Service dog
Trained to do a specific task for a person with a disability. On US flights only dogs qualify; in Europe the term is “assistance dog”.
Service dog guides · US & Europe
Travelling with a service dog
A service dog is a dog of any breed or type that is trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a disability: guiding someone who is blind, alerting a deaf handler to sounds, warning of a seizure or interrupting a panic attack.
Where are you travelling with your dog?
There is no worldwide service dog certificate. Rules differ from country to country and from one carrier to the next: each airline, train operator, ferry and cruise line decides what it asks for.
Your service dog guide
PDF guide · 11 pages
Service dogs in the US
Airlines ask for a form, and you sign it yourself. This guide walks you through the DOT forms, the airlines, trains, ferries and cruise lines, and the border rules that still apply.
One-time payment. The download link arrives by email right after payment.
Which carriers take your service dog, and on what terms
The guide compares 13 US airlines, Amtrak, Brightline and regional rail, three ferry operators and nine cruise lines, each checked on the carrier’s own pages.
For every one you see whether the dog travels with you on board, what it costs, whether a dog in training is accepted, and which forms to send and how many days ahead.
Also in the guide
- 01What counts as a service dogThe task rule, psychiatric service dogs, and why only dogs qualify on planes.
- 02The documents that actually existThe DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form, the relief attestation for 8+ hour flights, and ADI training certificates.
- 03What the DOT form gives you — and what it doesn’tCabin, trains, ferries, cruises and public places, versus advance notice, dogs in training and flights outside US law.
- 04How to get your dog readyOwner training, accredited programmes, and why certificates bought online don’t help with US airlines.
- 05The border rule nobody tells youCDC Dog Import Form, age, microchip and high-risk rabies countries — the same for service dogs as for pets.
Service dog, emotional support animal or pet?
Training is the difference that decides how your animal travels.
Emotional support animal
Helps by being there, without task training. Most airlines in the US and Europe carry it as a pet.
Pet
Travels under the carrier’s pet rules: cabin weight limits, carriers, fees and limited places per flight.
What carriers usually ask for
Each carrier sets its own list. These are the documents that actually exist, and none of them is an online “registration”.
US: the DOT forms
The Service Animal Air Transportation Form, and for flights of 8 hours or more the Relief Attestation Form. You fill them in and sign them yourself.
Europe: a recognised trainer
Certificates from ADI, ADEu or IGDF members, Assistance Dogs UK and some national schemes. Each carrier decides which issuers it trusts.
Everywhere: the border rules
Microchip, rabies vaccination and the destination’s import forms apply to service dogs exactly as to pets.
What people assume, and what the rules say
United States
Airlines ask for a form, and you sign it yourself. This guide walks you through the DOT forms, the airlines, trains, ferries and cruise lines, and the border rules that still apply.
The assumption
A service dog needs a card, a registration number or an official certificate.
What the rules say
It doesn’t. The ADA doesn’t require one, and there’s no federal registry, no government ID and no official certification. For flights, DOT rules let airlines ask for a form — and the person who fills it in is you.
- 13
- US airlines compared
- 9
- cruise lines checked
- 3
- ferry operators
- 11
- pages, PDF
Europe
Each airline, ferry and cruise line decides which issuers it trusts. This guide shows which certificates carriers accept, how to get one, and what they get you on board.
The assumption
A service dog has a card or certificate that opens every door in Europe.
What the rules say
It doesn’t. There’s no EU-wide document, no central registry and no single ID. EU law speaks of “recognised assistance dogs”, but no EU body certifies them — each carrier decides which issuers it trusts.
- 17
- European airlines compared
- 28
- ferry operators
- 11
- cruise lines checked
- 14
- pages, PDF
Frequently asked questions
Answers to help you prepare your pet's perfect itinerary
No. There is no federal registry in the US and no EU-wide certificate or central registry in Europe. Certificates and ID cards sold online are not recognised by the airlines.
Plan the rest of the trip
Emotional support animalsWhat an ESA letter gets you in the US and in Europe — and what it doesn’t.Open Which carriers go your wayPick where you start and see the airlines, trains and ferries that take pets on your route.Open Talk to a pet travel expertAn expert checks your route and documents, or arranges the whole move.Open
