Since August 12, 2026, Colorado housing law has named emotional support animals as assistance animals. Begin with a free screening, have your answers reviewed by a clinician licensed in Colorado, and pay only when an ESA letter or a PSD letter is supported.
Free for Coloradans
Answer a short, private questionnaire about your symptoms, your animal and your housing. There is no charge to begin, and a clinician licensed in Colorado reads every answer.
Fill it in on a phone or laptop, wherever you live in the state.
A clinician licensed in Colorado weighs your answers and follows the state's rules on who may write a housing finding.
Pick a plan only after approval and receive the signed letter digitally. If the answer is no, you owe nothing.
Free to start, HIPAA secure, Colorado licenses only
HB26-1045 amended Colorado's housing discrimination law in 2026, while older statutes still set deposit limits, service animal rights and the fines for faking a need. These six sections carry most of the weight.
Colorado Revised Statutes
Allowing an assistance animal is presumed reasonable once the housing provider has had a chance for an interactive process, and a complete ban is presumed discriminatory. Asking for reasonable documentation is allowed unless the need is obvious.
No extra charge for a service animal in housing, employment, public accommodations or public programs, for trainers and animals in training too. Handlers pay for damage, and service animals are exempt from state and local licensing fees.
For pets, an extra deposit may not exceed $300 and must be refundable, and pet rent tops out at $35 a month or 1.5% of rent, whichever is greater. HB26-1045 itself is silent on fees for assistance animals.
Psychologists, counselors, social workers and other mental health licensees must have met you in person, as must nurses under C.R.S. 12-255-133; physicians under C.R.S. 12-240-144 may also use telemedicine.
The deposit comes back within one month after the lease ends, or within a longer period the lease sets of up to 60 days, with written reasons for anything kept. Willful wrongful withholding costs three times the amount.
Knowingly misrepresenting an assistance animal for housing is a civil infraction, and misrepresenting a service animal is a petty offense. Both apply only after a prior warning.
Clear pricing for emotional support animal and psychiatric service dog letters written by a licensed mental health professional. Your screening is free, and you pay only if a clinician supports a letter and you decide to continue.
Best option for most renters with one emotional support animal
For people who have more than one emotional support animal in the home
For people who may qualify for a task-trained psychiatric service dog
Save more with combined document bundles
ESA letter and certificate in one package
Complete PSD documentation: letter, certificate and ID card
Colorado rule (C.R.S. 24-34-803): public access rights belong to service animals, so an ESA letter is for housing, not for shops or restaurants.
Choose what you are dealing with. The sorter points to the Colorado rule that applies, sums up what it says and suggests a next step.
The kind of animal changes the answer for refusals, fees, public places and faked claims.
Choose a situation, then select Find the Rule.
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Colorado protects both kinds of animal at home. Away from home, training for tasks is what separates them.
Thirty guides, each with its own local detail: pet licenses and dog parks in the cities, deadlines, deposits and campus rules in the topics.
Denver licenses every dog and cat six months or older within 30 days of the pet arriving in the city. Since Measure 2J in 2020, a Breed-Restricted Permit has replaced the old pit bull ban, with no more than two per household. Denver renters can also bring a housing complaint to the Denver Anti-Discrimination Office within 180 days.
In the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County, dogs and cats over four months need a license through the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region: $12 for one year or $33 for three when spayed or neutered. Service dogs are still licensed, but the fee is waived for a dog that meets ADA service dog guidelines.
Moving to Wyoming or New Mexico, crossing into Utah, Kansas or Nebraska, or helping a landlord read a request? Start with these pages.
"At American Service Animals, providing compassionate support at scale is essential. With our licensed professionals, we assist individuals across multiple states, delivering timely evaluations and trusted guidance, reducing uncertainty and simplifying the certification process, so our team can focus on meaningful, high-quality care for every client."
We work exclusively with licensed mental health professionals authorized to practice in Colorado and most states
Generic online registries or certificates, without a clinical evaluation, do not replace a legitimate ESA letter from a nationally licensed provider.
Serving clients in Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada, Westminster, Pueblo, Boulder, and all cities across Colorado.
Start with the free screening, which a clinician licensed in Colorado reviews. Colorado requires mental health licensees and nurses to have met you in person before writing a housing finding, while physicians may also use telemedicine. You pay only if a letter is supported.
Yes. Since August 12, 2026, Colorado housing law counts emotional support animals as assistance animals, even though HUD, since May 2026, pursues claims only for individually trained animals.
HB26-1045 does not mention fees. For pets, C.R.S. 38-12-106 caps an extra deposit at $300 and pet rent at $35 a month or 1.5% of rent, whichever is greater; for service animals, C.R.S. 24-34-803 bars any extra charge.
With the Colorado Civil Rights Division within one year, at (303) 894-2997 or (800) 262-4845. For a Denver home, the Denver Anti-Discrimination Office takes complaints within 180 days.
After a prior warning, it is a civil infraction in housing under C.R.S. 18-13-107.3, or a petty offense for a service animal under C.R.S. 18-13-107.7. Fines run $25, then $50 to $200, then $100 to $500.
Often. Denver and Pueblo license dogs and cats, and Arvada licenses dogs every year, while Westminster repealed its dog license in 2023. An ESA letter does not replace local licensing.
General information for Colorado residents, current as of October 2026, and not legal advice. Screening does not guarantee a letter. In a crisis, call or text 988 for the 988 Colorado Mental Health Line; veterans press 1.
Share how your animal helps you day to day. A clinician licensed in Colorado will tell you whether an ESA letter, a PSD letter or neither is the right fit, and you pay nothing unless one is.