What you can ask about an assistance animal

What you may ask

• Where the disability is not obvious or already known: reliable documentation that the person has a disability, and that the animal is needed because of it. That is two facts, and they are the only two you are entitled to.
• Confirmation that the person who signed the documentation actually issued it.
• What the animal is, and its name, so the accommodation records something specific.

What you may not ask

• The diagnosis, or the nature or severity of the condition. This is the most common mistake and the easiest to avoid.
• Medical records, treatment history, or access to a clinician beyond confirming authenticity.
• Certification, registration, training documentation or a licence for the animal. None of these exist for an emotional support animal, so asking for them is asking for something that cannot be produced.
• A demonstration of what the animal does.
• A second opinion from a clinician of your choosing.

Where the disability is obvious

You may not ask for documentation at all. A person using a wheelchair with a mobility dog does not have to prove the wheelchair. For an emotional support animal the disability is usually not obvious, which is why documentation is usually appropriate here and not elsewhere.

Asking in writing

Put the request for documentation in writing, name what you need, and give a realistic deadline. It creates a record that you engaged with the request, it tells the tenant exactly what to fix, and where a refusal later follows it shows the refusal rested on a defect rather than on the animal.