Housing and arrival
How to Complete Accommodation Registration in China
Separate the national responsibility from the current local submission route.
Start with this guideACCOMMODATION REGISTRATION
START HERE
Start with the hotel or non-hotel path
Start by identifying whether you are staying in a hotel or at a non-hotel address. The national responsibility differs; the submission channel and requested materials depend on the place where you are staying.
01 · RESPONSIBILITY
The national rule
Hotels register foreign guests and submit the information to local public security. At a rented home, a friend's home or another non-hotel address, the foreigner or the person accommodating them must complete registration with local public security within 24 hours after arrival.
Accommodation registration records where a foreign national is staying. It is handled through the public-security system. It is not the same as a visa, stay permit, residence permit, work permit or lease registration. Those documents and processes can interact, but accommodation registration does not replace them or change what your immigration status allows you to do.
The practical question is narrower: Where am I staying now, and who must make sure that address is registered through the correct local route?
The person providing the accommodation may complete the non-hotel registration for the foreign guest. Agree who will act and keep the result rather than relying on a verbal assurance.
Failure to complete the required non-hotel registration may lead to a warning and a fine of up to RMB 2,000.
02 · ACCOMMODATION PATH
identify the accommodation path
Hotel
Provide the valid identity document requested at check-in. Confirm that the hotel recorded the passport used for the stay. A booking confirmation is not necessarily evidence of the public-security registration, so ask what record the hotel can provide if you need proof.
Private or other non-hotel address
Agree whether you or the host will submit the registration. Use the official local route for the actual address and accommodation type. A landlord, employer or provider may assist, but assistance is not proof that the registration was completed.
For serviced accommodation, ask the property how it is classified and how it handles foreign-guest registration; do not infer the path from a marketing name.
03 · LOCAL ROUTE
check the current local route
Do not build a nationwide document list from one city's portal. Check the current official instructions for the address, enter identity and address details carefully and provide only what the official route requests.
Use the official channel first. Do not send passport scans to an unrelated intermediary merely to discover which public-security route applies.
Enter the address carefully. The name of the residential compound, building, room and local address format can matter. Ask the landlord or host for the official address if the English booking description is vague.
If an employer, school or provider submits information for you, ask for the completion evidence rather than treating “we handled it” as the end of the task.
04 · EVIDENCE
submit and keep the result
Check whether the result is complete, pending or rejected. Save the official confirmation, receipt or record, plus the covered address and submission date. If another person submits, ask them for the completion result.
05 · MOVING
check again after moving
After moving, check with the local public-security authority whether a new registration is required and follow the current route for the new address. Do not rely on the old record or assume a grace period.
Other situations also deserve a fresh check: moving from a hotel to a private apartment; moving between private addresses; returning to a residence after travel where the local guidance requires a new action; changing accommodation operator or host; or discovering that the original record contains an error.
Keep the accommodation record separate from the lease or booking record. The lease proves a contractual relationship; the public-security record proves the accommodation-registration action.
This wording deliberately does not state that every move is automatically a new registration event; the competent local authority controls the current requirement.
06 · CITY ROUTES
Current city route examples
Beijing
Current official guidance provides online and police-station routes for non-hotel stays. Confirm the current service page, account conditions and requested materials for the residence.
Shanghai
Shanghai publishes a specific accommodation-registration route for overseas personnel. Its current service page links to the Self-help Declaration System for Overseas Personnel's Accommodation Registration and also describes access through the international version of Suishenban.
Current municipal rules provide public-security service windows and self-declaration platforms for non-hotel registration. Use the current Shanghai route for the actual address.
Shenzhen
Current official guidance provides an online WeChat route and an in-person police-station route for non-hotel stays. Confirm current route coverage and requested materials.
07 · CHECKLIST
Accommodation registration checklist
- Identify hotel or non-hotel accommodation.
- Name the person responsible for registration.
- Confirm the official local route and current requested materials.
- Complete the applicable route within the required period.
- Check whether the result is complete, pending or rejected.
- Save the address, date, channel and confirmation.
- Check the requirement again after moving.
08 · TROUBLESHOOTING
Common friction
The landlord or host expects someone else to do it
Agree on one responsible person and deadline, then ask for the completion result.
The online route rejects the submission
A failed form is not a reason to invent a workaround. First check whether you selected the correct city and accommodation type, whether the identity information matches the travel document, whether the address is entered in the required form and whether the local online route is available for your situation.
Check identity details, address details, image quality and route coverage. Use the official in-person fallback named by the current local guidance.
You found instructions for another city
Use them only to identify questions. Do not reuse the channel, material list or office for your address.
09 · FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does a hotel complete the registration?
Hotels register foreign guests under the hotel path. Confirm that the passport used for the stay was recorded.
Who completes it for a private home?
The foreign guest or the person accommodating them completes the non-hotel registration with local public security.
Is the process the same across China?
The national responsibility is distinct from local implementation. Check the current official route for your address.
What should I do after moving?
Ask the local public-security authority whether a new registration is required for the new address, follow the current route if required and keep the new result.
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