Guest ID Upload: Require or Make Optional for Your Listings

What is Guest ID Upload?

Houfy allows hosts to require guests to upload a government-issued photo ID (passport, driver's license, national ID) before completing a booking. This helps hosts verify guest identity and adds a layer of security to every reservation.

By default, ID upload is required for all listings. You can now make it optional from your listing settings.

How to Change the Setting

1. Go to your listing > Edit Listing > Rules

2. Open the "Age & Rental Agreement" section

3. Find the toggle: "Require government ID upload"

4. Turn it OFF to make ID upload optional, or ON to require it

When you turn it OFF, the setting is applied to all your listings at once. When you turn it ON, it applies only to the current listing — so you can require ID for some listings and make it optional for others.

How It Works with Rental Agreements

If your listing has a Houfy Rental Agreement that must be signed at booking, that agreement decides on its own whether an ID is asked for, and your listing’s Require government ID upload toggle is not read at all while it is in place. To require an ID, add the Id upload section to the agreement.

Removing the Id upload section switches ID collection off completely - it does NOT hand control back to the listing setting, and the toggle can still read ON while no ID is being collected.

To go back to controlling this from the listing setting, either delete the Houfy agreement or set it so it is not required at booking.

What Guests See

When ID upload is required, guests see an ID Verification section on the booking page before they can submit their reservation. They can upload a photo of their government-issued ID, take a photo directly from their device camera, or drag and drop the file. Any common image format is accepted, including HEIC photos straight from an iPhone, as well as PDF, DOC and DOCX. Files must be under 20MB.

There are two cases where no ID is collected whatever your settings say. First, on the Contact host page - an inquiry is a message, not a booking, so no ID is requested. Second, on a listing whose host has no payment processor connected; those listings can only be enquired about, so the booking step, and with it the ID upload, never runs. Bookings paid through a payment link also skip it.

The uploaded ID is stored securely and is only accessible to the host for verification purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I require ID for some listings but not others?

Yes. Turn the setting OFF (applies to all listings), then turn it ON individually for the listings where you want to require it.

What types of ID are accepted?

Any government-issued photo ID - passport, driver’s licence, national ID card or similar official document. Upload it as a photo (JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WEBP and other common image formats) or as a PDF, under 20MB.

Where can I see the uploaded IDs?

Uploaded IDs are available on the reservation details page for each booking.

What if a guest has already uploaded their ID for a previous booking?

The system remembers previously uploaded IDs. Returning guests won't need to upload again.

My guest never uploaded an ID even though the setting is on - why?

Check three things in this order. Whether the booking arrived as an inquiry rather than through the booking page; whether the listing has a rental agreement whose Id upload section has been removed, which overrides the listing toggle; and whether the booking was paid through a payment link, which has no ID step.