Wales visitor accommodation registration opened on 1 October 2026. Registration with the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) is free, mandatory, and the deadline is 31 March 2027. It applies to providers taking bookings of 31 nights or fewer, including holiday lets, B&Bs and self-catering. Under s.7 of the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025, the penalty is £100 per unregistered premises, then £10 per day for up to 30 days, plus £1,000 per premises if still unregistered on the 31st day: £1,400 per premises at the maximum. Official route: gov.wales, register your visitor accommodation.
The Welsh Government is creating a register of visitor accommodation, run by the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA). Any person or business providing visitor accommodation in Wales where stays are 31 nights or fewer must register each property before the deadline. This covers holiday cottages, B&Bs, guest houses, glamping sites and serviced accommodation.
Registration itself is free. It is an administrative requirement, not a licence with inspections, but it is mandatory. A full licensing scheme for Wales has been discussed for around 2030, which may add quality or safety conditions. For now, the step hosts must take is registration.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Registration opened | 1 October 2026 (open now) |
| Deadline | 31 March 2027 |
| Cost | Free |
| Applies to | Bookings of 31 nights or fewer |
| Fine from 1 April 2027 | Reported from £100 per property |
| Run by | Welsh Revenue Authority |
You will need a GOV.UK One Login account (free) to use the official service. Our compliance notes page also links a free checklist helper that walks through the information the official form asks for, so you can prepare in advance.
Work through this before you open the official form. It is compiled from the WRA's published registration guidance, so you can register in one sitting.
Prepare these once, and register each property before 31 March 2027.
From 1 April 2027, operating visitor accommodation in Wales without registration can lead to a fine starting at £100 per property (s.7). The scheme is designed to give the government a complete picture of the visitor accommodation sector, and enforcement will follow once the register is live. Registering early costs nothing and removes the risk.
Once you register, you receive a registration number for each property. Expect to display it wherever you take bookings: on OTA listings and on your own website. This is the point of the register, a number guests, platforms and councils can check. If your website has no place for it, you will be scrambling for a redesign when the register goes live.
Guests increasingly look for legitimacy signals before booking direct. Every B&B website we build includes a visible licence or registration number field, so your Wales registration number can sit on your homepage and booking page. It is a small detail that builds trust with guests who are comparing your direct site with an OTA listing.
A direct booking website is not just a checkout page. It is the one place you fully control, the natural home for your registration number, your safety certificates and your house policies. When guests compare your direct site with an OTA listing, visible compliance is part of what convinces them to book with you instead.
The visitor levy is a separate scheme from registration. Councils in Wales may choose to introduce a per-night levy on overnight stays from April 2027 at the earliest. Cardiff is the first confirmed case: from 1 April 2027 it charges £1.30 per person per night, 75p for shared accommodation. Other councils may follow at their own pace and rates. Registration comes first: the levy can only be administered on accommodation that is on the register, so work through the registration checklist above before the 31 March 2027 deadline, then watch your council for levy announcements.
England is on its own timetable: the national short-term let register is not yet in force, with the government expecting it to begin in March 2027. Scotland already runs a mandatory council licence scheme before you take bookings. Wales is the furthest ahead, and if you also let in England, read our England register guide to prepare for its March 2027 start.
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Yes. Registration with the Welsh Revenue Authority is free for every property. The cost of not registering is the risk: fines start at £100 per property and reach up to £1,400 for operating unregistered from 1 April 2027 (s.7 of the 2025 Act).
31 March 2027. Registration opened on 1 October 2026, so you have six months. The deadline is per property, so register each property you let before it.
Yes. Registration covers all paid overnight visitor accommodation where stays are 31 nights or fewer, holiday lets, B&Bs, guest houses, glamping and serviced accommodation included. It is not only for self-catering cottages.
Registration is the administrative step: you tell the WRA about your property and get a registration number. The visitor levy is a separate, additional charge: a per-person, per-night tax that individual councils may introduce from April 2027, starting with Cardiff at £1.30 per person per night (75p for shared accommodation). Registration comes first; the levy can only apply to accommodation on the register.
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Official source: Welsh Government, register your visitor accommodation. Checked October 2026. This page is guidance, not legal advice. Rules can change, always confirm with the official source before acting.