When travelling in Uzbekistan, you need to be registered by hotels or other licensed places to stay. If you fail to do so, you might have to pay a fine or a bribe.
Your hotel will give you a registration slip free of charge, a little piece of paper saying you are staying there. Keep them safe, you might need to show them when leaving the country at the border.
New registration system from July 2018
A new registration system is supposed to start in July 2018. We have no details yet other than this, from the Tashkent Times:
Foreign citizens traveling on self-guided tours, living in tents or vehicles, may obtain a temporary residence permit by sending an online notification within three days through an app with indication of settlements to be visited. In addition, they can apply to tourist information centers or nearby hotels.
Should foreign citizens on self-guided tours (living in tents or in adapted transport) fail to register and pay a tourist fee, they shall pay a fine 10 times the unpaid amount of the tourist fee.
When accommodating in tents and vehicles adapted, tourists shall, on their own or through a tour operator, tourist information office or accommodation facility, pay a fee of 5% of the MW.
All reports, questions and answers are welcome in this forum Q&A.
Basic rules
The rule is that you need registration every 3 days /2 nights without registering. This rule is open to interpretation by law enforcement, but generally known and respected. However, this rule is not valid in the Ferghana Valley (everything east from Tashkent for easy reference), where you need to be registered every night.
What if I am missing registration slips?
Note that some hotels refuse to register you when you don’t have the registration slip of the previous night.
Also note, the vast majority of people do not get checked for registration slips on exit. Some do. So do not fret too much about it, except for the Ferghana Valley. There we do advise caution. There is a checkpoint between Tashkent and Kokand where your slips are definitely checked.
For cyclists, night train travelers and campers, knowing this, it is fine to be missing some registration slips. Show your bicycle or night train ticket when asked.
Couchsurfing is common in Uzbekistan, and many backpackers do it, but remember, it is officially not allowed. We advise not to stay with locals; not for your own safety, but for that of your host.
