely on. A questionnaire that produces a PDF in ninety seconds cannot establish a bona fide relationship. Neither can a provider licensed in another state. Colorado landlords and HOA boards have caught on, and a letter that looks mass-produced is the first thing they challenge.
Why the clinician must be Colorado-licensed
The obligation attaches to Colorado licensees. Documentation from an out-of-state provider invites exactly the challenge you are trying to avoid.
Why we can decline you
The provider has to reach an honest clinical judgement. If yours is no, that is the process working, and you are not charged.
Colorado ESA and PSD letter pricing
One flat fee per letter. No subscriptions, no renewal traps, and no charge unless a licensed Colorado clinician approves you.
ESA Letter
$129
Housing documentation, up to 2 animals
- Signed by a clinician licensed in Colorado
- Covers up to 2 emotional support animals
- Written to satisfy Colorado's bona fide relationship rule
- Digital PDF, emailed 15 minutes after approval
- Unlimited free re-issues if a landlord wants changes
ESA Letter, 3+ Pets
$199
Housing documentation, 3 or more animals
- Signed by a clinician licensed in Colorado
- Covers 3 or more emotional support animals
- Every animal named separately on the letter
- Digital PDF, emailed 15 minutes after approval
- Unlimited free re-issues if a landlord wants changes
PSD Letter
$149
Task-trained dog documentation, up to 2 dogs
- Records a psychiatric disability and the dog's trained tasks
- Covers up to 2 dogs
- Task-trained dog documentation under the ADA
- Digital PDF, emailed 15 minutes after approval
- A frank conversation about which tasks count
PSD Letter, up to 3 Dogs
$229
Task-trained dog documentation, up to 3 dogs
- Records a psychiatric disability and each dog's trained tasks
- Covers up to 3 dogs
- Task-trained dog documentation under the ADA
- Digital PDF, emailed 15 minutes after approval
- A frank conversation about which tasks count
A single fee, billed once. Your card is held at booking and charged only when a Colorado-licensed clinician signs. A decline releases the hold.
ESA letter or PSD letter: which one fits you
Since HB26-1045, both are "assistance animals" for Colorado housing purposes. Outside the home they remain very different things.
| Emotional support animal | Psychiatric service dog | |
|---|---|---|
| Species | Any domestic animal reasonable to keep at home | Dogs, and miniature horses in limited cases |
| Training required | None. The animal helps by being there | Yes. Individually trained to do work or tasks tied to your disability |
| Housing | Named in Colorado statute as an assistance animal since August 2026 | Also an assistance animal, and meets HUD's narrower federal standard too |
| Stores, restaurants, trails | No access right in Colorado | Yes, under the ADA and Colorado law |
| Air travel | Airlines may treat it as a pet since the 2021 DOT rule | Airlines accept the DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form |
| Our fee | From $129 | From $149 |
Not sure which describes you? Book anyway. Your clinician will say honestly which document fits, and you are not charged for a letter you cannot use.
What makes a letter hold up in Colorado
Plenty of sites will sell you a PDF. These are the things that decide whether a Colorado landlord or HOA actually accepts it.
It satisfies the bona fide relationship rule
Colorado's Mental Health Practice Act requires a real evaluation before a recommendation is issued. Ours are written to meet that standard, not to skirt it.
A Colorado licence on the signature line
Your clinician's name and licence type appear on the letter and can be checked against the DORA licence lookup in about two minutes.
Nothing charged on a decline
Our clinicians earn the same either way, and your card is only held until one of them signs.
It cites the right law
Since HB26-1045 the strongest argument in Colorado is a state one. Our letters and guidance point there rather than leaning on federal rules that just narrowed.
Corrections cost nothing
HOA boards come back over unit numbers and animal names constantly. Every re-issue is free, however many times it takes.
Your file stays yours
Encrypted end to end, HIPAA-aligned access controls, never sold, never sent to a landlord without your written instruction.
The clinicians who sign your letter
Every evaluation is handled by a licensed professional reaching an independent decision. No one on our team is paid more for approving you.
Dr. Cheryl, M.D.Physician
Takes the cases where physical illness and mental health are tangled together, including anxiety that grew out of chronic pain or a long recovery.
Dr. John Miller, M.D.Physician
Carries most of our housing caseload, and writes for the property manager who has to sign off rather than for the file.
Andrew Patel, LCSWLicensed Clinical Social Worker
Runs our psychiatric service dog assessments and is the clinical reviewer for every word published on this site.
ESA letters across Colorado
We serve the whole state online. These are the ten largest cities, each with a page covering the local rental market and how accommodation requests actually work there.
Population figures on this page come from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025, reference date July 1, 2025.
Colorado ESA letter questions, answered plainly
Is an online ESA letter valid in Colorado?
Yes, provided a Colorado-licensed provider actually evaluated you. Colorado does not require an in-person visit, but it does require a bona fide provider-patient relationship under C.R.S. § 12-245-229. A telehealth consultation satisfies that. A questionnaire with no clinician involved does not.
Did the 2026 HUD change weaken my rights in Colorado?
Less than almost anywhere. HUD narrowed federal enforcement in May 2026, and Colorado responded by signing HB26-1045 in June, which put emotional support animals into the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act as assistance animals. That state protection took effect on August 12, 2026 and does not depend on federal policy.
Can my Colorado landlord charge pet rent or a pet deposit for an ESA?
No. An approved assistance animal is not a pet, so pet rent, pet deposits and breed fees do not apply. You remain responsible for actual damage the animal causes. If a landlord charges anyway, the Colorado Civil Rights Division handles housing discrimination complaints.
How fast will I get my letter?
The consultation runs 15 to 20 minutes and an approved letter is emailed within 15 minutes of the clinician signing. Most Colorado clients finish the whole process within an hour of their appointment starting.
What if the therapist does not approve me?
You are not charged. Your card is authorised at booking and captured only on approval. The clinician will explain what they found and, where it helps, point you toward other support.
Can I take my emotional support animal into shops or onto trails?
No. Colorado grants public access to task-trained service animals, not to emotional support animals. Misrepresenting a pet as a service animal carries escalating penalties under Colorado law. If you need public access, a task-trained psychiatric service dog is the right path.
Do you cover my part of Colorado?
The whole state. Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada, Westminster, Greeley and Pueblo have their own pages, and everything happens online, so the Western Slope and the mountain towns are served the same as the Front Range.
How many animals can one letter cover?
$129 covers up to two animals; $199 covers three or more, each named individually. For psychiatric service dogs it is $149 for up to two dogs and $229 for up to three. Your clinician does need to be able to explain the need for each animal.
Official sources for this page
Nothing legal on this page is asserted without a source behind it. Open them and read the originals rather than taking our summary on trust.
- Colorado General Assembly — HB26-1045, Disabilities Housing ProtectionsThe 2026 bill that defined assistance animals and emotional support animals in the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
- Colorado DORA — Emotional Support Animal recommendations require a bona fide relationshipThe state regulator's own notice to licensees on what must happen before an ESA letter is issued.
- Colorado Civil Rights DivisionThe agency that investigates housing discrimination complaints under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
- Colorado Legislative Council Staff — Fraudulent Use of Pets as Service Animals (PDF)Official legislative research on service animals, assistance animals and Colorado's misrepresentation penalties.
- ADA.gov — Service AnimalsThe federal definition of a service animal and the two questions a business may ask.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentThe federal agency behind the May 2026 assistance animal enforcement memorandum.
- Colorado DORA — Licence LookupVerify any Colorado-licensed professional, including the clinician who signs your letter.
Ready to start your evaluation?
Choose a slot that works for you. The consultation usually runs under 20 minutes, and an approved letter reaches your inbox 15 minutes after sign-off.