ATPDR · SOR/2019-244 · CANADA Get travel-ready
Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations

Your service dog has a legal right to travel with you.

ATPDR is the Government of Canada regulation that requires federally regulated carriers, air, rail, marine, and interprovincial bus, to accept a service dog that has been individually trained to help a person with a disability. This is a plain-language resource on what the law says, what it means for you, and how to be ready before you travel.

Understand the law → How to get ready
The Regulation, in plain terms
A carrier must accept a service dog when the person provides, on request, documentation confirming the dog was individually trained by an organization or person specializing in service dog training to perform tasks that assist with the person's disability.
Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (SOR/2019-244), section 25(1)
2020
Year ATPDR came into force
§25(1)
The service dog acceptance rule
4
Modes: air, rail, marine, bus
$0
Extra fee a carrier may charge
A handler walking with an individually trained service dog

Individually trained. Federally protected.

A service dog is a working partner, not a pet. Canadian law recognizes that partnership when you travel.

Photo: Andriyko Podilnyk / Unsplash
What ATPDR is

A rights framework, not a registry.

ATPDR does not certify dogs and there is no government service dog card. It sets a legal duty on carriers to accommodate people who travel with an individually trained service dog. Understanding that distinction is the first step to traveling with confidence.

01 / THE LAW

Federal accessibility law

Made under the Canada Transportation Act, ATPDR binds carriers in the national transportation network. It is the travel counterpart to the accessibility protections travelers rely on.

02 / THE DUTY

Carriers must accommodate

Under section 25(1), a carrier must accept your service dog in the passenger space at no additional charge. The duty sits with the carrier, not with you to prove a bureaucratic credential.

03 / THE PROOF

Documentation, done right

What a carrier may ask for is documentation that the dog was individually trained by a qualified trainer to do tasks for your disability. That single document is what this resource helps you obtain, correctly.

Your rights under section 25(1)

What the law guarantees when you travel.

  1. Acceptance in the passenger space

    Your individually trained service dog travels with you in the cabin or passenger area, not as cargo.

  2. No extra fee

    A carrier cannot charge a pet fee or surcharge for a service dog traveling under ATPDR.

  3. A single, reasonable request

    A carrier may request documentation of individual training from a qualified trainer. That is the request this resource prepares you to meet.

  4. Advance notice, not permission

    Carriers may ask for advance notice so they can plan space. Notice is a logistics step, not a gate on your right to travel.

Getting ready to travel

Two supports. One standard. Fully ATPDR ready.

Meeting section 25(1) takes two things working together: a clinical basis for the disability related need, and a service dog individually trained to tasks by a qualified body. These are exactly the two supports below.

Clinical Support

TheraPetic

The TheraPetic Healthcare Provider Group establishes the disability related need through licensed clinical documentation, the medical foundation your travel documentation rests on.

  • Licensed clinical assessment
  • Disability related need on record
  • Travel ready documentation
Training Support

Assistance Dog Institute

The Assistance Dog Institute individually trains the dog to perform tasks for your disability and issues the qualified trainer attestation that section 25(1) references.

  • Individual task training
  • Public access standard
  • Qualified trainer attestation
The Outcome

ATPDR Ready

Clinical need plus individual training equals the documentation a carrier may request under section 25(1). You board with confidence, knowing your paperwork matches the law.

  • Meets section 25(1)
  • Recognized by carriers
  • Ready before you fly
Training standards

What "individually trained" actually means.

The law does not accept a vest and a hope. A service dog is individually trained to do specific work that mitigates a disability, and it behaves safely in public. These are the standards the Assistance Dog Institute trains to.

Task training

The dog performs concrete, trained tasks tied to the handler's disability, the legal core of what makes a service dog a service dog.

Public access behavior

Calm, controlled, and unobtrusive in crowds, terminals, and cabins. The dog is safe and predictable around the traveling public.

Temperament screening

Not every dog is suited to the work. Candidates are evaluated for stability, focus, and resilience before and throughout training.

Documented and attestable

Training is recorded so a qualified trainer can attest to it, producing the exact evidence a carrier may request at the gate.

Resources and guides

Travel with clarity.

Plain-language guides on ATPDR, documentation, and traveling across Canada with an individually trained service dog.

Train platform
The Law

ATPDR Section 25(1), in plain language

What the regulation actually requires of Canadian carriers, and what it means for you at the gate.

Read guide →
Dog traveling
Documentation

What a Canadian carrier can ask you for

The one reasonable request under Section 25(1), and how to have it ready before you travel.

Read guide →
Service dog in vest
Training

What "individually trained" really means

Why a vest is not enough, and the standard the Assistance Dog Institute trains to.

Read guide →
View all resources
Start here

Travel like the law intended.

Establish the clinical need with TheraPetic, complete individual training with the Assistance Dog Institute, and carry documentation that meets ATPDR section 25(1). One standard, done once, ready for every trip.

Begin training → Clinical documentation