American Airlines service animal policy: SVAN ID, ESAs and the DOT form

Service dogs on American: what American requires

• Definition: a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. American's definition names psychiatric disabilities and "Post-traumatic stress disorder".
• Number: "An individual is limited to 2 service animals".
• Age: "Animals under 4 months of age may not travel as a service animal".
• Control: "Animal must be harnessed, leashed or tethered at all times", and "Animal must be clean and well-behaved".
• Behavior: disruptive behavior "that can't be successfully corrected or controlled", such as growling, biting or attempting to bite, or jumping on or lunging at people, means "the animal will be considered a pet. All requirements and applicable fees will apply."
• Questions: "Our team members are trained to ask certain questions to determine if your animal is a service animal acceptable for travel."

No breed restriction applies to service dogs. The breed list on American's pet page (pit bulls, bulldogs, mastiffs and others) covers checked pets only. No registry or ID card replaces the form on American or anywhere else, ours included.

How to add a service dog to an American Airlines booking

1. Book your flight.
2. Fill out the DOT form, plus the relief form if there is "a flight over 8 hours in your itinerary".
3. Submit it through American's online contact forms to the Special Assistance Desk. American says "we recommend that you electronically submit the ... Form ... to the Special Assistance Desk at least 48 hours before your flight. We'll notify you as soon as your document is approved."
4. Once approved, "we'll send you an email with your Service Animal ID (SVAN ID). You can add the SVAN ID when booking future travel with this animal and be approved without resubmitting forms."

The SVAN ID "will expire when the animal's vaccination expires", so renew the form after your dog's next rabies shot. Flights operated by partner airlines need that partner's own process.

Submitting the DOT form to American

American's service animal page also allows the airport route: "You can also present the completed form at the airport on the day of travel. Be sure to arrive early." But its Conditions of Carriage (updated August 13, 2026) are stricter: "We require at least 48 hours advance notice if you need to travel with a service animal". The two pages disagree, so send the form online at least 48 hours ahead whenever you can, and "Keep the form with you during your trip."

American hosts the DOT forms on its own site, and they are the same federal forms described in our DOT form guide.

Psychiatric service dogs on American

American's definition lists psychiatric disabilities and PTSD by name, and the DOT rule puts psychiatric service dogs under the same rules as other service dogs. So a trained psychiatric service dog flies with the DOT form and the SVAN ID like any other, with no mental health letter. The dog must be trained to perform a task; a dog whose presence alone is calming is an emotional support animal. See psychiatric service dogs.

Emotional support animals on American: flying as a pet

American: "service animals in training, emotional support animals, and comfort animals may travel as pets, not as service animals. All requirements and applicable fees will apply." For an ESA:

• Fee: "$150 per kennel" within and between the US and Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. "All pet fees are nonrefundable and apply per kennel, each way", with a further fee per segment on a stopover or connection of 4 hours or more.
• Booking: add the pet under "Additional Services", then pay at the ticket counter.
• Carrier: soft-sided up to 18 x 11 x 11 inches on all flights; hard-sided 19 x 13 x 9 inches on mainline and 16 x 12 x 8 on American Eagle; pet plus carrier up to 20 pounds where the aircraft table says so. The carrier replaces your carry-on bag.
• Limits: pets at least 8 weeks old; no bulkhead or exit rows; not in premium cabins on the 777, 787 or A321XLR.
• Hawaii: no carry-on pets to or from Hawaii.
• Too big: checked pets only for active-duty military and State Department personnel on orders; otherwise American's PetEmbark cargo service.

How American compares: can emotional support animals fly?

Service dogs in training on American

They travel "as pets, not as service animals", with the pet fee and carrier rules. American has no trainer exception on the pages we read. For access rules on the ground, which some states extend to trainers, see service dogs in training.

International and Hawaii flights on American

American's page is the most detailed of the big US airlines on destination rules:

• Hawaii: "Trained service dogs can travel in the cabin to / from all Hawaiian islands", with documents for Hawaii's quarantine rules checked at check-in (see Hawaii's rules for service dogs).
• London Heathrow: approval from the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre "at least 7 days before your flight". "The HARC charges a fee (£410) for animals that do not meet the criteria for assistance animals."
• Edinburgh: contact Scotland's animal travel agency at least 48 hours ahead and carry "an ID card or valid certificate from the organization that trained or supplied the animal." That is Edinburgh's rule, not American's.
• Ireland: advance notice and a veterinary compliance check on arrival. India: a No Objection Certificate at least 7 days ahead. Japan: contact Animal Quarantine Service "no less than 40 days before your arrival".
• Auckland and Hong Kong: dogs only, no emotional support animals of any kind; Hong Kong needs 10 days' notice.
• Back to the US: "Only service dogs with a completed CDC Dog Import Form and those meeting CDC U.S. vaccination and microchip requirements are allowed to fly on American."

More in international flights with a service dog.

Seating, size and large service dogs on American

"Animal must be able to fit at your feet, under your seat or in your lap (lap animals must be smaller than a 2-year old child)." It may not sit in an exit row, block the aisle, occupy a seat or eat from a tray table, and "Final approval for travel will not happen until you arrive at the airport and it is determined that the animal will safely fit at your feet."

For a large dog, American lists three options: "Rebook on a flight with more open seats", "Buy a ticket for the animal", or "Transport the animal as a checked pet." In practice the third option runs into American's own rule limiting checked pets to military and State Department travelers, so plan on the first two.

Contacting American, and when we last checked

American takes service animal forms through the contact forms on aa.com, linked from its service animal page in our sources. aa.com returned an error to our server on 2026-09-25, so we used Internet Archive captures: the service animal page as of 2026-06-10 and 2026-08-22 (American moved it to a new address in August 2026), the pet page as of 2026-09-08 and the Conditions of Carriage as of 2026-09-20. Compare Delta and United.

Common questions

Sources

1. American Airlines, service animals (Internet Archive captures 2026-06-10 and 2026-08-22)
2. American Airlines, pets (Internet Archive capture 2026-09-08)
3. American Airlines, Conditions of Carriage (updated 2026-08-13)
4. DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form (PDF)
5. 14 CFR 382.75, documentation airlines may require
6. CDC, dog importation FAQ

General information, not legal advice. Policies and laws change; follow the sources. Last checked September 25, 2026.