Airlines to require federal form for certified service dogs, cracking down on emotional support animals

Orlando, emotional support animal, ESA. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of Transportation is amending its rules on service animals on flights, cracking down on emotional support animals.

Starting Monday, passengers will be required to submit a standardized federal form to their airline about the health and training of their service animal.

The form will ask about the animal's training, certification, good behavior and health.

RELATED: American Airlines banning emotional-support animals on flights

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued the final rule last month and amends the Department’s Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation on the transport of service animals by air.

The new ruling allows airlines to recognize emotional support animals as pets rather than service animals, permitting airlines to charge passengers a fee for emotional support animals and limit the number of animals on flights.

A service animal is defined as a dog, regardless of breed, "that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability," according to a news release.

Those traveling with a service or emotional support animal should contact their airline directly for specific guidelines related to their travel plans.

RELATED: Delta joins list of airlines to ban emotional support animals on flights