Arkansas ESA Letter, Done Under Act 268

Yes. Act 268 of 2023 (HB 1420), codified at Ark. Code §§ 20-14-1001 to 20-14-1004 and effective August 1, 2023, sets rules for any health care provider who documents a person's need for an emotional support dog, requires notices from sellers of ESA dogs and ESA products, and creates civil penalties.

Under § 20-14-1003 the provider must hold a valid, active license and be licensed in the jurisdiction where the documentation is provided; list the license's effective date, number, jurisdiction and type on the letter; have a client-provider relationship with you for at least 30 days; complete a clinical evaluation of your need at least once a year; and tell you that misrepresenting an animal as a service animal can bring a civil penalty.

Because Arkansas does not allow documentation for an emotional support dog until a client-provider relationship has existed for at least 30 days. The one exception is for people verified as homeless, for example through a Homeless Management Information System record or a homeless services provider.

Effectively, yes. The provider must review your need and renew the documentation every year, with a clinical evaluation at least annually. Plan to renew before your lease renewal.

Arkansas's documentation and notice rules are written for emotional support dogs. Requests for other animals are still reasonable-accommodation requests under fair housing law, and a landlord may ask for reliable documentation of your disability-related need.

No. § 20-14-1004(c) says the law does not restrict or change existing federal or state law on reasonable accommodation and equal access to housing. Your request is still decided under the Arkansas Fair Housing Act and the federal Fair Housing Act.

A landlord must consider your request as a reasonable accommodation and may refuse it if the animal is a direct threat or would cause substantial damage, or if the request isn't supported. Since HUD's May 22, 2026 policy change, untrained ESAs are reviewed case by case federally. Arkansas has no ESA-specific fee rule, so ask in writing whether pet fees and deposits will be waived.

Knowingly and fraudulently representing an emotional support dog as having service-animal rights, or failing to give the required seller notices, carries civil penalties of $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second and $2,500 for each later violation (§ 20-14-1004). The Attorney General or a prosecuting, county or city attorney can bring the action.

No. Arkansas's public-access protections (Ark. Code § 20-14-304) and the ADA cover service animals. Arkansas specifically requires sellers of ESA dogs to warn buyers that an emotional support dog is not entitled to service-animal rights.

Under 14 CFR Part 382, airlines at LIT and XNA may treat an ESA as a pet, so check fees and carrier rules before booking. A task-trained psychiatric service dog still flies as a service animal.

With the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission within one year of the incident, or with HUD within one year. A private Fair Housing Act lawsuit can be filed within two years.

No. The provider decides after evaluating you, and in Arkansas a letter for a dog can only be issued after the 30-day relationship requirement is met.