Private-Stay Registration guide
China Private-Stay Registration: 24-Hour Guide
Register a private home, apartment, or friend-and-family stay within 24 hours, using the correct local online or police-station route.
This guide summarizes national and example local procedures. The public-security authority responsible for the actual address controls the accepted channel, documents, and any late-registration handling.
Quick answer
Agree who files, register the non-hotel address within 24 hours, and keep the official completion record or seek local help immediately.
Use this practical sequence to prepare, act, and recover if the normal plan does not work:
- Before arrival, tell the host that a foreign guest will stay and agree whether the host or traveler will complete the registration.
- Prepare the passport information page, entry or stay details, exact residence address, host contact, and the property or lease evidence requested locally.
- Check whether the address is in the NIA national-platform pilot or has a separate city or provincial online system.
- Submit through the official channel within 24 hours after arriving at the private residence; do not rely on an accommodation platform to do it automatically unless the operator confirms completion.
Applies to foreign visitors staying with friends, relatives, hosts, or in a privately rented home, travelers moving from a hotel to a non-hotel residence, hosts who need to help a foreign guest complete accommodation registration.
Key facts
Before arrival, tell the host that a foreign guest will stay and agree whether the host or traveler will complete the registration.
Show the NIA or State Council guidance and ask the host to help file online or visit the local police station.
Check the local government or public-security channel and keep the in-person police-station option.
Ask the host to verify the official address and bring the passport plus housing documents to the local registration office.
Article 39 sets the national accommodation-registration duty.
Private homes and other non-hotel stays need a traveler or host registration workflow.
Step-by-step plan
- 01
Before arrival, tell the host that a foreign guest will stay and agree whether the host or traveler will complete the registration.
- 02
Prepare the passport information page, entry or stay details, exact residence address, host contact, and the property or lease evidence requested locally.
- 03
Check whether the address is in the NIA national-platform pilot or has a separate city or provincial online system.
- 04
Submit through the official channel within 24 hours after arriving at the private residence; do not rely on an accommodation platform to do it automatically unless the operator confirms completion.
- 05
Review the address and passport data before submission and save the registration record, approval page, or paper form.
- 06
Register again when required after moving to a different non-hotel address; local implementation and simplified re-registration rules may differ.
- 07
If the deadline has passed or the online application fails, contact the local police station, exit-entry office, or NIA 12367 for the correct remediation path.
When the normal plan fails
The host says registration is unnecessary for a short stay.
Show the NIA or State Council guidance and ask the host to help file online or visit the local police station.
The NIA online module is unavailable for the address.
Check the local government or public-security channel and keep the in-person police-station option.
The application is rejected for address evidence.
Ask the host to verify the official address and bring the passport plus housing documents to the local registration office.
The 24-hour period has already passed.
Do not falsify the arrival time. Contact the local authority promptly, explain the delay, and follow its remediation instructions.
Practical details
Source cross-check
This guide was checked against State Council: Policy interpretation of online accommodation registration; NIA: Pilot online accommodation registration announcement; Beijing Government: Guide for registering accommodation online. The sources agree on the 24-hour duty and hotel versus non-hotel responsibility. They also show why the guide distinguishes the seven-region NIA pilot from separate local online systems and retains an in-person fallback.
National platform versus local systems
The NIA national-platform pilot began in seven provincial-level regions in March 2026. A city outside that pilot can still operate its own official system, as Beijing does. Use the channel tied to the actual residence address; do not interpret an unavailable national button as removal of the registration duty.
Phrase cards
Ask host for help
English
Ask the host to help register the private stay.
中文
我住在您家里，需要在二十四小时内办理住宿登记。请您帮我准备地址和房屋材料。
Find local online route
English
Ask whether online registration is available for this address.
中文
您好，请问这个地址可以网上办理外国人住宿登记吗？官方入口在哪里？
Remediate registration
English
Explain a late or rejected registration at the police station.
中文
我的住宿登记已经逾期或被退回，我想如实补办。请告诉我还需要哪些材料。
FAQ
- Does my hotel register me?
- Hotels are responsible for submitting guest accommodation information during check-in.
- What if I stay with a friend for one night?
- The national rule requires non-hotel registration within 24 hours; it does not state a one-night exemption.
- Can the host file for me?
- Yes. Official guidance allows the foreigner or the accommodation provider to complete the registration.
Sources and review
- State Council: Policy interpretation of online accommodation registrationOfficial · checked Aug 12, 2026
- NIA: Pilot online accommodation registration announcementOfficial · checked Aug 12, 2026
- Beijing Government: Guide for registering accommodation onlineOfficial · checked Aug 12, 2026
Visible guide facts must be supported by the page sources and rechecked before the next update date.
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