If you searched for Hawaiian's emotional support animal policy: your ESA can fly, but as a pet, for $100 each way ($35 within Hawaii), and it must also qualify under Hawaii's pet quarantine rules, which take at least four months to prepare for. A trained service dog flies in the cabin with the DOT form, under the policy Hawaiian now shares with Alaska Airlines. To enter Hawaii without quarantine, a service dog also needs a microchip, current rabies vaccination, a passing rabies blood test and a recent health certificate, with the state notified at least 24 hours ahead.
Hawaiian and Alaska now share one service animal policy
There is no separate Hawaiian Airlines animal policy any more. Hawaiian's legacy animal pages redirect to Alaska's content, Alaska's page is titled "Travel With Service Animals - Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines", and one contract of carriage covers "Alaska Airlines, Inc. and Hawaiian Airlines, Inc." The main rules:
- The DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form, one per dog, recommended 48 hours ahead through the Open Doors portal, or at check-in if you booked within 48 hours. The approval lasts until your dog's rabies vaccination expires.
- The relief attestation form on "any flight lasting eight (8) hours or more", which matters on long routes to Asia and the Pacific.
- Up to two service dogs, on the floor or in your lap "if no larger than an infant".
Every detail is on our Alaska Airlines service animal policy page, and the form itself is explained in our DOT form guide.
Hawaii's entry rules for service dogs
Hawaii is rabies-free, and the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity sets entry rules for every dog, whichever airline you fly. Service dogs can enter "without quarantine PROVIDED THEY FOLLOW THE STEPS OUTLINED BELOW". The key points from the state's guide and service dog page:
- Rabies: current vaccination, documented with the product name, lot or serial number and the lot's expiration date.
- Microchip: an electronic microchip; the lab will not run the blood test without its number.
- Blood test: before arrival, a passing OIE-FAVN rabies antibody test of 0.5 IU or more. A passing result is valid for 3 years, and the state says the test should be done after 12 months of age.
- Health certificate: issued no more than 30 days before arrival, confirming tick treatment within 14 days of arrival with a fipronil product or an equivalent long-acting tick product. A new one is needed for each entry.
- Tasks and handler: the trained tasks "should be disclosed", and the dog must be traveling with the person it serves.
- Notice: the state must receive your arrival information and where the dog will stay at least 24 hours ahead, and it strongly advises sending all documents "well ahead of your intended arrival date".
On arrival, the airline brings the dog to the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility, where staff check the documents and examine the dog for external parasites. "If all is in order, the dog will be released at that point." Without the right documents, Alaska and Southwest both warn a dog "may be quarantined for up to 120 days in Honolulu at the owner's expense." Since January 1, 2019, misrepresenting an animal as a service animal has also been a violation of Hawaii law with civil penalties.
Arriving in Honolulu or on a neighbor island
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu is "the only port of entry for all dogs and cats entering Hawai'i unless a valid Neighbor Island Inspection Permit has been issued", and that includes guide and service dogs. Alaska and Hawaiian ask for the original permit at check-in for a direct flight to a neighbor island.
Timing matters too. Alaska's service animal page says "Service dogs are not permitted on flights arriving in Honolulu before 8:30am or after 10pm" (its Hawaii pet page says 8:00am), and dogs held overnight and picked up after 10am cost "$59.00". If you fly another airline, Southwest, for example, requires every service dog to be declared on the state's Plants and Animals Declaration Form online before travel (see Southwest's policy).
Psychiatric service dogs flying to Hawaii
Both the airline and the state include them. Hawaii's definition of a service dog covers "a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability", and its list of tasks includes "helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behavior". The same page is equally clear that "the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks". See psychiatric service dogs.
Emotional support animals flying to Hawaii
An ESA flies as a pet, and it enters Hawaii as a pet. Alaska and Hawaiian are the only large US airlines we checked that carry cabin pets to Hawaii: $100 each way, $35 wholly within Hawaii, in a soft-sided carrier up to 17 x 11 x 9.5 inches. Delta, United and American carry no cabin pets to or from Hawaii, and Southwest carries pets only between the islands, for $35.
Hawaii's pet rules are stricter than its service dog rules. Its Five Day Or Less program lets a pet be released directly at the airport "if the pet owner follows strict procedures prior to the pet's arrival", and the state says it "takes at least four months to qualify an adult pet that has had at least one rabies vaccination", or at least 10 months for a newborn puppy. Animals from the British Isles, Australia, Guam and New Zealand that meet the state's conditions are the only exceptions. Start early, and read can emotional support animals fly?
Service dogs in training and Hawaii
Hawaii's service dog entry route does not cover them: "Animals in training do not qualify as service animals because under the ADA, the dog must already be trained before it can be taken into public places." Alaska and Hawaiian may carry a puppy raiser's dog free at their discretion on flights wholly within the US, but the state's entry rules are a separate hurdle, so contact the state's Animal Quarantine Station before booking. Hawaii is also the one state that Michigan State University's state law table marks as not covering service dogs in training. See service dogs in training.
International flights on Hawaiian
On flights to or from the US, the DOT rule applies, and on any flight of 8 hours or more you will need the relief form too. The country you land in sets its own animal health rules, and your dog must meet the CDC's rules to come back into the US. See international flights with a service dog.
Contacting Hawaiian and Hawaii's quarantine office, and when we last checked
Hawaiian's old service animal address now redirects and returned an error to our server, so this page is based on the combined Alaska and Hawaiian pages and contract, read live on 2026-09-25, and on the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity's guide and service dog page, also read on 2026-09-25. The state's page lists its Animal Quarantine Station contact details and mailing address; use the link in our sources.
Common questions
Do service dogs have to quarantine in Hawaii?
Not if they meet the state's requirements (microchip, rabies vaccination, a passing FAVN blood test, a health certificate within 30 days and 24 hours' notice). They are checked and released at the airport. Without the documents, a dog can be held for up to 120 days.
Does Hawaiian Airlines have its own service animal form?
No. It uses the DOT form, submitted the same way as on Alaska, through the Open Doors portal or at check-in.
Can I fly my emotional support dog to Hawaii?
Only as a pet, on an airline that carries cabin pets to Hawaii, and only after meeting Hawaii's pet quarantine program, which takes months to qualify for.
Can a service dog fly directly to Maui, Kauai or the Big Island?
Only with a valid Neighbor Island Inspection Permit from the state. Otherwise every dog enters through Honolulu.
How long is Hawaii's rabies blood test valid?
A passing OIE-FAVN result is valid for 3 years for a service dog, according to the state's service dog page.
Sources
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Guide and Service Dogs Entering Hawaii
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Animal Quarantine Branch
- Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, Travel With Service Animals
- Alaska Airlines, pets traveling to Hawaii
- Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, Contract of Carriage
- Michigan State University, table of state assistance animal laws
General information, not legal advice. Policies and laws change; follow the sources. Last checked September 25, 2026.