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Eesti·Destination guide · Baltic

Estonia

59.4370° N · Baltic · Schengen

Estonia requires guest registration before the stay begins — digital or desk — then keep the file for two years.

Under Turismiseadus § 24, the accommodation provider must register the user of accommodation services before the service starts, generally on the basis of a travel document or identity card. Listed personal fields differ slightly for EEA/Swiss/Estonian-resident guests versus other travellers. Data are retained for two years from registration and must be transmitted to Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet (and security authorities) on their request — there is no Lithuania-style same-day national guest portal. Separately, Estonia abolished the majandustegevuse register lodging notice in 2014 and has no collecting national or Tallinn tourist tax as of this review.

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NextStay relevance · Estonia

5 / 5

Essential

Turismiseadus § 24 requires every accommodation provider to register the guest before the stay begins — generally from a travel document or ID card — keep the data two years, and hand it to Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet on demand. No national tourist tax and no majandustegevuse register notice for lodging since 2014.

At a glance · Estonia

  • Register guest

    Before stay starts

  • Retain

    2 years

  • PPA

    On demand · not a portal

  • Tourist tax

    None national / Tallinn

Who this is for

What hosts and hotels actually need to know

Estonia’s lodging stack is digital-first in culture but statute-first on check-in data. First, guest registration: Turismiseadus § 24 makes the provider responsible for registering every accommodation-service user before the stay begins — typically from a passport or ID-kaart, otherwise from another document or the guest’s statements. Capture the statutory fields (name, date of birth, citizenship, country of residence, stay period, purpose of travel, accompanying minors’ count; plus travel-document type, number and issuing state for guests outside the EEA/Swiss/resident circle). Keep the records two years and be ready to deliver them to PPA on demand. Second, enterprise footing: MKM confirms accommodation providers no longer file a general majandustegevusteade for lodging (abolished 1 July 2014) — but you must still meet the Tourism Act type definitions and the ministerial Majutusteenuse osutamise nõuded. Self-classify correctly as hotell, külaliskorter, kodumajutus and so on; state star classification ended in 2021. Third, tax: EMTA taxes accommodation at 13% VAT from 1 January 2025 when you are a taxable person; distinguish temporary majutus from long-term eluruumi üür. Fourth, tourist tax: none collecting nationally or in Tallinn — do not invent a city night levy. Self check-in works when the § 24 registration is complete before access is released.

Front desk or digital — § 24 is unchanged: register each guest before the stay starts, retain two years, and answer PPA data requests. Type labels (hotell, hostel, külalistemaja…) must match the statutory definitions.

  • 01Complete § 24 fields before keys or room access are treated as accommodation starting
  • 02May require travel document / ID-kaart to verify identity (guest remains responsible for data accuracy)
  • 03Retain guest data two years from registration; deliver to PPA / security authorities on demand
  • 04Meet Majutusteenuse osutamise nõuded for your type; voluntary hotel starring sits with the sector (EHRL), not a state järk

Chapter · § 24 register

Guest registration before the stay (Turismiseadus § 24)

The core local rule: the accommodation provider ensures the user of accommodation services is registered before the service begins — generally from a travel document or identity card — then keeps the data two years and produces it to PPA on demand.

Statute

“Majutusteenuse osutaja tagab majutusteenuse kasutaja registreerimise üldjuhul reisidokumendi või isikutunnistuse alusel enne majutusteenuse osutamise algust. … Majutusteenuse osutaja säilitab majutusteenuse kasutajate andmeid kaks aastat registreerimise päevast arvates. … Majutusteenuse osutaja tagab Politsei- ja Piirivalveametile ning julgeolekuasutustele nende nõudmisel … andmete edastamise …”
Turismiseadus § 24 (1), (7) and (8) [01]
  1. 01

    When registration must happen

    Registration is required before the accommodation service starts (enne majutusteenuse osutamise algust). For remote stays that means the statutory guest data must be on file before door codes, lockboxes or smart locks are released — not after the guest has already moved in. If a travel document or ID card is missing, the Act still allows registration from another document or the guest’s statements.

    [01][02]
  2. 02

    What to collect — EEA / Swiss / Estonian-resident guests

    For citizens of Estonia, another EEA state or Switzerland, and for foreigners living in Estonia on a residence permit or right of residence, at least: given name(s) and surname(s); date of birth; citizenship; country of residence; period of the accommodation service; purpose of travel; and the number of accompanying minor children. Accompanying minors travelling with the registered adult do not need their own full § 24 field set.

    [01]
  3. 03

    Extra fields for other travellers

    Guests outside that circle must also provide travel-document type, number and issuing state. The guest is responsible for the accuracy of the data; the provider (or travel undertaking for a group) may require presentation of a travel document or identity card to verify identity.

    [01]
  4. 04

    Two-year keep · PPA on demand — not a national portal

    Retain guest data for two years from the registration date. § 24 (8) requires transmission to Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet and security authorities on their request for tasks arising from EU or national law — this is a keep-and-produce duty, not a Lithuania E.turistas 24-hour upload or a Finland-style without-delay foreign-guest push to a police portal. Do not invent a national guest-card website that does not exist in the statute.

    [01][04]
  5. 05

    Who supervises registration

    Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet supervises compliance with the § 24 guest-registration requirement. TTJA supervises other Tourism Act accommodation requirements; Päästeamet covers fire safety; city and rural municipality governments cover local territorial requirements. Design your guest file so a PPA request can be answered from structured records.

    [01][04]

Chapter · Enterprise & types

Accommodation types, requirements & no MTR lodging notice

Estonia defines majutusettevõte types in Turismiseadus and sets comfort/safety rules by ministerial regulation — but the general economic-activities register notice for lodging was abolished in 2014, and state star classification ended in 2021.

  1. 01

    What counts as majutusteenus

    A majutusettevõte is an economic unit through which an entrepreneur provides accommodation services in the course of economic or professional activity. Majutusteenus is the offering of temporary overnighting. The Act expressly excludes, among others, accommodation under a residential lease (eluruumi üürileping), employer housing of staff, school dorms, overnighting in passenger-transport vehicles, and certain experiential outdoor stays. EMTA uses the same Tourism Act definition when separating taxable majutus from VAT-exempt long-term residential letting.

    [01][07]
  2. 02

    Type labels you may use

    Principal types: hotell, motell, külalistemaja, hostel, puhkeküla või -laager, puhkemaja, külaliskorter and kodumajutus. Those names may be used only for establishments that meet the statutory description (e.g. külaliskorter = whole apartment to the guest; kodumajutus = room or part of the host’s home). If none fit, use another suitable designation — do not advertise a guest apartment as a hotel.

    [01][04]
  3. 03

    No MTR lodging notice since 2014

    MKM states that until 30 June 2014 accommodation undertakings had to register activity in the majandustegevuse register; that requirement was abolished from 1 July 2014. Providers must still ensure the service meets the established accommodation requirements. Alcohol sales still need an MTR notice; catering needs a notice to Põllumajandus- ja Toiduamet. Do not invent a Portugal-style RNAL or Lithuania VVTAT listing number for ordinary Estonian lodging.

    [04]
  4. 04

    Requirements regulation & no state star grade

    Detailed comfort and safety rules by type sit in the ministerial Majutusteenuse osutamise nõuded (e.g. lockable guestroom doors, identified key issue, round-the-clock entry/exit). From 1 May 2021 the state no longer runs majutusettevõtte järk (star) assignment — MKM notes quality marking is left to the sector (hotel starring currently via Eesti Hotellide ja Restoranide Liit). Listings still owe accurate type naming and safe premises.

    [03][04]

Chapter · EMTA & tourist tax

VAT, rental income & no collecting tourist tax

Fiscal duties run through Maksu- ja Tolliamet. Estonia has no national tourist tax collecting, and Tallinn has not enacted a municipal guest-night levy as of this review — discussion is not law.

  1. 01

    Accommodation VAT at 13%

    From 1 January 2025, accommodation or accommodation with breakfast is taxed at 13% VAT (up from 9%), excluding accompanying goods/services. The reduced rate applies only to services inseparable from the lodging itself. Standard VAT is 24% from 1 July 2025 for other taxable supplies. Register as a taxable person via e-MTA when the statutory turnover threshold is met (EMTA guidance: €40,000 calendar-year framework under KMS § 19¹ — confirm current threshold text for your facts).

    [06][07]
  2. 02

    Majutus vs eluruumi üür

    EMTA stresses that temporary overnighting (majutus) is not VAT-exempt residential letting. Factors include whether you operate as a majutusettevõte, use accommodation-type channels, fulfil § 24 registration, and offer temporary stays (TurS/VÕS materials often treat up to three months as the short-term / temporary band). Long residential leases are a different product — do not mix the files.

    [07][01]
  3. 03

    Declare rental / business income

    Short-term accommodation income is taxable. Natural persons declare rental or business income through EMTA (vorm A / vorm E / FIE tracks depending on facts). Platform and cost deductions follow current EMTA guidance — treat Airbnb tax PDFs as secondary checklists, not primary law.

    [08]
  4. 04

    No tourist tax collecting — Tallinn included

    As of 20 July 2026 there is no national majutusmaks / tourist tax remittance duty, and Tallinn has not put a collecting per-night city tax into force. Media discussion of possible future levies is not a legal basis to charge guests. If primary law later enables and a municipality adopts a tax, update pricing only after that text is in force.

    [04][09]

Chapter · EU layer

EU and Schengen law that sits underneath

Estonia is an EU and Schengen Member State. § 24 implements the lodging-record purpose domestically as keep-and-produce to PPA; GDPR governs storage; Reg 2024/1028 matters if Estonia later adds an STR registration system for platforms.

  1. 01

    Schengen — Article 45 purpose, Estonian form

    Article 45 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement sets the lodging-provider guest-record purpose for Schengen states. Estonia implements that purpose through Turismiseadus § 24 (pre-stay registration, two-year retention, transmission to PPA on demand) — not through a Portuguese SIBA same-day portal or a Lithuanian E.turistas clock. Use the Estonian field list, not a generic EU checklist.

    [10][01]
  2. 02

    GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)

    Guest identity and travel-document data are personal data. Collect what § 24 and your lawful basis require, inform guests, secure storage for the two-year statutory window (and any longer operational retention you justify under GDPR), and avoid indefinite passport-image archives when the statute asks for structured fields.

    [11][01]
  3. 03

    Short-term rental data — Regulation (EU) 2024/1028

    From 20 May 2026 the EU framework for STR registration data and platform sharing applies where Member States operate registration procedures and require platforms to transmit activity data. Estonia has not layered a national STR registration number on top of that framework as of this review — host duties remain § 24 guest registration, type/requirements compliance, EMTA, and any future municipal tourist tax if primary law creates one.

    [12][13][05]

Remote arrival · Still the law

Self check-in under Estonian rules

Remote arrival is natural for Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu apartments. Unregistered arrival is the risk. § 24 requires registration before the accommodation service begins — it does not require a paper ledger at a front desk.

01

Document

02

E.turistas

03

Keys

  • Registration is the check-in

    Treat completion of the statutory guest fields (and any identity verification you require under § 24 (6)) as the legal check-in moment. Door codes, lockboxes and smart locks should wait until that moment is done.

    [01]

  • Before the stay starts — not after landing

    The Act’s timing words are enne majutusteenuse osutamise algust. Late ferry or Lennart Meri arrivals still need the data on file before access instructions unlock.

    [01][02]

  • Keep-and-produce for PPA

    There is no national same-day guest portal to ‘submit to’. Structured digital capture still matters so a two-year file and an on-demand PPA export are ready — hotels and keybox apartments share that outcome.

    [01][04]

  • Type label and house rules are separate

    A completed guest registration does not turn a residential flat into a hotel on the listing, and it does not override apartment-association or building rules. Align public type naming with Turismiseadus § 18.

    [01][04]

City & tax layers

§ 24 is national. Cities differ in arrival patterns and seasonal peaks — not in a collecting tourist tax. Do not confuse EMTA VAT with a municipal guest-night levy.

  • Tallinn city centre and harbour skyline

    Tallinn — identity first, no city tax

    01

    Old Town and city-centre apartments lean on remote arrivals. Pair § 24 registration before access with clear late-arrival instructions for ferry and airport timing. Tallinn has discussed tourist-tax ideas in public debate, but as of this review there is no collecting Tallinn per-night tourist tax to remittance-track — charge nothing as ‘city tax’ unless primary municipal/national law is actually in force.

    [01][09][04]
  • Tartu Town Hall on Raekoja plats

    Tartu — same national stack, student & event peaks

    02

    Tartu applies the same Turismiseadus guest-registration duty and the same absence of a national STR licence number. University and event peaks reward pre-completed guest data before codes go out. No separate Tartu tourist tax collecting as of this review.

    [01][04]
  • Pärnu beach in summer

    Pärnu — seasonal coast, same § 24 clock

    03

    Summer-capital peaks make timed arrivals and completed pre-arrival registration especially valuable before keys unlock. Local government may supervise territorial accommodation requirements, but guest registration remains the national § 24 / PPA track — still no national tourist tax collecting.

    [01][04][09]

This is the law · Here is the reference

Sources & references

Primary statutes, EU instruments and competent authorities. Open the link when your property is at stake.

  1. [01]Local law
    Turismiseadus — consolidated (Riigi Teataja)

    Primary statute: §§ 17–19 types and service duties; § 24 guest registration before stay, fields, two-year retention, PPA on demand; § 30 supervision (PPA for registration).

  2. [02]Local law
    Turismiseaduse muutmise seadus (RT I, 04.12.2020, 1)

    Rewrote § 24 from the older visitor’s-card / signature model to pre-stay registration with listed fields (in force 1 May 2021).

  3. [03]Local law
    Majutusteenuse osutamise nõuded

    Ministerial regulation on premises, lockable rooms, key issue, round-the-clock entry/exit and type-specific comfort/safety rules.

  4. [04]Authority
    MKM — Majutusteenused

    Ministry overview: type self-classification, MTR lodging notice abolished 1 July 2014, state star grading ended 2021, supervision map (TTJA, Päästeamet, PPA, local government).

  5. [05]Guidance
    MKM — Short-term rental market in Estonia (info sheet)

    Ministry-aligned study framing residential STR as accommodation service under the Tourism Act (guest registration, safety, statistics where applicable).

  6. [06]Authority
    EMTA — 13% VAT on accommodation

    From 1 Jan 2025 accommodation (or with breakfast) at 13% VAT; standard rate context and reduced-rate limits.

  7. [07]Authority
    EMTA — Majutusteenuse osutamine (VAT handbook)

    Uses TurS § 17 definition; factors distinguishing majutus from VAT-exempt residential letting; links § 24 registration practice.

  8. [08]Authority
    EMTA — Üüri- ja renditulu

    Natural-person rental income declaration and withholding context via e-MTA.

  9. [09]Guidance
    ERR — tourist tax debate (Tallinn / Pärnu)

    Public debate and ministry comments that a tourist tax was not on the ministry agenda; used only to document absence of a collecting levy — not a tax schedule.

  10. [10]EU law
    Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement — Art. 45

    EU-layer lodging / guest-record purpose implemented domestically via Turismiseadus § 24.

  11. [11]EU law
    GDPR — Regulation (EU) 2016/679

    Personal-data rules for identity and document processing.

  12. [12]EU law
    Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 — short-term rental data

    EU framework for STR registration data and platform sharing (from 20 May 2026).

  13. [13]Agency
    European Commission — STR transparency rules

    Plain-language explanation of the May 2026 framework.

After the law · The product

Where NextStay fits

After the law is clear: we turn § 24 registration into the gate before access — so Estonian hosts can run remote arrivals without skipping the pre-stay guest file.

  • 01

    Registration before the key

    Online check-in collects the statutory guest details before door instructions unlock — matching Turismiseadus timing that registration happens before the accommodation service begins.

  • 02

    Fields ready for a two-year file

    Structured capture supports the § 24 field set and keeps records organised for the two-year retention window and on-demand PPA delivery.

  • 03

    Host visibility without desk chaos

    Hotels and individual hosts see progress per reservation: who completed, who is blocked, and when access can release.

  • 04

    Destination guidance in the workspace

    This dossier stays attached to the market you operate in — not a generic EU footnote buried in a help centre.

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NextStay provides operational tools and general regulatory information, not legal advice. Hosts remain responsible for confirming the rules that apply to their accommodation in Estonia. Research last verified .