A letter with no licence number
Answers
The most common reason a letter fails, and one of the easiest to repair.
Why it matters
A housing provider is entitled to reliable documentation. The licence number is the only element on the page that can actually be checked: it lets them confirm, in about a minute on a state board website, that the clinician exists, is current, and is licensed in your state. Without it the letter is an assertion.
What should be on it
- The clinician name and credentials.
- Licence type, licence number, issuing state and expiration date.
- A statement that you have a disability within the meaning of the Fair Housing Act.
- A statement that the animal alleviates a symptom or effect of it.
- Date of issue and a signature.
Getting it fixed
Ask the clinician who wrote it to reissue with the licence details. A genuine clinician will do this without difficulty, because there is nothing sensitive about a licence number, which is public information on the board register.
If they will not, or cannot be reached, that tells you what you bought. A document nobody will put a licence number to is not documentation a housing provider has to accept, and in some states the practitioner requirements make it non-compliant on its face.
Common questions
- Can a landlord reject it just for that?
- They can treat it as unreliable, which is a lawful ground. They should tell you specifically so you can fix it.