Guest Registration Card Format for Hotels
A free guest registration card (GRC) format that fills itself in. Enter the hotel, guest, ID, stay and company details, tick "foreign guest" to add the fields Form C needs, and print a registration card with the declaration and signature lines, or download it for Word or Excel. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Your hotel
Card and stay
Guest
Foreign guest (Form C)
Print a blank card by clearing the guest fields: the layout stays, the lines stay empty for handwriting. To save a PDF, choose "Save as PDF" as the printer.
What a Guest Registration Card Must Contain
There is no single national form, which is why every hotel's guest registration card looks a little different. The content, though, is set by three things: the police register that state rules require every hotel to keep, the Form C report for foreign guests, and the hotel's own need for a signed agreement to its terms. The generator covers all three.
| Section | What to record |
|---|---|
| Hotel and card | Hotel name, address, GSTIN; a serial GRC number; room number, room type and rate; arrival date and time; expected departure; number of adults and children; meal plan; how the bill will be settled. |
| Guest identity | Full name as on the ID, permanent address, mobile and email, date of birth, nationality, ID type and number (last four digits for Aadhaar), and the ID verified against the original at the desk. |
| Journey | Arriving from, proceeding to, purpose of visit. These are the fields the police register asks for and the ones most hotels leave blank. |
| Company | For a business stay, the company's name and GSTIN, so the tax invoice is right the first time and the guest's accounts team can claim credit. |
| Form C (foreign guests) | Passport number, place and date of issue, expiry; visa number, type and validity; date and port of arrival in India; whether employed in India; next destination. Filed online within 24 hours. |
| Declaration and signatures | The guest's agreement to the hotel's terms, check-out time and liability for the bill; the guest's signature; the receptionist's signature; date. |
General position as understood at the time of writing. Police register rules and accepted IDs vary by state; confirm with your local police station and FRRO.
Form C for Foreign Guests, in Plain Terms
Who files it. Every hotel, guest house, hostel, homestay or dharamshala that accommodates a foreign national, for every foreign guest, whatever the length of stay. A guest holding an Overseas Citizen of India card is treated as a foreign national for this purpose; a non-resident Indian with an Indian passport is not.
When. Within 24 hours of the guest's arrival, through the Bureau of Immigration's online C-Form portal, after a one-time registration of the property. Paper submission at the police station is the fallback where the portal is not available.
What it needs. The guest's name, nationality, date of birth, passport and visa details, date and port of arrival in India, address abroad, purpose of visit, expected duration of stay and next destination, plus the hotel's own details. Every one of these is on the card above when the foreign-guest box is ticked, so the desk can file Form C from the card without asking the guest twice.
What a PMS adds. Exceed captures the passport at check-in and generates Form C from the guest record, so the filing takes a minute rather than a retyping session. See front desk software for India and the guide to cutting check-in under two minutes.
Five Mistakes on Registration Cards
What goes wrong at the desk, and what it costs later.
Full Aadhaar numbers on file
A drawer of cards with complete Aadhaar numbers is a data-protection liability. Record the ID type and last four digits; verify the original and hand it back.
No signature
An unsigned card is a note, not an agreement. Without it the hotel has no proof the guest accepted the rate, the check-out time or liability for damage.
Form C filed late or not at all
The 24-hour rule applies to a one-night stay as much as a month. Late filing is a reportable lapse for the hotel, not the guest.
Only one guest recorded
Every adult in the room should be on the card, or on a second card. The register is of persons, not rooms.
Company GSTIN asked at check-out
By then the guest is in a hurry and the bill goes out wrong. The GSTIN belongs on the registration card, collected at arrival.
More Free Tools for Hoteliers
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about guest registration cards and Form C
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What is a guest registration card (GRC) in a hotel?
The guest registration card is the form every guest fills in and signs at check-in. It records who is staying, where they come from, which ID they showed, the room and rate, how long they will stay and their agreement to the hotel's terms. It is the hotel's legal record of the stay and the document the police or an auditor asks for first.
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Is a guest registration card mandatory in India?
Yes. Hotels in India must keep a register of guests under state police and sarai rules, and a signed registration card with ID details is how that register is maintained. For foreign guests the requirement goes further: the Registration of Foreigners Rules require every hotel to report each foreign guest's arrival on Form C within 24 hours, whatever the length of stay.
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Which ID proof can a hotel accept for check-in?
For Indian guests, a government photo ID: passport, driving licence, voter ID, Aadhaar or another photo ID the state police accept. A PAN card is usually not accepted because it has no address. For foreign guests the passport and visa are compulsory because Form C is built from them. Confirm the accepted list with your local police station, since it varies by state.
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Can a hotel keep a copy of a guest's Aadhaar?
UIDAI advises businesses to collect a masked Aadhaar, which shows only the last four digits, or a Virtual ID, rather than a full copy, and never to store the full number without a legal basis. The practical course for a hotel is to record the ID type and the last four digits on the card and verify the original at the desk, or use a PMS that captures a masked copy and keeps it encrypted.
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What is Form C and who has to file it?
Form C is the arrival report that every hotel, guest house, hostel or homestay must submit for each foreign national it accommodates, within 24 hours of arrival, through the FRRO online C-Form portal. It needs the passport and visa details, the date and port of arrival in India, the guest's address abroad and in India, the purpose of visit and the expected departure. The generator collects all of these fields so the online filing can be done from the card.
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How long should a hotel keep guest registration cards?
Long enough to answer a police or tax enquiry about a past stay. State rules differ; many hotels keep physical cards for at least a year and the register for longer. A PMS keeps every registration indefinitely, searchable by name, date or ID, which is why most properties move the card into the software and print it only when a signature is needed.
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