Yes — it’s normal, and it’s Italian law rather than your host’s preference. Accommodation of every kind — hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, holiday apartments and Airbnbs — must identify the people staying and report the details to the local police, normally within 24 hours of arrival. It applies whether you booked direct or through a platform, and the host who skips it is the one exposed, not you.
Why is my host in Italy asking for my passport?
Italian public security law requires accommodation providers to record who is staying and notify the local police headquarters, the Questura. The duty comes from article 109 of the Consolidated Law on Public Security (Testo Unico di Pubblica Sicurezza). It applies to Italian guests as much as to foreign ones — locals show ID in Italian hotels for the same reason.
What details are recorded?
Your identity details as they appear on the document you present — name, date of birth, place and country of birth, nationality, and the type and number of the document — together with the dates of your stay.
Who receives it, and by when?
Providers file through Alloggiati Web, the national accommodation portal run by the Italian police, which routes the details to the local Questura. The deadline is 24 hours from arrival; for stays shorter than 24 hours, the details go in at check-in.
Can I refuse?
You can, but the provider cannot complete the report without your details, and filing it is their legal duty rather than a favour to the authorities. Refusing usually means check-in cannot be completed. You only need to show the document; the original stays with you.
Is it safe to send passport details digitally?
A legitimate request reaches you through the platform you booked on, or the property’s own check-in link before arrival. Three things should make you pause: a request to send a passport photo to a personal email address or a phone number you cannot match to the property; links that leave the booking platform or the property’s domain; and pressure to send details before a booking is confirmed.
Your data is covered by the GDPR and by Italy’s data protection code: you can ask what was recorded about you, have errors corrected, and ask for deletion once the register’s retention period has passed.
If you’re the one filing the reports
The duty is operational: collect the document, verify it matches the guest, file through Alloggiati Web within 24 hours, and keep evidence of what was sent. A hotel absorbs that at reception. A manager running holiday apartments feels it most, and the failures cluster in the same places — the late arrival, the same-day booking, the passport sent to a personal inbox.
UpMarket collects the guest’s document, verifies it at digital check-in and files the report, in one flow with the guest conversation kept in a single inbox. Check-in and identification travel with the booking confirmation rather than chasing the guest at the door. Book a demo to see the Italian flow end to end.
Are you a host or a hotel manager? UpMarket collects these details from guests before they arrive: see hotel check-in software and online check-in software for vacation rentals.
Staying elsewhere in Europe?
Same question, different rules: Spain, Portugal and France, plus our overview of why hosts ask for passport details.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal for my host in Italy to ask for my passport?
Yes. Article 109 of the Consolidated Law on Public Security requires accommodation providers to report guest details to the local Questura.
How quickly must my details be reported?
Within 24 hours of arrival, and at check-in for stays shorter than 24 hours.
Can I refuse?
You can, but the provider cannot complete the report without your details.
Is it safe?
Yes, when the request comes through the booking platform or the property’s own check-in link.
This guide was last reviewed in November 2026.
