First-night obligation

The 24-hour registration rule when you are not in a hotel

In short

Do I have to register with the police if I am not in a hotel?

A hotel registers you at the front desk. Anywhere else — a rented flat, a homestay, a friend's spare room — you or your host must register the stay with the local public security organ within 24 hours of arrival. Seven provincial-level regions now take that filing online. Everywhere else it is still a counter visit. Missing it draws a warning and a fine of up to RMB 2,000.

Check entry rules by passport

Applies to

Visitors whose first night in China is an apartment rental, a homestay, a friend's or relative's home, or a residence they own, in any city.

Check before you rely on it

The online filing route is a pilot that is stated to be expanding. Confirm the current region list and the filing channel on the immigration administration platform before you rely on doing it from your phone.

Review date: 2026-07-25

Booking an apartment instead of a hotel moves a legal step from the front desk onto you. It is a short errand, and the clock starts when you walk in the door.

Back to entry Add it to the checklist

Who files

Where you sleep tonight decides who registers you

Four kinds of first night, four different answers. Only the first one is handled without you.

Where you are staying	Who files	Deadline	How it works
Hotel that takes your passport at the desk	The hotel	Handled at check-in	The hotel registers the stay and sends the information to the local public security organ. You do nothing. National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25
Rented apartment, homestay or short-let flat	You or the person putting you up	Within 24 hours of arriving	Register with the public security organ for the place you are staying. Online where the service is live, otherwise in person. National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25
A friend's or a relative's home	You or your host	Within 24 hours of arriving	Same duty as a rented flat. The host should file the first one, because the address details have to be exact. National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25
A home you own in China	You, on your own	Within 24 hours of arriving	You can file without a host when the residence is your own, or when you are re-registering at an address already filed through the platform. National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25
Returning to your own home in China after a trip	Nobody	No new filing	Coming back to your own residence does not need a fresh registration. Nor does a residence-permit or permanent-residence holder returning to their usual home while the same permit is valid. National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25

The published facts

Every number on this page, with the page it came from

Each line links the official source and the day we read it. Sources read 2026-07-25.

A hotel registers you; nowhere else does

Hotels register a foreign guest's accommodation and pass the information to the local public security organ. That is why a hotel stay needs nothing from you beyond the passport at the desk.

Article 39, first paragraph · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25)

24 hours, counted from arrival

For a stay anywhere other than a hotel, the foreigner or the person accommodating them must complete registration with the public security organ within 24 hours of the foreigner's arrival.

Article 39, second paragraph · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25)

Missing it: a warning and a fine of up to RMB 2,000

Failing to register under the second paragraph of Article 39 draws a warning, and a fine of not more than RMB 2,000 may also be imposed. The duty and the penalty reach the host as well as the traveller.

Article 76 · Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (National Immigration Administration, read 2026-07-25)

Online filing counts the same as a counter visit

An online accommodation registration service now covers non-hotel stays, and the immigration administration states that filing online has the same legal effect as registering on site.

Policy Interpretation of the Online Accommodation Registration Service for Foreigners Residing or Staying in Domiciles Other Than Hotels (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2026-03-20, read 2026-07-25)

Where the online route works

The service started on 20 March 2026 as a pilot in seven provincial-level regions: Hebei, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan. Nationwide expansion is stated as the next step, so treat the list as a lookup and not a promise.

The four filing channels

The immigration administration's government service platform website, the NIA 12367 app, the NIA 12367 WeChat mini program and the Alipay mini program. Register an account and pass identity verification, then open Accommodation Registration under Foreigner Service.

Your host files the first one

Either party may file, but the first registration should be completed with the host's help because hosts hold accurate residence details. The host can be a Chinese citizen or a foreigner.

When you can file alone

You can file without a host when you are re-registering at an address already registered through the platform, or when you live in a residence you own.

Keep the record

A Registration Record Inquiry function on the platform returns the completed registration record. Save it the way you save a boarding pass.

If you get stuck

The platform publishes its own guide to online accommodation registration, the NIA 12367 hotline takes questions, and exit-entry service windows or local police stations handle it in person.

The line that answers in English

Dial +86-12367. Choosing English gives a direct voice response, staff support runs around the clock, and the same service sits inside the NIA 12367 app and its WeChat and Alipay mini programs.

China Immigration Service Hotline 12367 Now Supports French (National Immigration Administration, page dated 2025-12-11, read 2026-07-25)

Carry the passport itself

UK government advice tells travellers to carry the passport at all times. Police run random checks, printed copies are not accepted, and failing to produce identification can bring a fine or detention.

Foreign travel advice: China — Safety and security (UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, read 2026-07-25)

Do it now

Can I file it from my phone, or do I need a police station?

Online filing started on 2026-03-20 and has the same legal effect as going in person. It is live in seven provincial-level regions.

Hebei
Liaoning
Zhejiang
Hubei
Guangxi
Chongqing
Sichuan

Outside those regions the filing is a counter visit to the local police station or an exit-entry service window. Nationwide expansion is stated as the next step, with no date attached, so check the platform before you count on the online route.

National Immigration Administration policy interpretation, read 2026-07-25

Filing sequence

Six steps, start to saved record

1.Work out whether tonight's bed is a hotel. If the desk takes your passport and registers you, the job is done.
2.If it is not a hotel, start the 24-hour clock from the moment you arrive at the address.
3.Ask your host to file. Hosts hold the exact address details, and the first filing is meant to be done with their help.
4.Check whether the region takes the filing online. Seven provincial-level regions do; everywhere else it is a counter visit.
5.File online through the immigration administration's service platform, the NIA 12367 app, or its WeChat or Alipay mini programs, under Accommodation Registration in the Foreigner Service module.
6.Open Registration Record Inquiry and save the completed record with your passport photos.

In short

Registration questions travellers actually ask

Short answers for the hotel case, the friend's-flat case, the phone case, and the day-three case.

I am in a hotel for the whole trip. Do I have to do anything?

No. The hotel registers your stay and reports it to the local public security organ. The 24-hour duty applies to stays in places other than hotels.

I am staying two nights at a friend's flat. Does that count?

Yes. A stay in a home rather than a hotel triggers registration with the public security organ within 24 hours of arrival, however short the stay. Your host can file it.

Can I do this from my phone?

In Hebei, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan, yes. File through the immigration administration's service platform, the NIA 12367 app, or its WeChat or Alipay mini programs. The pilot started on 20 March 2026. Outside those regions, register in person.

What happens if I miss the 24 hours?

Article 76 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law provides for a warning, and a fine of not more than RMB 2,000 may also be imposed. It applies to the host as well as to the traveller.

I only found out on day three. What now?

Go to the local police station or an exit-entry service window, or call +86-12367 first. Nothing published states what happens on a late filing, so treat it as an errand to finish today rather than a question to keep researching.

Who can I ask in English?

The China Immigration Service Hotline on +86-12367. English is answered directly by voice response and the line runs 24 hours. The same service is in the NIA 12367 app and its WeChat and Alipay mini programs.

Not published

What no official page answers

These gaps are left open on purpose. Filling them from general knowledge would be guessing about a legal duty.

What a host has to bring to a counter filing. No opened source lists the documents.
How long a counter filing takes, or whether police stations keep set hours for it.
How the penalty is applied in practice. The law publishes the ceiling; nothing published describes enforcement.
Whether the seven-region pilot has grown since 20 March 2026. Expansion is stated as a next step, with no date.

When the hotel will not check you in

The other half of the first-night problem: a property that refuses a foreign guest, and what to do at the desk.

Open recovery guide

Entry rules by passport

Visa-free windows, stay length, and the onward-ticket question before the registration clock ever starts.

Open page

First-day checklist

Put registration next to data, payment, and the transfer plan so it does not get discovered on day three.