Southwest service animal policy: the DOT form on the day, and ESAs as pets

Service dogs on Southwest: what Southwest requires

Southwest's contract of carriage (58th revision, effective September 24, 2026) accepts "a dog, regardless of breed or type", and "a maximum of two (2) Trained Service Animals per Qualified Individual with a Disability". Its help center adds:

• The form: "a completed digital or printed U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation form", which "must be dated on or after the date you purchased your ticket."
• Control: the dog "must be harnessed, leashed, or otherwise tethered to you at all times at the airport and onboard the aircraft."
• Behavior: "A dog that poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, disrupts cabin service, or engages in disruptive behavior will be refused transportation." The contract's examples include running freely, repeated barking or growling at people, biting or jumping on people, and urinating or defecating in the cabin or gate area.
• Questions: staff "may also ask fact-finding questions ... including asking what work or task your dog has been trained to perform."

Southwest is also the clearest airline on paperwork that does not count: "A service animal vest, harness, ID card, or registration certificate will not be accepted in place of the form." That includes any registry, ours too. A small bonus: a separate bag of service dog equipment flies free and does not count toward your carry-on limit.

Boarding with a service dog on Southwest: showing the DOT form

Southwest is the only large US airline we checked that takes the form at the airport instead of asking for it in advance. You present it "at the ticket counter or gate on your day of travel", and "You are required to check in with a Southwest Customer Service Agent at the ticket or departure gate counter to present the required form." Leave time for that stop.

Southwest's page mentions only the air transportation form, not the relief form used on flights of 8 hours or more. Fill the form out after you buy the ticket, keep a printed or digital copy, and see how to fill out the DOT service animal form for each field.

How to add a service dog to a Southwest booking

Telling Southwest in advance is optional: "You can tell us in advance ... by managing your reservation online." It is worth doing if you want a particular seat. A bulkhead or specific seat has to be requested by phone "after booking but no later than 24 hours prior to your flight's original scheduled departure", using the contact options on Southwest's service dog page. Southwest now assigns seats on every flight, and which seats you can choose depends on your fare type.

Psychiatric service dogs on Southwest

Southwest's pages set no separate rule for psychiatric service dogs, and the DOT rule says psychiatric service dogs follow the same rules as any other service dog. So a psychiatric service dog shows the same DOT form at the counter or gate, with no mental health letter. The dog must be trained to do a task, not just provide comfort; see psychiatric service dogs.

Emotional support animals on Southwest: flying as a pet

"Service animals in training, emotional support animals, and therapy animals may qualify to travel as pets in accordance with our pet policy." So yes, Southwest charges for emotional support animals, the same as any pet:

• Fee: "U.S. Mainland $125 per Pet carrier; Between Hawaiian Islands $35 per Pet carrier", one way, paid at the ticket counter and refundable if you cancel.
• Which pets: small cats and dogs, at least 8 weeks old, domestic flights only. One carrier per ticketed customer, with up to two animals of the same species in it.
• Carrier: Southwest's own carrier (15 x 10 x 10 inches) or another up to 18 x 10.5 x 10 inches. It counts as your personal item or your carry-on.
• Seats: pets "May not be located in an exit row or the first row (bulkhead)".
• Routes: "Pets are not allowed to travel on flights to/from Hawaii" (between the islands is fine), and "Pets are not allowed on international flights".
• Hold: "No pets are transported in the cargo compartment." A dog too big for a carrier cannot fly Southwest as a pet.

Compare every airline in can emotional support animals fly?

Service dogs in training on Southwest

In general, dogs in training fly as pets. Southwest's contract makes one exception: "Southwest only accepts service animals in training from Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). CCI dogs are transported at no charge and are exempt from the requirements for pets", with a CCI ID or letter and a vaccination record on CCI or vet letterhead. A trained dog traveling with a trainer may fly "only if the animal is being delivered to the domicile of a Qualified Individual with a Disability". See service dogs in training.

International and Hawaii flights on Southwest

• Jamaica: "Trained service dogs are not accepted for travel to/from Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)."
• Coming back to the US: every dog must appear healthy, "Be at least six months old", be microchipped and have a CDC Dog Import Form receipt.
• Mexico: a New World Screwworm inspection certificate issued within 5 days, checked at check-in.
• Hawaii: Southwest verifies Hawaii Department of Agriculture documents at departure and connecting cities. "All service dogs must be declared by submitting the Plants and Animals Declaration Form online to the HDOA before travel". Honolulu is the only entry point without a Neighbor Island Inspection Permit, and a dog without the right documents "may be quarantined for up to 120 days in Honolulu at the owner's expense."

Hawaii's full list for service dogs is on our Hawaiian Airlines and Hawaii entry rules page.

Seating, size and large dogs on Southwest

"Your dog must be sitting at your feet or in your lap (if it is no larger than a child under the age of two)." If you use a carrier, it goes under the seat in front of you for taxi, takeoff and landing. The dog may not "block any exits or exit paths, extend into the aircraft aisle, occupy an aircraft seat, occupy a tray table, or encroach upon a neighboring seat", and you cannot sit in an emergency exit row.

For a large dog, Southwest says it "will be guided by the procedures set forth in 14 CFR § 382.77". That rule asks the airline to look for another seat in the same class where the dog fits, and otherwise offers the cargo hold at no charge or a later flight. Asking for a bulkhead seat at least 24 hours ahead is the practical step.

Contacting Southwest, and when we last checked

Southwest's help center article on trained service dogs has its contact options; the link is in our sources. We read the help center articles, fee page and contract of carriage on 2026-09-25 (the contract took effect the day before). Southwest's old assistance animals page now returns an error, so older links you find elsewhere may be dead. Compare JetBlue and Frontier.

Common questions

Sources

1. Southwest, I am traveling with a trained service dog
2. Southwest, Contract of Carriage (effective 2026-09-24)
3. Southwest, pet policy
4. Southwest, documentation for a trained service dog to Hawaii
5. 14 CFR 382.77, seating and large animals
6. DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form (PDF)

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