You can submit the United Airlines accessibility service request form online at united.com under the airline’s accessibility and assistance pages, or by calling the Accessibility Desk at 1-800-228-2744. The request covers wheelchair and mobility-aid transport, service animal travel, use of medical devices during flight, and accessible seating. Under the Air Carrier Access Act, airlines cannot discriminate against passengers with disabilities, and this request is how United coordinates the equipment, personnel, and seating you need for every segment of your trip.
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Gather everything first. The form times out, and calling back to the Accessibility Desk to finish a half-complete request wastes time you don’t need to spend.
- Booking details. Your six-character confirmation number (the Passenger Name Record), plus flight numbers and dates for each segment that needs accommodations.
- Mobility-aid specifications. Height, width, and weight of your wheelchair or scooter, and the battery type. United classifies batteries as wet-cell (spillable), dry- or gel-cell (non-spillable), or lithium-ion. The label on the battery tells you which; most wheelchairs use gel-cell.
- Service animal paperwork. The U.S. DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form, United’s Service Animal Training and Behavior Attestation Form, and, for flights of eight hours or more, United’s Service Animal Relief Attestation Form.
- Medical device details. The manufacturer and model number for any CPAP, BiPAP, portable oxygen concentrator (POC), ventilator, or respirator you plan to use in flight, so the airline can confirm it meets FAA acceptance criteria.
How to Submit the Request
Go to united.com and open the Travel menu to reach the accessibility and assistance pages, or navigate directly to the wheelchair assistance, service animals, or seating accommodations pages depending on what you need. Enter your last name and confirmation number to pull up the reservation. The interface then walks you through categories tied to the type of help you’re requesting. If you’d rather do this by phone, the Accessibility Desk handles the same requests at 1-800-228-2744.
Filling Out Each Type of Request
Mobility Assistance
The mobility section asks how much you can move on your own. Be specific. A passenger who can walk short distances but needs a wheelchair through the terminal requires different staging than one who cannot stand and needs an aisle chair to reach the seat. Vague answers mean the gate crew arrives with the wrong equipment and boarding stalls while it gets sorted out.
You will also enter dimensions and battery details for your personal wheelchair or scooter. If your itinerary includes other carriers and your device uses a lithium-ion battery, contact those airlines separately. Their requirements may differ from United’s.
Service Animals
For air travel, a service animal is a dog of any breed, individually trained to perform a task for a person with a physical, sensory, psychiatric, or intellectual disability. Emotional support animals, comfort animals, and animals other than dogs do not qualify.
You must complete the DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form before travel. It asks for the animal’s name, weight, and color, and it requires attestations that the dog is rabies-vaccinated, free of fleas and ticks, trained to perform a specific task, and trained to behave in public. You also acknowledge that if the dog acts aggressively or relieves itself inappropriately, United can treat it as a pet, which means a pet fee and carrier requirement or denial of transport.
Flights of eight hours or more also require the Service Animal Relief Attestation Form confirming the dog can either hold it or relieve itself in a sanitary way. On international flights and flights to Hawaii or Guam, these forms cannot be completed electronically. Print them and carry them.
Medical Devices
Enter the manufacturer and model of any CPAP, BiPAP, ventilator, respirator, or POC you plan to use so United can verify FAA acceptance. POCs must carry a label indicating they conform to FAA standards. The FAA no longer requires a physician’s statement for POC use, so a doctor’s note is generally not needed, but the device label must be right.
Plugging a device into aircraft power is a separate accommodation and falls under the 48-hour advance notice window described below.
Seating Accommodations
Accessible seating requests are free, and United asks that you submit them at least a week before departure. The seating the airline must provide at no charge includes:
- A movable aisle armrest, for passengers who use an aisle chair and cannot easily transfer over a fixed armrest. Not every row on every aircraft has one; after booking, check the aircraft type on united.com to see which rows qualify.
- Adjoining seats, if you travel with a personal care attendant, a reading assistant for a visual impairment, a sign language interpreter, or a safety assistant needed for emergency evacuation.
- A bulkhead or extra-legroom seat, for passengers with a fused or immobilized leg, or those traveling with a service animal better accommodated at a specific seat.
Advance Notice Deadlines
Federal law lets airlines require advance notice for certain accommodations. Missing a deadline does not strip you of your rights, but United may not be able to provide the specific service on your scheduled flight. Under 14 CFR 382.27:
- 72 hours: carrier-supplied in-flight medical oxygen on international flights.
- 48 hours: carrier-supplied medical oxygen on domestic flights; use of a ventilator, respirator, CPAP, or POC; hook-up of medical equipment to aircraft power; travel with a service animal if you booked more than 48 hours before departure; transport of an electric wheelchair on aircraft with fewer than 60 seats; hazardous materials packaging for assistive device batteries; transport of an incubator or stretcher; groups of ten or more passengers with disabilities traveling together; an on-board wheelchair on aircraft over 60 seats without an accessible lavatory; and accommodation for passengers with combined severe vision and hearing impairments.
Each of these also requires check-in at least one hour before the general public’s check-in time. Accommodations not on this list, such as standard wheelchair assistance through the terminal, need no advance notice, but submitting early still helps the airline prepare.
After You Submit
A confirmation screen appears when the form goes through, followed by an email receipt. Save that email for the whole trip. Your itinerary should soon show a Special Assistance notation visible to gate agents and flight attendants when they scan your boarding pass.
At the airport, check in with a customer service representative to confirm the request is active and find out where to go. This is where staff coordinates pre-staged equipment, whether an aisle chair, a battery box, or a lift. Keep the DOT service animal form and any other documentation in a folder you can reach quickly.
Preboarding is available to any passenger with a disability who tells the gate agent they need extra time or help to board, stow accessibility equipment, or get seated. You do not need to have filed a formal request in advance to receive it.
If the Accommodation Fails
Damaged or Lost Mobility Devices
If your wheelchair or scooter is damaged in transport, report it to airline staff before you leave the airport if possible. The standard checked-baggage liability limits do not apply to assistive devices; compensation for a lost, damaged, or destroyed wheelchair must be based on the original purchase price. United has committed to providing loaner wheelchairs while a damaged device is being repaired or replaced. File a written complaint with the airline within 45 days, and keep photos and any repair estimates.
Complaints Resolution Official
Every airline must have a Complaints Resolution Official (CRO) available at each airport during operating hours, in person or by phone, at no cost. If you believe your rights under the Air Carrier Access Act have been violated, ask for the CRO. The CRO has authority to resolve complaints on the airline’s behalf, though not to override a pilot’s safety-based decisions.
If the CRO finds a violation, they must give you a written statement summarizing what happened and what the airline will do. If they find no violation, you still get a written explanation. These statements should be provided at the airport when possible; otherwise, the airline must send them within 10 days.
Filing a DOT Complaint
If the airline’s response doesn’t resolve the issue, file a formal complaint with the Department of Transportation at airconsumer.dot.gov. The DOT forwards the complaint to the airline, which must respond to both you and the agency. Airlines must provide a written response to disability-related complaints within 30 days, specifically admitting or denying that a violation occurred, and if denied, informing you of your right to pursue DOT enforcement. The airline is not required to respond to complaints filed more than 45 days after the incident, so don’t wait.