The U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form is a short attestation you sign about your dog's health, training and behavior. It is the only document a US airline may require for a service dog, plus a separate relief form for flights of 8 hours or more. Download it from the DOT, fill it out after you buy your ticket, and send it to the airline (never to the DOT), usually 48 hours before you fly. The current edition is revision 9.20.24.
What the DOT service animal form is
It is a two-page federal form, OMB Control Number 2105-0576, current revision dated 9.20.24, with an OMB expiration date of 09/30/2027. The DOT's form page, which says it was last updated on September 20, 2024, links only this edition, and OMB's records showed no newer version pending when we checked in September 2026.
Get it from the DOT itself: Service Animal Air Transportation Form (PDF, DOT). Most airlines also host a copy or a digital version. Older editions (a January 2024 form and the original 2020 form) are still online and some sites still link them, so check that the footer says 9.20.24. We do not host a copy, because the only safe version is the DOT's own.
The form is not a certificate. Nobody approves it but the airline, and it does not prove anything by itself. You are signing a statement, and that statement carries a federal false-statement warning, covered below.
Who needs it
Anyone flying with a trained service dog on an airline that asks for it, which is every US airline we checked. The form's own instructions say who it is not for:
"Animal species other than dogs, emotional support animals, comfort animals, companionship animals, and service animals in training are not service animals for purpose of this form. 14 CFR 382.3."DOT form instructions
So if your dog is an emotional support animal, do not use this form. Book it as a pet instead (see flying with an emotional support animal). A dog trained to do a task for a psychiatric disability does qualify; see psychiatric service dogs. A dog in training does not, whatever state law says on the ground (service dogs in training).
How to fill out the DOT service animal form, field by field
The form has five sections, A to E. Fill it out after you buy your ticket: the rule calls a form "current" only if it was completed on or after the date you purchased the ticket.
- Section A, the handler. Your name, phone and email, and a tick that "a service animal is required to accompany me, or the passenger with a disability traveling with me". A parent or companion can be the handler for a passenger with a disability.
- Section B, the dog. The dog's name and "Animal's Description (including weight and color)". There is no breed field. You attest that the dog "Does not have fleas or ticks or a disease that would endanger people or other animals" and "Is vaccinated for rabies", give the rabies expiration date, and name your veterinarian with a phone number. The vet does not sign ("signature not required").
- Section C, task training. You attest that the dog "has been individually trained to perform a task to assist with a disability" and give the "Name of Task Trainer or Training Organization" with a phone number. If you trained the dog yourself, the instructions say you may give your own name and contact details.
- Section D, public behavior. You attest that the dog "has been trained to behave in a public setting", name the behavior trainer (again, that can be you), and acknowledge that "A properly trained service animal does not act aggressively by biting, barking, jumping, lunging, or injuring people or animals, and does not urinate or defecate on the aircraft or in the gate area". You also state that the dog "has not behaved aggressively or caused serious injury", or explain if it has.
- Section E, acknowledgements. The dog will be "harnessed, leashed, or tethered at all times in the airport and on the aircraft"; damage can be charged to you the same way it would be to any passenger; and you are signing "an official document of the U.S. Department of Transportation". Sign and date it.
The instructions also say "The Handler is not required to provide a training certificate or other evidence that the animal has been trained to perform a task." An airline "must provide assistance in completing the form" to a passenger who cannot fill it out because of a disability.
The relief attestation form for flights of 8 hours or more
If any flight segment is scheduled for 8 hours or more, the airline may also ask for the Service Animal Relief Attestation form (PDF, DOT), also revision 9.20.24. It asks for your name and contact details, the dog's name, the flight date, airports and estimated length, and has you tick one or both of "will not need to relieve itself while on the aircraft" and "can relieve itself on the aircraft without creating a health/sanitation issue", then describe how (the form's example is "the use of a dog diaper").
The rule allows this form only "On a flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours or more". Lufthansa and Air France ask for it on every US flight regardless of length, per their own pages.
When to submit it: the 48-hour rule
- Booked more than 48 hours out: the airline may require the form up to 48 hours before departure.
- Booked within 48 hours: "the airline must allow the passenger to submit the completed form at the gate on the date of travel."
- Late anyway: the airline should still accommodate you "if you can do so by making reasonable efforts, without delaying the flight" (14 CFR 382.75(h)). Arrive early.
- Once per trip: "Airlines can require passengers ... to submit the form once each trip, but not each time the passenger travels." A round trip counts as one trip.
If an airline's upload page will not work, you are not stuck. Delta tells travelers who need help to bring printed copies to the airport, and Alaska tells them to carry a printed copy of the form and the approval email "in case of a technical outage".
Where each airline wants the form
From each airline's own pages as read on 2026-09-25 (United and American from Internet Archive captures of August and September 2026).
| Airline | How to send it | Reusable? |
|---|---|---|
| Delta | Online "Submit Completed Forms" with a Trained Service Animal request, 48 hours ahead | Not stated |
| United | Trip details after booking; international, Hawaii and Guam by calling United and carrying paper forms | Saved in MileagePlus |
| American | Online to the Special Assistance Desk 48 hours ahead (recommended), or at the airport | SVAN ID until the vaccination expires |
| Southwest | Shown to an agent at the ticket counter or gate on the day | Shown each trip |
| Alaska and Hawaiian | Open Doors portal 48 hours ahead (recommended), or at check-in or the gate | Until the rabies vaccination expires |
| JetBlue | Open Doors portal or by mail, 48 hours ahead | Not stated |
| Frontier | Upload or mail no later than 48 hours ahead; in person if booked later | Not stated |
| Allegiant | Open Doors portal (or email or mail), 48 hours ahead | Not stated |
Each airline's page has the details, including the pages for JetBlue and Alaska.
The federal crime warning on the form
The top of the form says:
"Warning: It is a Federal crime to make materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements, entries, or representations knowingly and willfully on this form to secure disability accommodations provided under regulations of the United States Department of Transportation (18 U.S.C. § 1001)."DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form, 9.20.24
That is why the form is not a workaround for an emotional support animal or an untrained pet. Signing that a dog is task-trained when it is not is a false statement to secure an accommodation, on a federal form, with your name on it.
What airlines cannot ask for beyond the form
The rule is short: "You are not permitted to require documentation from passengers with disabilities traveling with service animals beyond the completion of the forms" (14 CFR 382.75(c)). The one exception is another government's animal health rules, such as Hawaii's entry requirements or a foreign country's import papers. So on a US flight an airline may not require:
- a letter from a doctor or mental health professional (the DOT dropped that for psychiatric service dogs in 2021);
- a training certificate, a registry number or a service dog ID card;
- a vet's signature on the form.
Staff may still ask what task the dog is trained to perform, and they may watch its behavior. A voluntary record like ours is useful for your own emergency contact and vet details, but it is not a substitute for the form, and no airline treats any registry as one.
Common questions
Where do I download the DOT service animal form PDF?
From the DOT's site: the file name ends "FINAL 9.20.24". Your airline's page usually links the same file or a digital version.
Do I send the DOT form to the Department of Transportation?
No. The instructions say "Do not submit the form to DOT." It goes to your airline.
Does my vet have to sign the DOT form?
No. The form asks for your veterinarian's name and phone number, with "signature not required".
Can I fill out the DOT form if I trained my dog myself?
Yes. The instructions say a handler who trained the dog may give their own name and contact information as the trainer.
Do I need the relief form?
Only if a flight segment is scheduled for 8 hours or more, although a few foreign airlines ask for it on every US flight.
Can I use the DOT form for an emotional support animal?
No. The form's instructions exclude emotional support animals, and signing a false statement on it is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 1001. Book an ESA as a pet.
Sources
- DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form, revision 9.20.24 (PDF)
- DOT Service Animal Relief Attestation Form, revision 9.20.24 (PDF)
- DOT, Service Animal Air Transportation Form page
- 14 CFR 382.75, documentation airlines may require
- 14 CFR 382.3, definition of service animal
- DOT final rule, 85 FR 79742 (2020-12-10)
General information, not legal advice. Policies and laws change; follow the sources. Last checked September 25, 2026.