Which guests do you have to register in Switzerland?

What does the Confederation require?

Article 16 of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act says that anyone who accommodates foreign nationals commercially must report them to the competent cantonal authority. Article 18 of the Ordinance on Admission, Stay and Gainful Employment (OASA) sets out how to do this:

• Anyone who accommodates foreign guests for payment fills in a guest registration form using the details on their identity document.
• The guest presents their identity document and signs the guest registration form.
• The guest registration form is sent to the competent cantonal authority.
• For groups, a list signed by the tour leader in charge is sufficient.

Anyone who wilfully or negligently breaches the reporting requirement is liable to a fine under Art. 120 FNIA. Some cantons give more specific details on when accommodation is considered commercial. Solothurn defines it as accommodation offered regularly or generating more than CHF 10'000 in annual turnover. More: Guest registration under federal law.

What extra requirements do the cantons have?

The cantons decide which authority to report to, how to report and the deadline, and many extend the requirement. Three approaches are common:

• All guests, including Swiss guests: Zug requires anyone who provides accommodation for payment to complete a guest registration form for every guest; according to Zug police, this explicitly applies to Airbnb too. In Ticino, you must report every arrival to the cantonal police within 24 hours. In Jura, you enter guest details daily on the Check-in JU platform.
• Online portal: Basel-Stadt records all guests daily in Basel Tourism’s reporting system. Since February 2024, Schaffhausen has accepted reports electronically via gast.sh.ch, with no paper forms or signatures. In many holiday destinations in Bern, Graubünden and Valais, you report through the municipality’s or destination’s system, together with the tourist tax and guest card.
• Foreign guests only: Schwyz and Graubünden require only foreign guests to be registered at cantonal level. In Graubünden, hosts usually register all guests anyway, because municipalities require this for the tourist tax and guest card. In Geneva, you need a verified account on e-démarches to register foreign guests.

The table shows all the cantons. Details, including the legal basis, are on each canton’s page, for example Valais, Graubünden or Ticino.

What deadline applies?

Federal law does not set a single deadline; the cantons decide. In Ticino, you must report guests within 24 hours of arrival; in Basel-Stadt and Jura, you report daily; in Schaffhausen, you report daily by 02:00. Many cantons require the guest registration form when the guest arrives.

How long do you have to keep guest registration forms?

The cantons set these rules too, and the periods vary widely:

What are the data protection rules?

Guest registration forms contain personal data. Under the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), you may only process data that is necessary for the purpose, must protect it with appropriate measures and must inform guests when you collect their data. When you no longer need the data, you must destroy or anonymise it (Arts. 6, 8 and 19 FADP).

The cantons differ on identity documents. Vaud requires a copy of the passport or identity card for the guest register. In Ticino, you record the type and number of the identity document; a photocopy is not required. More: Data protection for guest registration forms.

What’s changing with EasyGov?

On 26 August 2026, the Federal Council opened a consultation on an amendment to the OASA. It follows Motion 21.4426 and runs until 27 November 2026. The plans are:

• You can submit reports about foreign guests electronically, without the guest’s signature.
• You must check that the guest’s details match the identity document they present.
• There will no longer be a requirement to archive paper guest registration forms.
• The national solution will use the EasyGov platform. Cantons with their own well-functioning systems can continue to use them.

The Federal Council has not set a date for the changes to come into force. Until then, the guest registration form must be signed under Art. 18 OASA, and your canton’s rules still apply.

How does Stovita handle guest registration forms?

1. Stovita creates a guest registration form for every confirmed stay, including bookings from Airbnb or Booking.com.
2. The guest fills it in online before arrival, in the guest app in their browser, with no download needed. Stovita does not need or store an image of an identity document. For children, Stovita asks only for their age.
3. If the municipality requires guest registration, Stovita reminds the guest by email 7 and 2 days before arrival and on the day of arrival, provided an email address is available.
4. When the guest arrives, you check their identity document and confirm the check in Stovita.
5. You submit the report using the method specified by your municipality.
6. Stovita archives the guest registration forms and automatically deletes the personal data after the period set for your municipality. If your canton requires long-term storage, such as ten years in Basel-Landschaft, check that period in Stovita.

A short summary, not legal advice. The linked official source and your municipality’s rules prevail.