Hotels must register their foreign guests. For a stay with friends, family or in a private rental, you or your host must register within 24 hours of moving in. This is accommodation registration, often called temporary residence registration in China.
Last policy check: September 7, 2026. By Ning (宁), Tocntravel. This guide covers mainland China. The national rule comes from Article 39 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law; the available registration channel depends on your address.
On this page
- Hotel stays: what happens at check-in
- Private stays: how to register
- Online registration in 2026
- Moving or returning to the same home
- If you missed the deadline
- Common questions
- Official sources and how this guide was checked
Hotel stays: the hotel handles registration
At check-in, provide your passport or other valid travel document and the information requested by reception. The hotel is responsible for recording and reporting your stay to the local public security authority. You do not normally need a separate police-station visit. See the NIA accommodation-registration rules.
A booking confirmation alone does not complete registration. For a guesthouse, serviced apartment or homestay, ask the operator whether it registers guests through the hotel system. If it does not, arrange the private-accommodation process below.
Do not rely on an old claim that only hotels with a special “foreign guest licence” can accept you. A 2024 interdepartmental circular says qualification requirements should not be used to restrict accommodation operators from receiving foreign guests. Before arrival, confirm your booking and how reception will register your travel document.
Private stays: how to register within 24 hours
This includes a friend’s or relative’s home, a private rental, and other accommodation outside the hotel system. The deadline starts when you move into the accommodation, not when you booked it. For example, moving in at 8 p.m. on Monday means registration is due within the following 24 hours.
1. Confirm who will register and where
You or your host can handle registration. An employer or university providing accommodation may also register on your behalf, as the NIA’s rules for accommodation providers explain. Agree on this before arrival and check that it is completed.
Ask your host which police station or authorized service window covers the exact address, or which official online platform accepts it. The closest station on a map may not handle that address. If you are unsure, use the NIA’s 12367 immigration service for guidance.
2. Prepare your documents and full address
Use this as a preparation checklist, then check the document list for your chosen local service or platform:
- Your valid passport or other accepted travel document, plus your current visa, entry record or residence document as applicable. Bring originals for an in-person application; online services specify which images to upload.
- The complete accommodation address, including district, street or community, building and room number. Ask your host for the address in Chinese.
- Your host’s contact details and any identity or accommodation documents the local service requests, such as a tenancy agreement or proof of ownership.
For example, Beijing’s official accommodation-registration guide lists a valid travel document and proof of residence for an offline application. Online, it also asks for a photo taken at the time of application, with no hat. These are Beijing’s requirements. Confirm your own local checklist early, especially if you arrive outside normal service hours.
3. Complete the local or online process
Use the official service for your accommodation address. Check the spelling of your name, passport number, address and dates before submitting. If the online process fails or you cannot access it, contact the responsible local police service promptly for an alternative; do not assume a failed submission extends the deadline.
4. Keep the registration record
Ask how to retrieve the completed registration record or form, and keep a copy accessible during your trip. If your host submits it, ask to see the completed record. A booking receipt or a message saying “I will register you” is not confirmation that registration has been completed.
Can you register online in 2026?
Yes, where an official service covers your address. The NIA pilot launched on March 20, 2026 in Hebei, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan. Its announcement describes a gradual nationwide rollout; it does not establish that the same service is already available everywhere. Local systems also operate elsewhere, including Shanghai.
Using the NIA service
Use the NIA’s official channel guide to reach its government service website, “NIA 12367” app, or WeChat/Alipay mini programs. Choose accommodation registration under “Foreigner Services” and follow the identity-verification prompts. Online registration has the same legal effect as registration on site; offline services remain available.
For a first registration through this NIA platform, arrange host assistance. Guests may register themselves when staying in their own home, or when registering again at an address previously registered through this platform. The host may be Chinese or foreign. See question 3 of the NIA’s 2026 policy explanation (Chinese).
Follow the platform’s current instructions and check the registration-record status after completion. Local platforms may use a different process.
Shanghai: a local online option
Shanghai’s current official registration guide links to the police accommodation self-registration system. The guide describes account registration, document-image upload and a review. After approval, the system generates a Temporary Residence Registration Form, usually with a download link sent by email and SMS.
Check for approval rather than treating the initial submission as a finished registration. If a review fails, correct missing or inaccurate information; if problems continue, seek help from the local registration service. Shanghai also lists police-station and community service windows.
Do you need to register again after moving?
A new private address needs registration within 24 hours of moving in. When you move to another hotel, that hotel handles its own check-in registration. A record for one address does not cover every stop on your trip.
For a return to the same home after travel, the NIA’s March 2026 guidance, question 4 (Chinese) describes two exceptions, after the initial registration has been completed:
- Returning to a home in mainland China owned by you or your spouse, after domestic or overseas travel.
- Returning to your habitual home after domestic or overseas travel while holding a residence or permanent residence document, within the validity of that same document. “Habitual” means a home where you live or plan to live long term; the guidance defines long term as over 180 days.
These conditions do not create a general exemption for repeat tourist visits to a friend’s home. Confirm with the local authority that the simplification applies to your circumstances.
What if you missed the 24-hour deadline?
Contact the public security service responsible for your accommodation immediately, explain the actual arrival time and complete the registration. Under Article 76 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law, failure to register as required leads to a warning and may also result in a fine of up to RMB 2,000. It is not an automatic fixed RMB 2,000 fine.
Promptly correcting the situation does not guarantee that a penalty will be waived. Do not give a false arrival date or assume that moving to a hotel resolves an earlier missed registration.
Temporary residence registration: common questions
Can I wait 72 hours if I stay in a rural area?
No. Article 39 sets a 24-hour deadline for accommodation outside hotels and does not give a rural 72-hour exception. Use the current national rule even if an older travel page says otherwise.
Does this apply to visa-free visitors and transit travelers?
Yes, if you enter mainland China and stay in accommodation outside the hotel system. Visa-free entry does not remove the accommodation-registration requirement. Your permitted stay and travel area still depend on your entry policy.
Do children need accommodation registration?
Yes. Article 39 does not exempt children. Include every child staying with you, and ask the host or local service which documents and parent or guardian assistance are required.
Does an arrival card replace accommodation registration?
No. Giving an address on your immigration arrival card is separate from registering the actual accommodation after you arrive. Make sure the hotel or the private-accommodation process records your stay.
Is the registration form a residence permit or a visa extension?
No. It records your accommodation. It does not grant a residence permit, extend your authorized stay or change the areas you may visit under a transit policy.
What if my host says they registered for me?
Ask to see the completed registration record or form and check that your name and accommodation address are correct. If they cannot confirm completion, contact the local registration service before the deadline.
For entry eligibility and permitted-stay rules, read our China visa-free entry guide. Check those conditions separately from accommodation registration.
Official sources and update notes
About the author and this update
Ning (宁) is Tocntravel’s founder and route planning lead, working with the team on practical China routes and travel pace. Meet Ning and the Tocntravel team. Tocntravel provides travel planning services; the registration guidance here is based on the official sources below.
How this guide was checked: the national deadline and penalty wording, the NIA’s 2026 online pilot and repeat-registration conditions, and Shanghai’s current local process were compared on September 7, 2026. Local examples are identified by location. The Chinese legal text is authoritative; English official guides help explain the procedure.
This update: corrected the old rural deadline, clarified who can register and where, and added current online options and source links. Found a possible error or a newer official notice? Contact Tocntravel about this guide. For your individual registration, ask the local public security authority or NIA 12367.
- Exit and Entry Administration Law: Articles 39 and 76 (Chinese)
- NIA: accommodation-registration rules (English; April 1, 2021)
- NIA: online-registration pilot announcement (March 20, 2026)
- NIA: online registration and repeat-registration policy Q&A (March 20, 2026; Chinese)
- NIA: official online service channels (March 20, 2026; Chinese)
- Shanghai: how to register accommodation (page updated July 20, 2026)
- Beijing: current accommodation-registration guide and documents
- Seven-department circular on accommodation for foreign guests (2024; Chinese)
