Airbnb Registration Number in Nice: the 2026 Process

To let your apartment on Airbnb, Booking or Abritel in Nice, a registration number is mandatory: this 13-character code must appear on every listing, or you risk a fine of up to €5,000. But in Nice, getting it often requires a prior step that many owners discover too late — the change-of-use authorisation. Here is the complete 2026 process, in order, so you can register your furnished tourist rental without any nasty surprises.

What is the registration number and what is it for?

The registration number is a 13-character identifier assigned to your property by Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. It exists to track furnished tourist rentals and enforce local rules. In practice, the platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Abritel/Vrbo) require this number to publish or keep your listing online, and automatically block nights beyond the authorised limits.

A key point that is often misunderstood: in Nice, this number is separate from the change-of-use number. These are two distinct procedures, handled by two different services. The change of use authorises (or not) your property to be let on a short-term basis; the registration itself is done alongside the tourist-tax declaration, once you already hold permission to let. You cannot, therefore, display a valid number without first settling the question of the property's use.

First step: do I need a change-of-use authorisation?

It all depends on the nature of your property. This is the question that shapes everything that follows.

If you are letting your primary residence (the home you occupy at least eight months a year), you do not need a change-of-use authorisation. The law lets you rent it as a furnished tourist let for up to 90 days per year in Nice. You then move straight to the next step (declaration and registration). This is the simplest case, and 90 days is more than enough to make a summer pay — we cover it in our article on renting out your house while on holiday.

If you are letting a second home or a property dedicated to renting, you must first obtain a temporary change-of-use authorisation from the City of Nice. Since 1 September 2026, it is valid for up to 5 years, non-renewable, non-divisible, non-assignable and non-transferable to another property, and only one is granted per owner, limited to one per tax household. Beyond that, you must compensate (convert non-residential premises into housing, or buy commerciality titles) or opt into the mixed-use letting scheme. This is the step that calls for the most planning, especially since quotas were introduced.

The 2026 quotas: why timing matters

Four districts of Nice — Vieux-Nice, Riquier–Port–Mont Boron, the City Centre and the West — are subject to quotas. Under the new regulation in force since 1 September 2026, change-of-use applications there can be filed only from 1 September to 31 December 2026, exclusively online at changementdusage.fr/nice, and within a limit of 691 authorisations in total for 2026. Complete files are processed in order of arrival, incomplete files are rejected, and the City has 4 months to review them — no response counts as a refusal.

Renewals of existing authorisations, compensation files and mixed-use letting are exempt from these quotas and can be filed year-round, as can applications outside the four districts. So if your property sits in one of these in-demand neighbourhoods, it pays to file a complete application as soon as the window opens: there is no waiting list, and a refused application must be filed again in the next window. For the full detail of the new regulation, see our guide to the change-of-use permit in Nice.

Second step: declare the rental and obtain the number

Once the authorisation is in hand (or if you are letting your primary residence), it is time for the declaration that generates the registration number. In Nice, this is done through the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist-tax portal. The steps:

1. Create your host account on the Métropole's tourist-tax portal and declare your furnished tourist rental there (mandatory, whether the property is classified or not).
2. Register the property in parallel — this is the operation that issues the 13-character number.
3. Add this number to every listing, from the moment it first goes live.

The tourist-tax declaration is itself mandatory and independent: it commits you to collecting the tax from travellers and remitting it to the Métropole. To understand the amounts and how they are calculated, our guide to Airbnb rules in Nice in 2026 covers the whole picture.

Which documents should you prepare?

For the change-of-use authorisation (second home), the City of Nice asks in particular for:

Indicative list of the main documents — source: Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur / City of Nice, June 2026. The reviewing service may request additional documents.

For the tourist-tax declaration and registration, the information mainly concerns the property's identity, address and status (primary residence or not), with supporting documents where applicable. The good news: once your file is complete, the registration itself is quick and free. The real delay, and the real challenge, lies upstream, in the change-of-use authorisation.

What about the national online service?

The "Le Meur" law of 19 November 2024 provides for a single national online service (apimeubles.finances.gouv.fr) intended, in time, to centralise the registration of all furnished tourist rentals in France and replace the municipal services. Framed by decrees no. 2026-196 and 2026-197 of 19 March 2026, its full rollout — first announced for 20 May 2026 — has been postponed to the last quarter of 2026, with no definitive official date to date.

In short: as of this article, the Nice process described above is still the one to follow. When the national gateway takes over, the logic will stay the same (declare to obtain a number to display), but the entry point will change. The rules move fast on this topic: always check the information on the official sources before filing your application.

How long does it take, and how do you avoid getting lost?

For a primary residence, expect near-instant registration once your host account is created. For a second home, the horizon is very different: the change-of-use authorisation requires a complete file, sometimes a limited filing window (1 September to 31 December 2026 in the quota districts), and a review that can take up to 4 months. Between gathering documents, the quotas and the two-step procedure, the most common mistake is to publish a listing without a valid number — or with only the change-of-use number — and to expose yourself to a fine.

This is precisely the kind of formality we handle from start to finish for every property entrusted to us. If you would rather delegate these steps than spend your evenings on them, let's talk about your project: we build the file, follow the review and display the right number on each of your listings.

Official sources

• Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur — Letting a furnished tourist rental in Nice: steps for individuals (official process, required documents, contacts, 2026 quotas)
• Public notice — 2026 quota districts map — PDF, in French (4 quota zones, 691 permits, filing from 1 September to 31 December 2026)
• changementdusage.fr/nice (test your address and file the change-of-use application online)
• Tourist-tax portal — Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur (declare the rental and obtain the registration number)
• apimeubles.finances.gouv.fr — Understanding the scheme (national online service provided for by the Le Meur law)
• service-public.fr — Furnished tourist rental (national framework, owner's obligations)