Travelling with pets in taxis and VTCs in Spain: assistance dogs, companion animals, carriers and what to say when booking

What rights does an assistance dog have in a taxi or a VTC?

Assistance dogs are regulated by regional laws which, under different names, recognise the same thing: the user has the right to enter with their dog any place, establishment or transport open to the public, and nobody may prevent it or charge a supplement for the animal. Taxis and chauffeured hire vehicles are public-use transport for these purposes, and a driver's refusal to carry an assistance dog is a punishable breach of accessibility and equal opportunities rules. The 2023 animal protection and welfare act added a general rule to the same effect for the whole territory.

The assistance dog travels identified — with its official badge and the user's accreditation, which the driver may ask to see —, without a carrier, on the vehicle floor beside its user, and needs no muzzle unless a specific rule requires it. When booking it is worth saying so anyway, not because permission is needed, but so that the assigned vehicle has the right space: a large guide dog on the floor of a small car travels uncomfortably, and a people carrier solves it.

And other companion animals?

For a dog, a cat or any other companion animal that is not an assistance animal, there is no general right of access to taxis or VTCs. In taxis, each city council's by-laws regulate whether the driver may refuse and on what terms — many allow the taxi driver to admit animals or not, except assistance dogs, and some require admitting them in a carrier —, and taxis that accept pets usually show it. In a VTC, being a pre-booked service, admission is agreed when booking: the platform publishes its terms and assigns the service to a driver who accepts animals, with the right vehicle.

It is an example of what pre-booking brings: instead of hailing a taxi in the street and finding it does not take animals, you book a service in which the animal is declared from the start and the driver has agreed to carry it. The platform may charge a supplement for the animal or for cleaning, and must say so before confirming; what is not acceptable is a surcharge decided at the door. This platform's help page sets out the terms for travelling with animals.

How must the animal travel under traffic law?

The General Traffic Regulation requires the driver to keep freedom of movement and constant attention to driving, and to place transported objects and animals so they do not interfere with it; the Directorate-General for Traffic spells it out in its recommendations: animals travel restrained or confined, never loose in the cabin or on a passenger's lap, nor with their head out of the window. A loose animal that moves or jumps in a braking is a danger to itself, the passengers and the driver, and can be penalised as improper carriage.

The accepted ways are a rigid carrier or an approved bag on the floor or secured on the seat for small animals, and a travel harness clipped to the seat belt, or a divider grille in the boot of an estate car, for medium and large dogs. The owner provides the carrier or harness; the driver may require the animal to travel that way and refuse to set off if it does not, and the animal welfare act adds that the animal must travel in safety and welfare conditions suited to its species. Saying so when booking — "twenty-kilo dog with a harness" — is what allows a vehicle with floor or boot space to be assigned.

What may the driver require and what may they not?

They may require the animal to travel restrained or in a carrier, to be clean and dry, not to occupy a seat without protection and for its owner to be in charge of it at all times; they may refuse to carry an animal not declared when booking if the service did not include it, and may apply the cleaning supplement the terms publish if the car is left dirty. They may not refuse an identified assistance dog, charge for it, require a muzzle or carrier for it, or relegate its user to another vehicle.

A note on potentially dangerous dogs: national and regional rules require them to go muzzled and on a short lead in public places and transport, with their owner's licence and insurance in force; in a transfer with a driver that applies just the same, and the driver may ask to see the licence. And as for exotic or farm animals, a passenger vehicle is not the right transport and the platform may decline.

How do you book a transfer with an animal so it goes well?

By saying everything when booking: which animal, what size, whether it is an assistance animal, whether it travels in a carrier or with a harness, and how many people and suitcases go too, because a big dog and two suitcases do not fit in a saloon. With that information, the platform assigns the service to a driver who accepts animals and a vehicle with the right space, and the price with any supplement is seen before confirming. On the day, bringing the carrier or harness, a blanket or towel for the seat or boot, and on long trips having walked the animal before leaving avoids almost every problem.

For airport trips with an animal that is flying, add one detail: the airline-approved carrier for hold or cabin is large, and the vehicle must have room for it as well as the luggage; and on arrival, the animal comes out through the special baggage area and the pickup takes longer, which the included waiting should allow for. This platform's specific terms for animals are on its help page; this piece explains the common framework.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Ley 7/2023, de 28 de marzo, de protección de los derechos y el bienestar de los animales: transporte y animales de asistencia (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Real Decreto 1428/2003, Reglamento General de Circulación, artículo 18: libertad de movimientos del conductor y colocación de objetos y animales (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Dirección General de Tráfico · cómo viajar con mascotas en el coche (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2013, Ley General de derechos de las personas con discapacidad y de su inclusión social: accesibilidad y perros de asistencia (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Real Decreto 287/2002, régimen jurídico de la tenencia de animales potencialmente peligrosos (consulted on 27 October 2026)