A quarter to eleven at night, and the last guest has just taken the key. The person on duty (at many mini hotels, that person is the owner) opens the computer to finish the stay notification, typing in each guest's full name, date of birth and document number again, even though the very same details were entered while the guest stood at the desk. There are fifteen minutes left before the 11 pm deadline.
This article is written for accommodation businesses, meaning mini hotels, guesthouses, homestays and serviced apartments. It is not a guide for households registering a relative who comes to stay. Retyping, typing errors and missed deadlines are almost never caused by a careless person on duty; they are the result of the same data having to travel down two paths, at the busiest moment of the day.
Part 1: The rules from 1 July 2026: what a property must report
Four documents to know
- Law No. 118/2025/QH15 (passed on 10 December 2025, in force from 1 July 2026) amends Article 30 of the Law on Residence on stay notification.
- Circular 116/2026/TT-BCA (29 June 2026, in force from 1 July 2026) guides the Law on Residence and replaces Circulars 55/2021, 56/2021 and 66/2023; it sets out the ways to notify and the stay notification form CT14.
- Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA (9 June 2026, in force from 24 July 2026) replaces Circular 53/2016/TT-BCA and governs temporary residence declarations for foreign nationals.
- Decree 96/2016/ND-CP, Article 44: the responsibilities of accommodation businesses.
Content and deadlines
When someone stays overnight, the property notifies the commune, ward or special-zone police where it is located, covering six items: full name; date of birth; personal identification number or passport number; reason, period and address of the stay. The deadline is before 11 pm on the first day of the stay; for a guest who arrives after 11 pm, before 8 am the next morning.
Decree 96/2016/ND-CP also requires the property to record the guest's full details in its register or computer before the guest goes to the room, to report a guest without identity papers to the commune-level police immediately, and to keep guest records for at least 36 months.
If the stay is not notified
Under the current penalty rules (Decree 282/2025/ND-CP, as amended by Decree 347/2026/ND-CP), an accommodation business that fails to notify a stay may be fined between VND 2 million and VND 12 million depending on the number of guests: VND 2 to 4 million for 1 to 3 guests, VND 4 to 8 million for 4 to 8 guests, VND 8 to 12 million for 9 guests or more.
Part 2: Reporting channels and the shared portal of the Ministry of Public Security
Circular 116/2026/TT-BCA allows a stay to be notified through channels published by the local police (phone, website, email), through the National Public Service Portal or the VNeID app, or through stay notification software.
Since 21 May 2026, the Ministry of Public Security has used a single site for both Vietnamese and foreign guests at tbltkbtt.bocongan.gov.vn, with a mobile app called "TBLT KBTT", replacing the former site and software. According to the user guide for accommodation properties, the portal offers file upload, a template list for entering many Vietnamese guests at once, and list download of guests already declared. Signing in takes a password, an on-screen verification code and an authentication code from an authenticator app on a phone; in other words, the portal requires the declaring person to sign in and authenticate personally.
📍 The shared portal is still being rolled out, and practice may differ from one locality to another. Ask the ward or commune police where your property is located which channel applies and how accounts are issued before changing how you work.
Part 3: Foreign guests: declare as soon as they arrive
Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA sets a very different pace for foreign guests:
- Declare electronically as soon as the guest arrives, on the electronic temporary residence declaration system run by the Ministry of Public Security, using a declaration account the declaring person keeps secure.
- Paper form NA17: report straight away, then deliver the form to the commune-level police within 12 hours, or 24 hours in remote areas.
- This applies even when the guest books through a digital platform: whichever channel the guest used, the property is the one that declares.
- The account is suspended after 12 months without a declaration, something a homestay that only welcomes international guests in season should keep in mind.
Failing to declare a foreign guest is also penalised under separate provisions; ask the local police for the specific amounts.
Summary of deadlines, channels and content
| Case | Deadline | Channel | Main content | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese guest arriving before 11 pm | Before 11 pm the same day | Channels published by the local police; the National Public Service Portal, VNeID; stay notification software | Full name, date of birth, identification or passport number, reason, period and address of the stay | Law on Residence, Article 30 (amended by Law No. 118/2025/QH15); Circular 116/2026/TT-BCA |
| Vietnamese guest arriving after 11 pm | Before 8 am the next morning | As above | As above | As above |
| Foreign guest, electronic declaration | As soon as the guest arrives | The electronic temporary residence declaration system of the Ministry of Public Security | Full name, sex, date of birth, nationality, passport number, permitted period of stay, expected length of stay | Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA |
| Foreign guest, paper form NA17 | Report immediately; deliver the form within 12 hours (24 hours in remote areas) | Commune-level police | As above | Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA |
| Guest without papers or showing signs of a violation | Report immediately | Commune-level police | The guest's situation | Decree 96/2016/ND-CP; Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA |
| Keeping guest records | At least 36 months | The property's register or computer | Staying guests and visitors received in their rooms | Decree 96/2016/ND-CP, Article 44 |
Part 4: Why a one-person night shift often misses the 11 pm deadline
- The data is entered twice: at check-in and again when reporting. The second time is pure copying.
- Guests bunch up in the evening: the closer it gets to 11 pm, the denser the check-ins.
- Copying invites mistakes: one digit of a document number, a day and month of birth swapped, the order of a foreign guest's names.
- Nobody is sure who has been reported: a guest checking in at 11:20 pm belongs to the morning round; without a note, the morning shift will not know.
None of these reasons comes down to how careful the person on duty is. They come down to how the data flows.
Part 5: No retyping: data captured at check-in, a file exported in the right template
The principle: guest details are entered once, at the desk, at check-in. With DiCloud, the receptionist scans the citizen identity card or passport at the desk, and full name, date of birth, document number and nationality are filled into the guest profile without typing (see the article 6 standout features of DiCloud). The system stores only the extracted details, not an image of the document, which matters for personal data protection duties, as discussed in the article guest data protection for small hotels.
At reporting time
- Select the guests to report and export a file in the template the reporting portal requires, from the very records entered at check-in.
- Sign in to the portal with the property's account, use the file upload function, and review the list on the portal.
- Record that the guests have been reported in the guest profile or the shift log so the next shift knows.
DiCloud does not connect directly to the police reporting portal, because the portal does not allow outside software to connect to it directly and signing in requires the declaring person's authentication. The upload is still done by the person who holds the account; what disappears is the retyping.
✅ Concrete benefits: no retyping; fewer copying errors; the 11 pm and 8 am deadlines met because the end-of-shift work is shorter; a group reported in a single upload; foreign guests' passport numbers and nationalities ready from check-in. Responsibility for reporting stays with the property.
Part 6: An end-of-shift routine for a property with one person on duty
- At check-in: compare the details on screen with the actual document before handing over the key, the cheapest moment to correct anything.
- Foreign guests: declare right after check-in, not at the end of the shift.
- Around 10 pm: export the file for Vietnamese guests who checked in during the day, skim it, upload it.
- Guests arriving after 11 pm: mark them "pending" and include them in the before-8-am round.
- Check four points before uploading: the document number has the right number of characters, the date of birth is in the right order, the nationality, and the arrival and departure dates.
- Start of the morning shift: compare in-house guests with the list of declared guests downloaded from the portal.
When this runs on a cloud AI hotel management software, the list each step needs is already there, and the person on duty simply follows the order. The infrastructure, security and compliance behind it are covered in the article DiCloud's solid platform.
⚖️ Note: This content is for reference only and is compiled from the documents in force at the time of writing; DiCloud is a support tool and does not replace legal advice. Hotels should check the original legal texts or ask the ward or commune police where the property is located about their specific case.
Frequently asked questions
Do mini hotels, guesthouses and homestays have to notify guest stays?
Yes. Under Article 30 of the Law on Residence, as amended by Law No. 118/2025/QH15 in force from 1 July 2026, when someone stays overnight, tourist accommodation and other accommodation properties must notify the commune, ward or special-zone police where the property is located.
What is the deadline for notifying the stay of a Vietnamese guest?
Before 11 pm on the first day of the stay. If the guest arrives after 11 pm, the stay is notified before 8 am the next morning.
How does declaring a foreign guest differ from notifying a Vietnamese guest?
Under Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA, an electronic declaration must be made as soon as the guest arrives; if the paper form NA17 is used, it is delivered to the commune-level police within 12 hours, or 24 hours in remote areas. The rule also applies to guests who book through digital platforms.
Does hotel management software send guest details straight to the reporting portal?
No. The portal of the Ministry of Public Security does not allow outside software to connect directly and requires the declaring person to sign in and authenticate. DiCloud exports a file in the template the portal requires from the details entered at check-in; the person on duty uploads the file to the portal, without retyping each guest.
What is the fine for failing to notify a guest stay?
Under the current penalty rules, an accommodation business that fails to notify a stay may be fined between VND 2 million and VND 12 million depending on the number of guests not notified. Failing to declare a foreign guest is penalised under separate provisions.
How long must guest records be kept?
Decree 96/2016/ND-CP requires the records of staying guests and of visitors received in their rooms to be kept for at least 36 months. DiCloud keeps the details extracted from the document and does not store an image of the document.
Want to see how check-in details become a reporting file?
Using sample data, the DiCloud team will show how details entered at check-in are exported as a file in the required template for upload to the portal, and which steps are still done by the person on duty.
Book a free demoConclusion
The rules in force from 1 July 2026 do not ask a small property for anything beyond its means: six items of information, the 11 pm or 8 am deadline, foreign guests declared as soon as they arrive. What makes the job heavy is retyping at the end of the shift; remove it, and the 11 pm deadline becomes a routine task.
An online AI hotel management software such as DiCloud keeps guest details from check-in and exports a file in the right template for the person on duty to upload to the portal, no more and no less. The whole chain from booking to reporting sits within the total hotel management solution from DiHotel Solutions Corps, an ecosystem that has served more than 300 accommodation properties over more than 20 years.
For 4 to 5 star hotels, resorts and chains, the companion article on the DiHotel Blog covers groups, international guests and assigning reporting duties at each property: guest stay reporting software for hotels: export in the right template, no retyping. At that tier the work is handled by DiHotel, the AI hotel management software.