CIN code for B&Bs and holiday homes: what it is, where to display it, what you risk
The national identification code is requested from the Ministry of Tourism’s database and displayed outside the property and in every listing. Here is what the law says.
Anyone who lets a holiday home, runs a B&B or manages any tourist accommodation in Italy has one more code to know about: the CIN (Codice Identificativo Nazionale, Italy’s national identification code). It was introduced by Article 13-ter of decreto-legge 145 of 2023 (an Italian decree-law) and, at national level, replaces the jungle of regional codes with a single identifier for each property.
Who needs a CIN
The law covers three groups of accommodation:
- residential units let for tourist purposes;
- properties let as short-term rentals, i.e. those covered by Article 4 of decreto-legge 50 of 2017;
- tourist accommodation businesses, both hotel and non-hotel.
In practice: if you host paying tourists, you almost certainly need one.
How to apply
The code is requested online from the Ministry of Tourism’s Banca Dati delle Strutture Ricettive (BDSR, the national accommodation database). The national database was set up in agreement with the Regions and communicates with their records: if the property already has a regional code, you start from there. The Ministry provides a manual for private operators that guides you step by step.
Where to display it
The CIN is not a number to keep in a drawer. The law requires you to:
- display it on the outside of the building where the accommodation is located, in compliance with planning and landscape restrictions;
- show it in every listing, wherever it is published: booking portals, your website, social media.
Intermediaries and portals that publish the listing are also required to show it. One more good place to display it is the guest guide: several properties in Gaeta already include it at the top of their digital guide, under their name.
Safety equipment
The same article requires properties to be fitted with working combustible gas and carbon monoxide detectors and compliant portable fire extinguishers, one for every 200 square metres of floor space or part thereof, with at least one extinguisher per floor. It is worth reading the paragraph to understand how it applies to your situation.
Penalties
- No CIN: from €800 to €8,000;
- CIN not displayed or not shown in listings: from €500 to €5,000;
- missing safety equipment: from €600 to €6,000.
The obligations apply from the sixtieth day after the national database went live.
In short
Request the code on the BDSR, put it outside your door, in every listing and in the guide you give your guests, and check your detectors and extinguishers. For special cases, such as several units in the same building or management through an agency, the safest route is still the text of the law and, if needed, your accountant or your trade association.
Read more
Sources
Article written with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited, under the editorial responsibility of ENEA Cloud. Rules, timetables and prices can change: always check the source.
