How to register travellers with La Ertzaintza

With the entry into force of Royal Decree 933/2021, Spain has implemented the national platform SES.HOSPEDAJES for guest registration throughout most of the country. However, the Basque Country is an exception: tourist accommodations located there must continue to register and report guest data directly to the Ertzaintza (Basque Police) through its own hotel registration system.

Registering the accommodation with the Ertzaintza

Before you can submit any guest forms, the property must first be registered as a lodging establishment with the Ertzaintza.

1. Go to the official Ertzaintza website and navigate to the section “Companies > Hotel registration”. This section is not very intuitive to find, so many guides provide a direct link.
2. Fill in the registration form with:
   • Details of the owner or company (name, tax ID, contact details).
   • Details of the tourist accommodation (trade name, full address, type of establishment, etc.).
3. Once the registration is approved, the Ertzaintza will issue a username and password so you can access the Hotel Registration system and start sending the traveler forms.

Using digital check‑in solutions (such as guest‑management or PMS tools) you can automate the creation and sending of traveler forms to the Ertzaintza, eliminating paper and reducing errors.

Traveler form and mandatory data

Royal Decree 933/2021 has updated the minimum content of the traveler form and significantly expanded the information that must be collected and reported.

• From 2025 onwards, it is mandatory to use the new traveler form model that complies with Royal Decree 933/2021. Any previous model became invalid at the end of 2024.
• In the Basque Country, you must register data for all guests, regardless of age.

For each traveler, the form must include at least:

• Full name.
• Type and number of ID document (ID card, residence card, or passport).
• Nationality.
• Date of birth.
• Full home address (usual residence).
• Telephone number and email address.
• Check‑in and check‑out dates.
• Total number of people included in the booking.

The form also includes basic details of the establishment and the stay (property identifier, tourist license number, etc.).

Deadline and methods to send data to the Ertzaintza

Guest data must be communicated to the Ertzaintza within a maximum of 24 hours from check‑in or from the confirmation of the stay.

There are several ways to send this information:

• Online: Via the Basque Government’s Hotel Registration portal, manually entering the data with your credentials, or through integrated software that automatically transmits the traveler form after check‑in.
• In person: Delivering the guest registration book or printed traveler sheets to the corresponding Ertzaintza police station.
• Fax: Sending each guest’s registration sheet by fax to the Ertzaintza police station.

In every case, the Ertzaintza issues an acknowledgment of receipt confirming that the information has been successfully communicated.

Relationship with SES.HOSPEDAJES and territorial exceptions

Royal Decree 933/2021 makes SES.HOSPEDAJES the mandatory national platform for traveler registration from December 2024 onward, but it explicitly recognises exceptions for the Basque Country and Catalonia.

• In the Basque Country, all traveler data must continue to be sent to the Ertzaintza using its own hotel registration system.
• In Catalonia, data is managed and reported through the Mossos d’Esquadra platforms.

Even though the technical platform is different, the level of detail and documentary obligations follow the same logic and requirements set out in Royal Decree 933/2021.

Consequences of not registering guests

Failing to keep a proper guest register or not communicating the information to the Ertzaintza constitutes a breach of public‑security and documentary‑record obligations.

• Administrative penalties: Fines imposed on owners or managers for failing to register or report guests, with amounts increasing in cases of repeated non‑compliance.
• Legal liability: Sanctioning proceedings and, in more serious cases, legal actions that may result in higher fines or additional penalties.
• Security risks: Lack of reliable occupancy data can hinder police work in emergencies or criminal investigations.
• Loss of license: In severe and repeated cases, authorities may suspend or revoke the tourist activity license, preventing the accommodation from operating legally.

For these reasons, it is essential for tourist accommodations in the Basque Country to keep an accurate, up‑to‑date guest register and to use reliable digital channels to ensure data is always sent to the Ertzaintza on time and with all mandatory fields completed.

“`