Guest Register for Spanish VUT 2026: Check-In Forms and 24-Hour Police Reporting Obligation

Every guest who stays in a Spanish VUT must be registered with the police within 24 hours of arrival. This obligation, established by Real Decreto 933/2021, applies to every tourist accommodation provider in Spain regardless of their residency status, nationality or the platform they use to accept bookings. The system for electronic submission is called SES.Hospedajes. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to 30 000 EUR per incident. This guide explains exactly what data you need to collect, how to submit it, which PMS tools integrate directly with SES.Hospedajes, and how to manage the obligation as a foreign non-resident owner.

Legal Basis: Real Decreto 933/2021 Explained

Real Decreto 933/2021, of 26 October, on documentary registration and information obligations for natural persons in lodging establishments, replaced the old Orden INT/1922/2003. It applies to all providers of tourist accommodation in Spain: hotels, hostels, rural houses, campsites, cruise ships and viviendas de uso turístico (VUT). It entered into force on 2 January 2023.

The legal basis for the collection and transmission of guest data is public security law, specifically the Organic Law 4/2015 on citizen security (known as the "ley mordaza") and the Organic Law 4/1997 on video surveillance. The data goes to the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía or the Guardia Civil depending on the municipality. In municipalities with their own Policía Local with a formal coordination agreement, data may be routed locally.

The obligation applies to every guest aged 14 years and over. For guests under 14, only the name is required, along with the data of the adult accompanying them.

Data You Must Collect From Every Guest

Real Decreto 933/2021 requires the following fields for each guest aged 14 or over:

1. First name and surnames (as they appear on the identity document).
2. Type of document: Spanish DNI, EU national identity card, passport, Spanish NIE, residence permit.
3. Document number.
4. Document support number (the alphanumeric code printed on the back or in the chip section of the document, for Spanish DNIs issued since 2015 and for Schengen-zone documents).
5. Date of birth.
6. Sex (as recorded on the document).
7. Nationality (as recorded on the document).
8. Country of issue of the document.
9. Date of expiry of the document.
10. Habitual residence address (street, city, country).
11. Mobile telephone number.
12. Email address.

The data must be submitted within 24 hours of check-in. If a guest checks in at 15:00 on a Tuesday, the submission must reach SES.Hospedajes by 15:00 on Wednesday at the latest. The platform verifies submissions in real time and issues a confirmation receipt that you should retain for at least 3 years.

How to Submit: SES.Hospedajes Platform

SES.Hospedajes (Sistema de Envío de Hospedajes) is the national online platform managed by the Interior Ministry's Comisaría General de Seguridad Ciudadana. Access is at ses.interior.gob.es. There are three ways to submit:

• Manual web form: log in with your Spanish digital certificate (FNMT), Cl@ve PIN or Cl@ve Permanente, fill in the guest data manually for each booking. Practical only for 1 to 3 bookings per month. Time per submission: 3 to 5 minutes per guest.
• CSV batch upload: upload a structured CSV file with multiple guest records simultaneously. Useful for property managers handling several properties. The CSV format is specified in the RD 933/2021 technical annex and is available for download at ses.interior.gob.es.
• API integration: the SES.Hospedajes API (REST, documented at ses.interior.gob.es/api-doc) allows PMS and check-in software to submit guest data automatically without human intervention. This is the recommended method for any VUT with more than 5 bookings per month.

To access SES.Hospedajes as a non-resident owner without a Spanish digital certificate, you must appoint a representative (your gestoría or property manager) who holds a Spanish digital certificate and can submit on your behalf. The representative uses their own credentials but links their submission to your NRUA number and your property address.

PMS Tools With Direct SES.Hospedajes Integration

PMS / Channel Manager	SES.Hospedajes Integration	Check-In App	Monthly Cost (EUR, approx.)
Lodgify	Yes (via Chekin partner integration)	Chekin	From 20 (Lodgify) + 15 (Chekin)
Hostaway	Yes (native + Chekin)	Native + Chekin	From 100 (Hostaway) + 15 (Chekin)
Smoobu	Yes (via Chekin integration)	Chekin	From 22 (Smoobu) + 15 (Chekin)
Chekin (standalone)	Yes (direct API to SES.Hospedajes)	Yes	From 15 (includes API)
HiJiffy	Yes (direct API)	Yes	From 30
Superhog	Via Chekin integration	Superhog App	From 10 (identity) + Chekin

Chekin is currently the most widely used Spanish-built check-in platform for VUT compliance. It supports OCR document scanning (the guest photographs their document with a smartphone), automatic data extraction, submission to SES.Hospedajes within seconds of check-in, and generates the check-in confirmation receipt. It integrates with Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, direct booking websites and all major PMS platforms.

Step-by-Step Compliance Workflow for a Non-Resident Owner

1. Register your property on SES.Hospedajes: navigate to ses.interior.gob.es, create an account with your NRUA number and property address, or appoint a gestoría representative to do so on your behalf.
2. Subscribe to a check-in platform (Chekin or equivalent): configure your Airbnb and Booking.com calendars to sync with the platform.
3. Set up the pre-check-in flow: configure the platform to send a guest identity link automatically 24 to 48 hours before each check-in. The link prompts the guest to photograph their document.
4. Configure automatic submission: the platform sends data to SES.Hospedajes via API within minutes of the guest completing the identity form.
5. Archive receipts: set the platform to store confirmation receipts for each submission. These are your proof of compliance in the event of an inspection.
6. Link to smart lock: configure the door code to activate only after the SES.Hospedajes confirmation receipt is generated. This prevents check-in before registration is complete.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The penalty regime for failure to comply with RD 933/2021 is established by the Organic Law 4/2015 (citizen security) and the regional tourism legislation. The ranges are:

• Minor infraction (late submission, missing one data field): 100 to 600 EUR per incident.
• Serious infraction (systematic failure to submit, incorrect data): 601 to 30 000 EUR per incident.
• Very serious infraction (obstruction of police access to records, falsification of data): 30 001 to 600 000 EUR.

Inspections are carried out by the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía and the Guardia Civil, sometimes in coordination with regional tourism authorities. In 2025, the Interior Ministry announced an increase in spot checks on VUT registration compliance as part of the NRUA enforcement rollout. A VUT with an active NRUA code but zero guest registrations in SES.Hospedajes is an obvious red flag for inspectors.

Practical Tips for Foreign Non-Resident Owners

• Do not rely on manual submission if you have more than one or two bookings per month. The API integration through a check-in platform is the only sustainable approach for remote management.
• Always collect the document support number: many foreign owners forget this field and receive a rejection from SES.Hospedajes. The support number is on the back of most EU identity cards and on the machine-readable zone of passports (the alphanumeric code in the lower strip).
• Keep confirmation receipts for at least 3 years after the stay: this is the minimum retention period required by RD 933/2021 art. 7.
• If a guest refuses to provide their data, you are legally required to refuse the check-in. Document the refusal and retain the record.

For more guidance on managing your Spanish VUT remotely and staying compliant with SES.Hospedajes, visit hostready.eu/es-en.