If you own a holiday rental in Spain from abroad, the past few months have been confusing in two languages. Spain’s Supreme Court annulled the national short-term rental registry (the NRUA) in a run of judgments through May and June 2026. Yet as of today, Airbnb’s own help centre still describes the annulled decree as if nothing happened and keeps showing two registration fields, one national and one regional1.
So the listing form still asks for something the courts have taken away, and nobody at the platform has said a word. Owners who filled in both fields do not know which one to clear. Owners who never obtained a state number fear an empty box will get them delisted. Meanwhile the number that actually carries fines gets treated as the optional extra. Let’s get the detail right, region by region.
The NRUA is no longer required: which obligations still stand
The Supreme Court struck down the state registry (Royal Decree 1312/2024)2 because tourism regulation belongs to Spain’s regions, not the central government: the State has no competence to run a national registry layered on top of the tourism registries the regions already keep3. The first judgment, 620/2026, rules as follows:
“To annul the provisions of the challenged Royal Decree relating to the single rental registration procedure and to the obligation to register with the Property Registry or the Movable Property Registry in order to obtain a registration number allowing short-term rental accommodation services to be offered through online platforms. […] To dismiss the appeal in all other respects.”
Annulled outright are articles 5, 8, 9 and 10, letters f), i) and j) of article 2, letters b) and c) of article 12 and the second additional provision, plus articles 1 and 6 and the first final provision insofar as they refer to the single registry2. Still fully alive:
- Your regional registration (HUT in Catalonia, VT in Valencia, VUT in Andalucía and Galicia, ETV in the Balearics, VV in the Canaries…). Whether it must appear in your advertising is set by each region’s tourism law, and they do not all say the same: the Basque act requires it “in all types of advertising” (article 24.7 of Ley 13/2016)5, while in Madrid the Supreme Court struck down the equivalent clause of article 17.5 of Decreto 79/2014 back in 20186. Where the duty exists, it stands exactly as it did before the NRUA.
- The EU short-term rental framework (Regulation 2024/1028): the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on the single digital entry point and the platforms’ data-sharing duties3. The Regulation does not demand a national registry: its article 4(1) covers “any registration procedure established by a Member State, whether at national, regional or local level”, and its article 7(1)(b) requires platforms to ensure that hosts “provide a registration number before being allowed to offer” a unit and “clearly display that registration number as part of their listing”7. With the state registry annulled, in Spain that number is the regional one.
- Guest registration (Royal Decree 933/2021 and SES.HOSPEDAJES): a different regime from a different ministry. Every guest still generates a police report within 24 hours, exactly as before.
What is gone: the obligation to obtain the state number through the Property Registry, struck down by three Supreme Court judgments in May and June 2026 (19 and 21 May, and 1 June)2. In Catalonia, according to Crónica Global, registries have been cancelling provisional numbers since the judgments reached the official gazette, roughly 66,000 registered properties are affected, and nobody is refunding the fees paid so far8.
What to enter today on Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo and Expedia
Two things are true at once here. Spain’s Supreme Court annulled the state registry, so no NRUA can be demanded of you. And the back office you open this morning still asks for one, because the platforms have not touched their help pages: Airbnb’s still presents Royal Decree 1312/2024 as fully in force, with its 27 euro fee and its start date of 1 July 2025, and nowhere mentions the annulment1.
There is no contradiction to resolve, just two separate planes. The administration is what can fine you, and that route closed with the judgments. The platform is what can pull your listing, and that route is wide open: a private form can gate publication on a field even after the rule that invented it has gone. So the practical answer is not to argue about the field, it is to know what to type in each one.
Airbnb: two registration fields and an exemption option
Airbnb does not have one field, it has two, and next to each it offers a third way out that its help page mentions only in passing:
“Airbnb has enabled two specific fields for entering national or regional registration numbers, if you have them, or for requesting an exemption. […] As for regional numbers, use the corresponding field to enter them, if you have them, or request an exemption.”
Both fields live in the same place: Listings, the listing itself, the editor, Settings, Edit your preferences, Regulations, and there “Add a registration number”1. Airbnb also publishes per-region help articles with the expected format; its Galicia article, for instance, asks for VUT-LU-0000009.
The field you must not leave empty is the regional one, because that is the legally required number. For the national one, our reading is that the exemption is the box that now fits: you have no NRUA because no rule obliges you to hold one any more. The help centre does not set out that request in any separate article, so what exists is the option inside the form itself.
What the platform does spell out is the consequence. Airbnb says it will be obliged to remove or deactivate listings that have no registration number, or that are linked to a registration number that has been suspended or withdrawn1. And an error in the application that you do not correct within seven business days suspends the number, taking the listing with it.
Booking: one number per property, another per unit or room
Booking has two separate paths, and the second is the one that goes unfilled when a property holds several units or rooms at the same address.
- Per property: extranet, Property, General info, pick the licence type and enter the number, or pick an exemption from the drop-down, then save with Update your info10.
- Per unit or room: Property, Property layout or Room details, Edit on each unit, and there the field asking for your licence number10.
The consequence also differs from Airbnb’s: Booking does not talk about removing the listing, it talks about closing your property for bookings, and it reverses that as soon as you supply a valid, correctly formatted number10. Its licensing page for Spain, incidentally, lists only regional tourism authorities and carries no national-register entry at all10.
Vrbo and Expedia: where the registration number goes
On Vrbo the path is the listing, Local laws, Regulatory Compliance, Update Regulatory Compliance, Edit registration. If a property holds several numbers, they all go in the same field, separated by commas11. There is no Spain-specific page, so the format that counts is the one on your regional registration decision.
On Expedia there is nothing to fill in: its partner help centre documents no registration or licence field at all, in any jurisdiction.
One rule saves most headaches on all four: the number must be current and typed exactly as your region issued it, slashes, hyphens and prefixes included. Automated rejections are almost always formatting.
If a platform blocks your listing for lacking a state number that no longer exists, escalate to support citing Supreme Court judgment 620/2026 of 19 May 20263. The legal basis for that requirement is gone.
Regional registration number and format, region by region
The “Rule” column names the regional act that creates each registry. The formats themselves are not set in those acts: they are what the registries issue and what the platforms’ forms expect, so when in doubt the number on your registration decision wins.
| Region | Registry | Typical format | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andalucía | Registro de Turismo de Andalucía (RTA) | VUT/SE/00000 (province in the code) | Ley 13/201112 |
| Catalonia | Registre de Turisme de Catalunya (NIRTC) | HUTB-000000 (HUTG, HUTT, HUTL by area); the provisional filing number is valid while the final one is pending | Ley 13/200213 |
| Valencia region | Registre de Turisme | VT-000000-V (A/CS/V by province) | Ley 15/201814 |
| Madrid | Registro de Empresas Turísticas | VT reference number; the CIVUT is a technical certificate, not a listing number | Decreto 79/2014, amended by Decreto 27/202615 |
| Balearic Islands | Island tourism registry | ETV/0000 | Ley 8/201216 |
| Canary Islands | Registro General Turístico | VV-35-3-0000000 (province and island inside the number) | Ley 6/202517 |
| Galicia | REAT | VUT-LU-000000 (province code inside the number) | Ley 7/201118 |
| Basque Country | REATE | Code including the province (BI/SS/VI) | Ley 13/20165 |
| Asturias | Regional tourism registry | VUT or VV reference, plus the exact address, in every ad | Ley 7/200119 |
Where the duty to publish the number is written, in each rule’s own words:
- Catalonia: Ley 13/2002, article 73.5: the registration number “must appear in all types of advertising, promotion or marketing”13.
- Valencia region: Ley 15/2018, article 19.1.b): tourist dwellings must “state the exact location and the registration number in the Registro de Turismo de la Comunitat Valenciana in all advertising carried out”14.
- Balearic Islands: Ley 8/2012, article 28.3.a): “All advertising of these dwellings must include the dwelling’s tourist registration number”16; until it arrives, article 23.7 accepts the filing receipt number of the DRIAT.
- Canary Islands: Ley 6/2025, article 8.6: the registration carries “a registration number whose inclusion shall be mandatory in any publication or advertisement through which the property in question is offered as tourist accommodation”, digital platforms included17.
- Galicia: Ley 7/2011, article 65 bis.5: “In all advertising or promotional activity carried out, through any medium or channel, the corresponding registration code” in the REAT must appear or, failing that, the code confirming that the responsible declaration was filed18.
- Basque Country: Ley 13/2016, article 24.7: businesses “must include in all types of advertising that announces them […] their identification number in the Registro de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas de Euskadi”5.
- Asturias: Decreto 48/2016, article 14.3: operators and booking channels are “obliged to include in all the advertising they carry out, whatever the medium used, the reference assigned to the dwelling by the tourism administration”20.
- Madrid: article 17.5 of Decreto 79/2014 required the number “in all forms of advertising”; that clause has been annulled since 20186.
- Andalucía: the 2016 wording of article 9.4 of Decreto 28/2016 required the RTA code “in all advertising or promotion carried out through any medium”21; Decreto 31/2024 rewrote article 9 without that sentence, and the code remains mandatory on the payment receipt handed to the guest (article 6)22.
Four details that prevent mistakes:
- Catalonia: do not confuse the regional NIRTC with the cancelled state NRUA. If your agent told you they cancelled “the registration”, check which of the two it was.
- Madrid: the 2018 annulment still stands and Decreto 27/2026 does not bring back the duty to publish the number15. Keep the number and the CIVUT in order anyway: the platforms ask for the number even where your region does not require it in the ad.
- Basque Country: the registry is not decorative. In July 2025, after a formal request from the regional Department of Tourism, Trade and Consumer Affairs, Airbnb removed 703 Basque listings that carried no registration number23. Regions already use this lever, and the platform will not warn you first.
- Andalucía: Decreto 31/2024 replaced the term “viviendas con fines turísticos” with “viviendas de uso turístico” in the regional rules22, which is where the
VUTin the table comes from. What that decree does not do is govern codes already issued: it neither orders their conversion nor mentions theVFTprefix at all. If your RTA decision carries one, type it exactly as issued, because what counts is the number the registry granted, not the newer term.
If you held an NRUA: a short exit checklist
- Don’t renew it or start new filings. The obligation no longer exists.
- Keep the full file, including any rejection: it is the basis for any future fee claim.
- Audit your listings today: regional number present, exact format, on Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo and your own site. On Booking, check each unit’s number too, not just the property’s.
- A cancelled provisional NRUA does not touch your regional licence. They are different registries; your right to operate comes from the regional one.
Frequently asked questions
Can I advertise without any registration number? You cannot advertise without a registration number. The state NRUA is gone, but the regional number remains mandatory in advertising in most Spanish regions, and the platforms ask for it and verify it even where your region does not require it in the ad.
Airbnb still asks for the national number. What do I enter? When Airbnb asks for the national number, the field to get right is the regional one, because that is the legally required number. Next to each field the platform offers the option of requesting an exemption, and our reading is that this is where an owner with no NRUA belongs, since no rule demands one any more. If support still blocks you, cite the Supreme Court annulment.
My provisional NRUA was cancelled. Must I stop renting? A cancelled provisional NRUA does not force you to stop renting, as long as your regional registration is valid. The cancelled number belongs to the annulled state registry, not to your licence.
Will Spain refund the NRUA fees I paid? No refund of the NRUA fees has been announced. Keep every invoice in case a procedure opens; some owners are weighing individual claims.
Does the digital single window still work? The digital single window still works. The Supreme Court annulled the state registry but dismissed the appeal as to the single window and the platforms’ data obligations under EU Regulation 2024/1028.
Does this change my guest registration duties? None of this changes your guest registration duties. Royal Decree 933/2021 is a separate regime: guest data still goes to SES.HOSPEDAJES within 24 hours of the start of the stay, with the same penalties.
The guest report does not depend on your listing number
Whatever happens to the property registries, the daily obligation continues: every arriving guest means a traveller report to SES.HOSPEDAJES within 24 hours, and none of the three judgments moved that deadline. That recurring part is what RegistroViajero automates, digital check-in included, in your guests’ language and yours.
This article is informational and is not legal advice. Number formats and advertising rules are regional and change often: verify yours with the official registry of your region.
Sources
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Airbnb help centre on Royal Decree 1312/2024, accessed 15 September 2026 (in Spanish). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Royal Decree 1312/2024, consolidated text, with the annulment notes for the Supreme Court judgments of 19 and 21 May and 1 June 2026 (BOE, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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The Supreme Court annuls the single registry of short-term rentals, press release of 21 May 2026 (CGPJ, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Supreme Court judgment of 19 May 2026, Third Chamber, on Royal Decree 1312/2024, BOE no. 139 of 8 June 2026 (BOE, in Spanish). ↩
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Basque Tourism Act 13/2016, of 28 July, article 24.7, consolidated text (BOE, PDF, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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The Supreme Court annuls two requirements of Madrid’s Decreto 79/2014, press release of 12 December 2018 (CGPJ, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2
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Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 of 11 April 2024, articles 4(1) and 7(1), OJ L of 29 April 2024 (BOE, in Spanish). ↩
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Provisional single-registry numbers cancelled in Catalonia after the Supreme Court judgment (Crónica Global, 15 June 2026). ↩
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Airbnb help centre on registration in Galicia, accessed 15 September 2026 (in Spanish). ↩
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Understanding accommodation licensing, including short-term rentals, partner help centre, accessed 15 September 2026 (Booking.com). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Add or update your property registration number, help centre, accessed 15 September 2026 (Vrbo). ↩
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Andalusian Tourism Act 13/2011, of 23 December, which creates the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía, consolidated text (BOE, in Spanish). ↩
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Catalan Tourism Act 13/2002, of 21 June, article 73, consolidated text (BOE, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2
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Valencian Act 15/2018, of 7 June, on tourism, leisure and hospitality, article 19.1.b), consolidated text (BOE, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2
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Decreto 27/2026, of 25 March, amending Decreto 79/2014, BOCM no. 80 of 6 April 2026, PDF (Comunidad de Madrid, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2
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Balearic Tourism Act 8/2012, of 19 July, articles 23.7 and 28.3, consolidated text (BOE, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2
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Canary Islands Act 6/2025, of 10 December, on the sustainable regulation of tourist use of dwellings, article 8.6, consolidated text (BOE, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2
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Galician Tourism Act 7/2011, of 27 October, article 65 bis, consolidated text (BOE, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2
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Asturian Tourism Act 7/2001, of 22 June, which creates the Registro de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas, consolidated text (BOE, in Spanish). ↩
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Decreto 48/2016, of 10 August, on holiday homes and tourist-use dwellings, article 14.3, BOPA no. 191 of 17 August 2016, PDF (Principado de Asturias, in Spanish). ↩
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Decreto 28/2016, of 2 February, on tourist dwellings, article 9.4, 2016 wording, PDF (Junta de Andalucía, in Spanish). ↩
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Decreto 31/2024, of 29 January, on tourist-use dwellings, sections seven, nine and eleven, BOJA no. 24 of 2 February 2024, PDF (Junta de Andalucía, in Spanish). ↩ ↩2
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Airbnb confirms the removal of 703 tourist-accommodation listings without a registration number, release of 30 July 2025 (Basque Government, in Spanish). ↩
