# ESA Letter in Valley City, ND: A Definition That Never Arrives

> North Dakota defines a service animal as a trained dog — for purposes of one chapter, and that chapter's list of places does not include a dwelling.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/north-dakota-emotional-support-animal/valley-city/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-09-05
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

## Key facts

- Population: 6,580
- Households renting: 44.5%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Excluded by 47-16-07.1(2)
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): $20-$40/mo for pets
- Breed/weight limits common: sometimes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## A Barnes County college town where 44.5 percent of homes are rented

Valley City, North Dakota, counts 1,327 renting households against 2,984
occupied homes, **44.5 percent** on the 2020–2024 American Community Survey
five-year estimate, some seven points above the 37.1 percent statewide
share. The 2024 Census estimate gives the city 6,580 people, twelfth largest
in North Dakota, and the Barnes County offices sit on Fourth Street NW in
town.

Median gross rent is **$780**. The fifth-lowest of the state's twenty
largest cities and $174 below the $954 North Dakota median. Valley City
State University supplies part of that renting population, which is why the
local market turns over on an academic rhythm as well as an ordinary one.

None of which is why this page exists. Valley City exists on this site
because of a sentence a leasing office is unusually likely to send a tenant
here, and because of the four words at the front of that sentence that
almost nobody reads.

## The definition, and its first four words

**NDCC 25-13-01.1** is the only place in North Dakota law where an animal working for a person
with a disability gets a definition at all:

> "**For purposes of this chapter** 'service animal' means any **dog** trained to do work, perform
> tasks, or provide assistance for the benefit of an individual with a disability. The term
> includes a dog trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability, pull a
> wheelchair, lend balance support, retrieve dropped objects, or provide assistance in a medical
> crisis."

Two things about it are true at once, and pages that get this wrong usually
only notice one.

The description does not fit an emotional support animal. The animal must be
a **dog** and it must be **trained** to do something. An animal whose help
is its presence answers neither half. There is no honest way to argue an ESA
into that sentence, and it is not worth trying.

But the sentence never comes near a lease. It opens with a scope clause, **"For purposes of this
chapter"**, and everything that follows is fenced inside chapter 25-13.

## Where chapter 25-13 actually runs

The chapter's operative right is **NDCC 25-13-02**, and it names its own
territory:

> "An individual with a disability is entitled to be accompanied by a service animal in **places
> of public accommodations, common carriers, facilities of a health care provider, and all places
> to which the public is generally invited**, without being required to pay an extra charge for
> the animal; provided, that the individual is liable for any damage done to the premises or
> facility by the animal."

Shops. Buses. Clinics. Anywhere the public is invited in. **A dwelling is not on that list**, and
an apartment is not a place the public is generally invited.

That cuts both ways, so take the loss with the win. The phrase "without being required to pay an
extra charge" sits in that same sentence, and it is a public-places rule. It is not a rent rule and
it does not remove a housing fee. A Valley City tenant reaching for 25-13-02 to fight a pet deposit
is reaching for the wrong statute — the one that actually does that work is **NDCC 47-16-07.1(2)**,
which excludes "a service animal or companion animal required by a tenant with a disability as a
reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws" from the pet security deposit by name.

## The one point where the chapter touches a lease

Chapter 25-13 reaches into housing exactly once, and what it sends across is a penalty rather than
a right. **NDCC 25-13-02.2**:

> "An individual is guilty of an **infraction** if the individual, in an attempt to gain admission
> to a public place under this chapter **or obtain a reasonable housing accommodation under
> section 47-16-07.5**, knowingly makes a false claim that a pet is a service animal."

So the chapter that will not give a tenant a housing right will still reach
a tenant who lies about one. Note the conduct, though, knowingly claiming
that a **pet is a service animal**. A person who asks for an accommodation
for an assistance animal, on documentation from a professional who examined
them, is not doing the thing the section describes.

One more item from the same chapter is worth naming here because it circulates as if it were a
housing credential. **NDCC 25-13-02.1** lets a *trainer* bring a service animal in training into
public places on conditions that include a "photo identification card issued by a nationally
recognized service animal training program." That card belongs to a trainer, for public
accommodations, under a chapter that does not reach dwellings. It proves nothing about a tenancy
in Valley City and no landlord may treat it as the missing piece of a housing file.

## What governs the apartment instead

Two provisions, neither of them in chapter 25-13.

**NDCC 14-02.5-06(3)(b)** carries the duty:

> "A refusal to make a **reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or services** if
> the accommodation may be necessary to afford the individual **equal opportunity to use and enjoy
> a dwelling**."

No animal is named there. No training is required there. A no-pets clause in
a Valley City lease is a rule, and the accommodation is an exception to the
rule.

**NDCC 47-16-07.5** then says what a landlord may ask for, and it uses a phrase chapter 25-13 never
defines, "assistance animal" — five times without ever fixing its meaning. The same is true of
"companion animal" in 47-16-07.1(2). North Dakota's code uses three phrases for these animals and
defines only the one that is locked inside chapter 25-13. Nothing in North Dakota law, therefore,
defines an emotional support animal out of a rented home.

## When the wrong definition arrives in writing

It usually arrives politely: a paragraph quoting the trained-dog definition,
a conclusion that the animal does not qualify, and an invoice for a pet
deposit attached.

The reply is short, and it is three citations long. The definition is
scope-limited to chapter 25-13 by its own opening words. Chapter 25-13's
operative right runs to public places and not to dwellings. The rule that
governs this lease is 14-02.5-06(3)(b), and the documentation it can be
supported by is described in 47-16-07.5.

That reply only works if the last item exists.

## The document the housing chapter does ask for

**NDCC 47-16-07.5** asks for something narrower and more demanding than a definition. Documentation
from "a physician or medical professional," from someone who is not running an in-state operation
whose only business is issuing certificates, confirming both the disability and the relationship
between the disability and the need for this accommodation.

Begin with a clinician who already treats you. That is the cheapest and
strongest version of the file. Name the friction honestly before relying on
it, though. Barnes County has limited independent practice, most specialist
capacity in this part of North Dakota sits in Fargo or Jamestown, and
university counselling services are built for short-course support on a
semester calendar rather than for writing disability determinations; a
clinician who has met you twice may decline to make a finding, and declining
is the correct thing for them to do if they have not formed one.

Where that route is unavailable, a licensed evaluation is the same
assessment arranged deliberately, ending in a recorded professional judgment
or in a refusal to give one. Both endings happen. A provider whose
conclusion is settled in advance is selling the certificate, and the
certificate is precisely what 47-16-07.5 was written to look past.

Chapter 25-13's definition never arrives at your apartment. The document
that does has to be made by somebody.

## What Valley City landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- May not refuse a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices or services where the accommodation may be necessary to afford an individual with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling: NDCC 14-02.5-06(3)(b).
- May not discriminate because of disability in the terms, conditions or privileges of the rental, or in the services and facilities provided with it: NDCC 14-02.5-06(2).
- May not charge a pet security deposit for a service animal or companion animal required by a tenant with a disability as a reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws, NDCC 47-16-07.1(2) excludes that animal by name.
- May not demand or receive security, however denominated, in excess of one month's rent, except for a felony-conviction incentive or where a judgment has been entered for violating a previous rental agreement: NDCC 47-16-07.1(1).
- May not require that the documentation come from a North Dakota clinician. The statute excludes a provider who operates in this state solely to provide certification for service or assistance animals; it does not require an in-state one, NDCC 47-16-07.5.
- May not claim the thousand-dollar damage fee or the eviction right in NDCC 47-16-07.6(2) on suspicion alone. Both arise only if the tenant pleads guilty to or is convicted of the subsection 1 infraction.

**Can:**
- May require reliable supporting documentation where the dwelling is subject to a no-pets policy (but not where the disability or the disability-related need is readily apparent or already known), NDCC 47-16-07.5.
- Must itemize any part of a deposit kept and deliver or mail it within thirty days after termination of the lease and delivery of possession, and is liable for treble damages for money withheld without reasonable justification, NDCC 47-16-07.1(3)–(4).
- May still apply the deposit to damage actually caused by an animal or by the tenant's negligence, NDCC 47-16-07.1(3)(a). The carve-out removes the charge in advance, not the bill for real damage.
- May decline where the tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of others or would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others, NDCC 14-02.5-06(6).
- Is outside the state accommodation duty only in the narrow cases NDCC 14-02.5-09 describes: an owner-occupied dwelling of not more than four families, or a single-family house let by an owner of no more than three, without a broker, once in twenty-four months. The federal Fair Housing Act and chapter 47-16 are unaffected by that exemption.

## How to get an ESA letter in Valley City

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Valley City. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front. (About 5 minutes: free)
2. **Connect with a licensed professional**, You are matched with a provider licensed for North Dakota clients who reviews your situation in a telehealth evaluation. (Telehealth evaluation)
3. **Complete your evaluation**, The professional evaluates whether an emotional support animal alleviates symptoms of a condition recognized in the DSM-5. Honest evaluations, not everyone qualifies. (Most of Our Applicants Qualify)
4. **Receive your signed letter**, Your letter arrives on the professional's letterhead with their license number: the documentation North Dakota landlords may lawfully request. (Typically within days of approval)
5. **Send it to your landlord**, Submit the letter with a short reasonable-accommodation request. Pet fees, pet deposits, and breed limits no longer apply to your animal in Valley City. (Protection under FHA + state law)

## Conditions that can qualify for an ESA

No fixed government list exists. A licensed professional evaluates whether an animal alleviates symptoms of a DSM-5-recognized condition, commonly:

- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Major depressive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Bipolar disorder
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Phobias with housing impact
- Chronic stress affecting daily function

## Housing help in Valley City

- [City of Valley City](https://www.valleycity.us/) (city government)
- [Barnes County](https://www.barnescounty.us/) (county government)
- [Community Action Region VI (Jamestown)](https://www.capnd.org/programsandinitiatives/regions/jamestown/) (community action agency)
- [High Plains Fair Housing Center](https://www.highplainsfhc.org/) (fair housing nonprofit)
- [Protection & Advocacy Project](https://www.ndpanda.org/) (disability rights org)

## Frequently asked questions

### What do the words "for purposes of this chapter" do to North Dakota's service animal definition?

They fence it. NDCC 25-13-01.1 opens with that phrase before defining a service animal as a trained dog, so the definition governs chapter 25-13 and nothing else. Chapter 47-16, which contains the rental documentation and pet deposit provisions, and chapter 14-02.5, which contains the housing accommodation duty, each operate without it.

### Chapter 25-13 promises no extra charge. Why can't I use that against a pet deposit?

Because of where NDCC 25-13-02 puts the promise. The right runs to "places of public accommodations, common carriers, facilities of a health care provider, and all places to which the public is generally invited." A dwelling appears nowhere in that list, and an apartment is not a place the public is generally invited. The housing fee protection is in NDCC 47-16-07.1(2) instead.

### Is a trainer's photo identification card any use to a tenant in Valley City?

No. NDCC 25-13-02.1 lets a trainer accompanied by a service animal in training into public places on conditions that include a photo identification card issued by a nationally recognized service animal training program. That card belongs to a trainer, applies to public accommodations, and sits inside a chapter that does not reach dwellings. It proves nothing about a tenancy and a landlord cannot ask for it as a housing document.

### Could I be penalised under 25-13-02.2 just for asking my landlord for an accommodation?

The section reaches only a person who "knowingly makes a false claim that a pet is a service animal," whether to enter a public place or to obtain a housing accommodation under NDCC 47-16-07.5, and the grade is an infraction, North Dakota's lowest offence level. A tenant who requests an accommodation for an assistance animal, supported by documentation from a professional who assessed them, is not doing what that sentence describes.

### If chapter 25-13's definition doesn't govern my lease, what does?

NDCC 14-02.5-06(3)(b) supplies the duty: discrimination includes "a refusal to make a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or services if the accommodation may be necessary to afford the individual equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling." No animal is named there and no training is required. NDCC 47-16-07.5 then sets out what documentation a landlord may require in support of the request.

### Does North Dakota define "assistance animal" anywhere?

No. The phrase is used five times across NDCC 47-16-07.5 and 47-16-07.6 and is never defined; "companion animal" appears once, in 47-16-07.1(2), and is never defined either. The only defined term in the retrieved chapters is "service animal" in NDCC 25-13-01.1, and it is scope-limited to that chapter. None of the three should be presented as a fixed term with a settled meaning in housing.

### There is no fair housing office in Barnes County. Who handles a complaint here?

The North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights administers chapter 14-02.5 statewide from Bismarck under NDCC 14-02.5-13(1), and takes housing complaints from every county. High Plains Fair Housing Center in Grand Forks is the statewide fair housing nonprofit, and the Protection & Advocacy Project is North Dakota's designated protection and advocacy body for people with disabilities. Barnes County itself has no separate enforcement agency for this.

---

Get evaluated by a licensed provider: https://my.supportanimal.com/qualify?sa_source=blog&sa_medium=blog&sa_campaign=esa-guides&sa_content=markdown&ref=blog&sa_term=north-dakota-emotional-support-animal%2Fvalley-city