Tourist furnished accommodation registration number : instructions for use

The registration number for furnished tourist accommodation is not yet required in all local authorities, but where it applies, it becomes a central part of your letting arrangements. To let legally, you must first find out whether your local authority requires a declaration with registration, then obtain this number from the town hall, before displaying it correctly in your adverts. This local-authority scheme is transitional: when the national registration online service comes into operation, planned for the fourth quarter of 2026, registration will become compulsory in all local authorities.

On the Alabaster Coast, where many owners occasionally rent out a second home, it is important to be vigilant from the very first advert. If you have broader doubts about the preliminary steps, you can also read the rules applicable to owners of holiday lets or the official Service-Public.fr factsheet.

Key points to remember

• Until the national online registration service is introduced, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, the registration number is issued by the town hall following a declaration with registration and does not exist under the simple declaration regime ; registration will then become compulsory in all municipalities.
• According to Service-Public.fr, you must contact your town hall to find out whether your municipality requires registration with a registration number or a simple declaration.
• The number issued by the local authority consists of 13 characters in 3 groups: the local authority’s official geographical code in 5 digits, a unique identifier in 6 digits, then a check key in 2 alphanumeric characters.
• Once assigned, this number must appear in every rental offer advert, including adverts published online.

When does this number become mandatory

The starting point is simple: you must first check whether your property is indeed furnished tourist accommodation. According to the authorities, this means a house or flat let for the exclusive use of the client, for a short stay, and without the same client staying for more than 90 consecutive days during the calendar year.

Next, everything depends on the local authority. For a second home let for short stays, a declaration to the town hall is compulsory. However, there are two distinct regimes:

• the declaration with registration, used in most large municipalities;
• the simple declaration, used in other municipalities.

The registration number is compulsory only in the first case, as it is issued after the declaration with registration. If your local authority uses a simple declaration, you do not obtain this number.

This is a transitional arrangement: when the national online registration service comes into operation, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, registration will become compulsory in all municipalities and will no longer be carried out through the town hall. A number already issued by the municipality will have to be renewed on this online service within a period of several months, after which it will no longer be valid.

The first check to make with the local council

If the municipality falls under the simple declaration procedure, you use Cerfa form no. 14004 and send it to the mayor by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt.

For owners who do not wish to rent for short periods but want to entrust a property for year-round rental, the issue is different: year-round property management concerns residential tenancies, not holiday rentals.

When authorisation to change the use is added to registration

Under the registration system, the declaration consists of two steps: first apply for authorisation to change the use, then register the furnished tourist accommodation. To obtain this authorisation in mainland France, you must provide the property’s EPC, with a rating from A to E. From 2034, the EPC must show a rating from A to D in mainland France, and from A to E in the French overseas departments and regions.

Depending on the municipality, the authorisation granted may be:

• final and attached to the applicant, ending when they permanently cease their activity;
• final with compensation;
• temporary, for less than 5 years, without automatic renewal.

In the event of refusal, the municipality must state the reason.

How to obtain the number

Once the registration route has been confirmed by the council, you must use the online service provided by the local authority. The declaration consists of submitting a set of precise details.

The information to provide

• your identity, postal address and email address;
• the address of the furnished tourist accommodation, including the building, staircase, floor and flat number when the accommodation is in a building containing several premises ;
• or the invariant number of the furnished property, as shown on the council tax notice;
• whether or not the accommodation is your main residence ;
• the number of rooms and the number of beds ;
• where applicable, the date of the classification decision and its level, or the date of another quality recognition.

What you will receive afterwards

After this declaration, the town hall will immediately issue you with an acknowledgement of receipt stating the registration number. If any of the declared information is no longer accurate, a new declaration must be made.

The number issued by the local authority follows a standardised format.

How to use this number correctly

Once allocated, the registration number is not simply an administrative document to keep in a file. It must be displayed visibly in your letting business.

• It must appear in every advertisement offering the furnished tourist accommodation for rent.
• This obligation also applies to advertisements published online.
• Once the number has been assigned, the advert must also include the wording “private landlord’s advert” or “professional landlord’s advert”, depending on your tax status.

If you use an intermediary, whether free of charge or paid, they must inform you of the preliminary procedures and ask you for a sworn statement confirming that you have completed them. You must also specify that it is your second home and provide the registration number when one exists.

The special case of co-ownership

Following the changes that came into force from 21 November 2024, co-ownership requires particular attention. For co-ownership rules drawn up from 21 November 2024, the document states whether or not tourist accommodation is permitted.

Two points must be checked:

• if regulations adopted before 21 November 2024 contain an exclusively bourgeois residential-use clause, any professional activity, including holiday lets, is prohibited there;
• where the regulations exclude commercial activities in units not intended for commercial use, co-owners meeting in a general meeting may decide to ban tourist lets.

If your property is part of a co-ownership, you must also inform the managing agent of your declaration and provide them with the registration number as soon as you obtain it. At the next general meeting, the managing agent will inform the co-owners that furnished tourist accommodation exists in the building.

The most common mistakes

In practice, several mistakes occur frequently.

• Publish an advert before checking whether the municipality requires registration.
• Confusing a simple declaration with a declaration including registration.
• Forgetting to submit a new declaration when information provided is no longer valid.
• Do not include the number in every property listing.
• Failing to inform the managing agent when the property is in a co-ownership.
• Thinking that the registration number replaces the SIRET number: these are two different procedures.

The SIRET number, allocated after registration in Insee’s Sirene register via the Business Formalities Office, is used to identify you to the tax authorities. It does not replace the registration number required by certain local authorities for tourist lettings.

For further information on a house or flat used occasionally by its owner, you can consult our guide to a second home rented as furnished tourist accommodation and the official information on the national registration online service.

Frequently asked questions