Airbnb listing requirements (2026): what you need to publish

Every requirement in one table

Airbnb's listing flow has three stages: tell it about your place, make the listing stand out with photos, a title, a description and amenities, then set your prices and publish. The table covers each requirement, what Airbnb asks for, where you set it on desktop and the Airbnb page it comes from. All of it was read on Airbnb's own pages on October 28, 2026.

Identity verification

Airbnb says every host, new co-host and booking guest must be identity verified. For a new host, verification happens when you create your first listing. There's no time limit, but your listing won't be published until you finish, so you can't take reservations before then.

Often your legal name, address and contact details are enough, checked against third-party sources. If they aren't, Airbnb may ask for a photo of a government ID (a driver's license, passport or national ID card) and a selfie that matches it. Airbnb says it typically takes less than an hour. Use your legal name as it appears on your ID; you can add a preferred first name that guests see. Hosts who host as a business may be asked for more, such as a home address or citizenship.

Photos: the minimums

• Count: "You need at least 5 photos to get started," says Airbnb's Resource Center, and you can add more later.
• Size: at least 1024 × 683 pixels in the Help Center; the Resource Center photo guide recommends at least 1200 × 800 and files up to about 10 MB. A photo of 1200 × 800 or larger meets both.
• Orientation: landscape. Airbnb shows photos in landscape on the listing page and crops them to squares in search results, so keep the subject in the middle.
• Rooms: Airbnb's AI sorts photos into a room-by-room photo tour. A room needs at least one photo to appear in it, and the first 5 photos are shown most prominently.
• Accuracy: the photos must show the space guests will get. More on that below.

Any recent iPhone photo is far above the minimum size; light, angle and preparation matter more. See how to take Airbnb photos with an iPhone for the shot list, Airbnb photos not uploading if a file won't go up, and photo size requirements for every platform's numbers.

Title and description

Airbnb's Resource Center says you don't have to use all 50 characters available for a title, and that titles over 50 characters are shortened in search results on small screens: "Country cabin with lake view, fire pit, boat ramp" shows as "Country cabin with lake view…". The Help Center asks you to follow the Content Policy: no misleading information, no symbols or emojis. Airbnb also suggests capitalizing only the first word and proper names, and leaving out what search already shows, such as the city and the number of beds. A changed title can take up to an hour to show.

For the description, Airbnb suggests keeping it brief, leading with what's most important, not repeating the amenities list and being upfront about anything that could be a challenge for some guests, such as stairs for people with limited mobility. Airbnb's Help Center doesn't publish a character limit for it. The other description fields, your property, guest access, interaction with guests and other details to note, are where you say who else is on the property and what guests can use.

Amenities and house rules

Airbnb's ground rules for hosts say the listing page must accurately show all amenities, and any restriction on them, such as a pool open only in summer. Airbnb "strongly encourages" five essentials in every listing: toilet paper, soap for hands and body, one towel per guest, one pillow per guest and linens for each guest bed. If you tick the Essentials option and don't provide them, Airbnb says the listing may face penalties, including removal.

House rules are picked from a set list: pets; events; smoking, vaping and e-cigarettes; quiet hours; maximum overnight guests; commercial photography and filming; lock up at checkout; and which Airbnb Services are allowed in the home. Anything else, like taking shoes off indoors, goes in as a request. Changes only apply to future reservations.

New from November 20, 2026. Airbnb's reasonable house rules policy applies to every reservation booked on or after that date. Rules and requests must be on the listing page at booking, not added later by message or a sign in the home. Hosts generally can't ask guests to strip beds, take trash offsite or wash and put away dishes, can't fine guests, and must include any fee for an advertised feature in the price shown at booking.

Price, availability and cancellation policy

The last step before publishing is setting weekday and weekend prices. Airbnb shows a suggested price based on your location, amenities and similar listings nearby; the nightly price is up to you, and you can change it on the calendar at any time. Price changes apply only to future reservations. In the calendar settings you also block dates and set the minimum and maximum nights a guest can book.

You choose one cancellation policy for stays of 27 nights or fewer and one for monthly stays of 28 nights or more. The short-stay options in Airbnb's Help Center:

Every standard short-stay policy includes a 24-hour period: guests can cancel for a full refund within 24 hours of confirmation if the booking was confirmed at least 7 days before check-in. For stays in California, Airbnb applies a state law in effect since July 1, 2024: a full refund for 24 hours after confirmation if the booking was confirmed at least 72 hours before check-in, whatever your policy. You can also offer a discounted non-refundable rate on short stays.

Safety devices, cameras and hazards you must disclose

• Smoke and CO alarms: hosts should clearly state whether they're present, and if they are, keep them working and test them. Airbnb shows the answer with your amenities and safety information. If the place only uses electric appliances and has no attached garage or other CO source, you can say a CO alarm isn't necessary. Airbnb sends one free combined smoke and CO alarm to eligible hosts on request. Your local law may require one or more.
• Cameras: since April 30, 2024, no security cameras or recording devices may monitor any indoor space, even if they're turned off. Exterior cameras are allowed, and the listing must say where they are, for example "I have a doorbell camera monitoring my front door".
• Noise monitors: allowed indoors if disclosed and not in bedrooms, bathrooms or sleeping areas. Smart home devices such as Alexa or Google Nest don't have to be disclosed, though Airbnb encourages it.
• Hazards: fix known hazards before accepting reservations, and disclose those that come with the place, such as heights, a pool or a body of water, in the description. Weapons and certain animals must be disclosed and secured.
• Access: keys or codes for the main entrance, with codes changed between reservations.

What your city may require: registration and permit numbers

Airbnb's Help Center says some cities require a license or registration number on the listing, and that a listing without one isn't necessarily breaking a rule; many places don't require it. Where it's required, you add the number in the listing's Regulations tab. A listing may show "City registration pending" while the city reviews an application, or "Exempt" if the city exempts it. Four US examples, read on official city pages and Airbnb's Responsible Hosting pages:

New York City. Local Law 18, adopted January 9, 2022, requires short-term rental hosts to register with OSE and bars booking platforms, Airbnb included, from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals; enforcement began September 5, 2023. OSE says you can't rent out an entire apartment or home for fewer than 30 days, the host must share the unit with the guests, and there can be no more than two paying guests at a time. Rent-regulated units and buildings on the Prohibited Buildings List can't register. Airbnb says the address on your listing must match the city's list exactly, and that you can set a 30-night minimum while you wait. Stays of 30 days or more and Class B buildings such as hotels are exempt.

Los Angeles. City Planning's Home-Sharing page says hosts must have an eligible home, register online and display the City-issued registration number on all advertisements and listings. Registrations last 12 months. Only a primary residence, where you live more than six months of the year, qualifies; rent-stabilized units don't, and tenants need the owner's notarized authorization. Regular Home-Sharing allows up to 120 days a year; Extended Home-Sharing allows more once you've been registered for six months or hosted 60 days. Updated guidelines took effect September 28, 2026. Airbnb's Los Angeles page says you must add the number before publishing if you host for 1 to 29 days at a time; hotels and bed and breakfasts claim an exemption on Airbnb instead.

Rules also come from counties, states, HOAs, condo boards and leases. Airbnb's Help Center lists business licenses, zoning, building and safety standards, special permits and occupancy taxes as things to check with your local government. Search Airbnb's Help Center for your city's Responsible Hosting page, then confirm on the city's own site.

Required vs recommended

Much of what you read about "Airbnb requirements" is advice, not a rule. How Airbnb itself words it:

Guest Favorites are chosen automatically every day from ratings, reviews and reliability data. Airbnb's criteria include overall and category ratings (check-in, cleanliness, accuracy, communication, location and value), host cancellation rate, review removal rate and quality issues reported to customer service. Airbnb puts host cancellations and quality-related issues among Guest Favorites at 1% on average. Each listing is judged separately, and Superhost status is a separate program.

Accuracy: what keeps a listing live

Airbnb's ground rules for hosts require the listing page to accurately describe the home: its location, type and size, beds, privacy, amenities and photos. They say: "We will ask hosts to remove content if AI or other digital technology has been used to edit flaws, hide damage, add amenities or attributes that are not part of a listing, or otherwise misrepresent the listing." Airbnb can also ask you to confirm photo accuracy: you visit the listing and take new photos from the same angles in the Airbnb app, and camera roll photos can't be uploaded for that review.

Bright, tidy and level is fine; showing something guests won't find is not. Our guides on Airbnb photo editing and Airbnb photos vs reality go through what's allowed, and the Airbnb photography cost guide compares hiring a photographer with doing it yourself.

The photos, done with October

If the photos are what's holding up your listing, the October app guides you through the place room by room with an iPhone 12 or newer; it shows you where to stand, keeps the phone level and takes the frames. October's photos are AI-generated from that capture: an AI image model draws each one as a wide landscape image well above Airbnb's minimum, usually within a few hours, with a walkthrough video if you want one. The photos get a daylight look and towels, bottles and cables are left out; the model is told to keep walls, floors, windows, fittings and the view, but compare each photo with the room before you upload it, since Airbnb acts on photos where AI hid flaws or added things. A rental of up to 6 rooms is $49 for photos or $99 with a walkthrough, and your first place is free. See pricing.

Step by step

1. Check your city's rules

   Find your city's Responsible Hosting page in Airbnb's Help Center and your city's own short-term rental page. If a registration number is required, apply first.

2. Verify your identity

   Have your legal name, address and a government ID ready. Airbnb won't publish the listing until verification is finished; it typically takes less than an hour.

3. Enter the basics

   Add the property type, location, bedrooms, bathrooms and the number of guests, and choose entire place, room or shared room.

4. Add photos, title and description

   Upload at least 5 landscape photos of at least 1200 × 800 pixels, write a title under 50 characters without emojis, and describe the place accurately.

5. Set amenities, house rules and safety

   List only amenities guests really get, pick house rules from Airbnb's list, and say whether smoke and CO alarms and any exterior cameras are present.

6. Set price and cancellation policy, then publish

   Set weekday and weekend prices and a cancellation policy, add your registration number in the Regulations tab if your city requires one, and publish.

Questions