Starting a Homestay in Madhya Pradesh

01 / Executive finding

The practical starting point

• For the Madhya Pradesh Homestay category, the last complete notified controlling text located in this research is the Madhya Pradesh Home Stay Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Scheme, 2010 (Revised 2018), issued by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department. It extends the scheme throughout Madhya Pradesh, expressly excludes hotels, motels and guest houses, and authorises the Tourism Department to issue implementation directions. Current MPTB systems continue to operate the Homestay category alongside B&B, Gram Stay and Farm Stay. [S1, Gazette p.1035, cls.1.1–1.6; S2, current portal]
• The notified Homestay rule is built around a residential property holder/owner who physically lives in the property with family. No separate Madhya Pradesh domicile certificate or state permanent-resident requirement was located; the critical residence condition is residence at the Homestay premises. The current portal additionally routes Homestay as an urban category. [S1, Gazette p.1036, cl.2.6(a); S3, Scheme Comparison]
• The most important unresolved conflict is the room limit. The notified 2018 scheme says minimum 1, maximum 6 guest rooms and 12 beds, with no more than two-thirds of the building's rooms used for guests. The same six-room limit appears in the current portal's general Homestay description. However, the current Scheme Comparison page says maximum 8 registered rooms and 12 total rooms in the premises. No later gazetted Homestay amendment authorising eight rooms was located. The official sources are not aligned. [S1, Gazette pp.1035–1036, cls.2.1, 2.6(b); Appendix 1 p.1050; S2, portal; S3, Scheme Comparison]
• Homestays are classified Silver, Gold or Diamond. The notified base application fees are ₹1,000, ₹2,000 and ₹3,000 respectively, plus GST; the certificate is valid for three years. The live portal additionally states a ₹150 portal service fee, excluding GST. [S1, Gazette p.1036, cls.2.2–2.4; S3, fee/validity tables]
• The official classification checklist sets, among other specifications, minimum guest-room areas of 120 sq ft for Silver, 120 sq ft for Gold and 180 sq ft for Diamond, and bathroom areas of 30, 45 and 60 sq ft respectively. Different facilities are marked M or D by grade in the official checklist. [S1, Appendix 1, Gazette pp.1050–1053]
• Registration is centrally administered through Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB). The notified inspection committee consists of the MPTB officer responsible for Homestays and the relevant Regional Manager/Manager of the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation. Inspection, deficiency correction and competent-authority approval precede final registration. [S1, Gazette pp.1037–1038, cls.2.7–2.11, 3]
• The live portal can generate a provisional certificate after successful online payment, but the current official certificate manual separately shows payment followed by assignment for inspection, inspection report, section-level approval and Director approval before completion/final certificate generation. Payment therefore must not be represented as final registration approval. [S3, Scheme Comparison; S8, certificate workflow pp.3–6; S1, cls.2.7–2.10]
• The application is document-heavy. Current official material calls for ownership/registry or agreement material, local-body-approved map, current property-tax receipt, route map, identity and address proof, PAN, family/caretaker information, property and room photographs, GST certificate, society NOC where relevant and a cancelled cheque, among other items. The authenticated application itself was not submitted or impersonated during this research. [S5, Required Document List; S6, How to Apply pp.5–12]
• A registered Homestay must maintain a guest register, retain its records for five years, send monthly guest details to local police, arrange police verification of staff, display the registration certificate and prescribed rates/information, maintain fire/security/cleanliness standards, and report changes in facilities to MPTB within one week. [S1, Gazette pp.1038–1039, cls.5.1–5.11]
• A Homestay is required to remain residential in character: the scheme prohibits a separate front office/reception arrangement and prohibits specified commercial activities from being run from the Homestay premises, including tour/travel, sightseeing, transport and similar activity. [S1, Gazette pp.1039–1040, cls.6.1–6.4]
• Foreign-guest reporting is now governed separately by the Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025. Rule 17 expressly includes a home stay within “accommodation”, requires Form III particulars to be submitted through the designated system within 24 hours of foreign/OCI guest arrival, requires departure information within 24 hours, and requires specified electronic records to be retained for at least one year. These duties do not replace the Madhya Pradesh five-year general guest-register requirement. [S13, G.S.R.596(E), Rule 17 and Form III]
• The 2018 Homestay scheme states that a food/restaurant licence is not required, but this wording cannot safely be treated as an exemption from the current national Food Safety and Standards Act/FSSAI regime when the operation is a Food Business Operator. As of 1 April 2026, FSSAI's revised turnover categories are registration up to ₹1.5 crore, State licence above ₹1.5 crore up to ₹50 crore and Central licence above ₹50 crore; FSSAI licences/registrations now have perpetual validity unless suspended, cancelled or surrendered. Exact FoSCoS business-category selection for a Homestay should not be guessed. [S1, Gazette p.1042, cl.10.5; S16, FSSAI orders dated 13 and 27 March 2026]

02 / Document chronology

Use the current rules and implementation

Unresolved chronology issue: the current Responsible Tourism Mission webpage labels Homestay as “2010 (Revised 2019)”, while the located Gazette is Revised 2018 and other current government-facing material continues to reference the 2018 scheme. No 2019 Homestay amendment was located. [S1; S12]

03 / Category definitions

Choose the right accommodation category

04 / Eligibility decision tree

Check whether the applicant and property qualify

Step 1 — Establish the exact address and local-body category. If the property is inside the urban area shown as eligible for Homestay on the current portal, continue to the Homestay tests. This appears to fit the published route, subject to the remaining checks, subject to all remaining tests. If it is rural, the current portal points toward Gram Stay rather than Homestay. Because the 2018 Homestay notification itself says the scheme extends throughout Madhya Pradesh, this geographic narrowing has not been reconciled through a located amendment. Confirm this in writing with the authority. If it is outside an urban local-body boundary and farm-based, Farm Stay may be the intended category. Consider another accommodation category. [S1, cl.1.2; S3 location table; S10] Step 2 — Establish ownership or lease position. A resident individual owner with documentary title can proceed to the residence test. This appears to fit the published route, subject to the remaining checks. A lessee, licensee or person relying solely on an agreement cannot be treated as an eligible Homestay holder merely because the portal accepts a registry/agreement upload. The notified resident-owner language remains unresolved. Confirm this in writing with the authority. An investor with capital but no property has no property-specific Homestay application yet. Not established in the published material for capital-only pre-registration. Step 3 — Identify the intended registration holder and residency. If the individual owner and family will physically live in the residential building, continue. This appears to fit the published route, subject to the remaining checks. If the owner lives elsewhere and only a caretaker will live at the property, the located Homestay rule is not satisfied. B&B or Farm Stay may be relevant depending on location. Consider another accommodation category. If a company, partnership, LLP, trust or society is intended to be the Homestay registration holder, the current upload list's reference to company/society PAN is insufficient to establish legal eligibility. Confirm this in writing with the authority. [S1, cl.2.6(a); S3; S5] Step 4 — Determine who will actually operate the property. Resident owner directly operating it: continue. Resident owner retaining a professional management company: no inspected rule expressly authorises transfer of the registration-holder duties to that company. A management contract may allocate commercial tasks but cannot, by itself, eliminate residence, guest-record, safety or disclosure duties imposed on the registered establishment. Confirm this in writing with the authority for the exact division of regulated responsibility. Caretaker-only Homestay with absentee owner: does not appear to fit the published homestay definition, although another scheme may. Step 5 — Test the room and bed plan. 1–6 guest rooms, no more than 12 beds, and no more than two-thirds of building rooms used for guests: This appears to fit the published route, subject to the remaining checks, subject to other criteria. 7–8 guest rooms: live portal suggests eligibility but the notified scheme does not. Confirm this in writing with the authority. More than 8 guest rooms: it falls outside even the current portal's Homestay comparison ceiling. Consider another accommodation category. A six-room proposal with more than 12 beds: does not appear to fit the published homestay definition. [S1, cls.2.1,2.6(b); S3] Step 6 — Determine development status. Existing/running residence with lawful local-body approved plan and required records: continue through documentation and inspection. Existing building with altered rooms, uncertain sanctioned plan or unresolved use: tourism registration does not cure that issue. Confirm this in writing with the authority from the relevant building/local authority before reliance on Homestay registration. Land only/new proposed construction: tourism eligibility can inform design, but construction permission must precede treating the future building as registration-ready. Not established in the published material for any Homestay tourism pre-approval that substitutes for planning/building approval. Use these branches as a starting test and confirm the result for the exact property.

05 / Applicant and operating structures

Set the ownership and operating structure

06 / Property and classification standards

Prepare the property for inspection

The official Appendix 1 uses M and D indicators against the grades. The reviewed pages do not contain a separately located legend defining those letters; therefore this guide records them as M-marked and D-marked classification items rather than silently supplying a legal definition for the abbreviations.

07 / Documents and declarations

Assemble the application file

The current application manual states that mandatory documents must be uploaded and additional non-mandatory documents supplied where required. Because no authenticated application was created, the exact conditional logic behind each portal upload field should not be represented as universal merely because it appears in the public master list. [S6, p.11]

Download the Madhya Pradesh property and application checklist ↓

08 / Application and inspection process

Follow the application and inspection process

Portal sequence: [S4–S8]. Inspection/legal sequence: [S1, Gazette pp.1037–1038, cls.2.7–2.11].

Rule-based delay or refusal points

No empirical rejection-frequency dataset was located, so the following are process-derived risks, not claims about historical frequency:

09 / Fees, timelines, validity and renewal

Confirm fees, timing and certificate validity

The 2018 notification referred to payment through DD/RTGS/NEFT/banker's cheque. The current portal manual shows online submission and payment through the portal. The live implementation route should therefore be followed for submission mechanics, but no located Gazette amendment was used to claim that every older payment provision was formally repealed. [S1, cl.2.5; S6 pp.12–14] Legacy certificates: Form B under the notified scheme has three-year validity. No special statutory conversion rule for an old paper certificate into the current portal format was located. [S1, Form B p.1047]

10 / Operating duties after registration

Run the registered homestay correctly

The two foreign/domestic reporting systems should not be merged: the MP scheme's monthly police return applies under the state Homestay framework, while central Form III imposes a separate 24-hour reporting regime for foreign/OCI guests.

11 / Adjacent approvals and dependencies

Close the approvals outside Tourism

12 / Incentives, subsidy and funding

Evaluate incentives without assuming sanction

A. Gold/Diamond classification incentive

Official scheme source: Homestay Revised 2018, cl.13.1. Eligible category: registered/qualifying Gold or Diamond Homestay under the scheme. Verified assistance: ₹25,000 once for Gold; ₹50,000 once for Diamond, including the notified upgrade context. [S1, Gazette p.1043, cl.13.1] Route: application to Managing Director, MPTB under Appendix 2/Form 1. Bank route: this is department assistance paid to the applicant's declared bank account, not a loan sanction. Current applications confirmed open on 05 Sep 2026: NOT CONFIRMED IN CURRENT OFFICIAL SOURCES. Automatic?: No. Application, verification, eligibility, approvals and available budget are involved.

B. Brochure/website assistance

Verified assistance: reimbursement/support equal to 100% of eligible expenditure subject to a maximum ₹10,000, once, under the 2018 scheme. [S1, cl.13.2] Eligible base: expenditure on brochure/website described by the scheme. Current acceptance/budget: NOT CONFIRMED. Automatic?: No.

C. Travel-mart assistance

Verified assistance: 50% of eligible expenditure, capped at ₹50,000, with the notified scheme also addressing eligible international economy airfare and participation expenses. [S1, cl.13.3] Current application call/open window: NOT CONFIRMED. Automatic?: No.

D. Skill-training support

Verified assistance: maximum ₹500 per person for qualifying training outside the person's home city under the 2018 scheme. [S1, cl.13.4] Current programme availability: NOT CONFIRMED.

E. Incentive process

Appendix 2 permits online/postal filing, preliminary scrutiny and correction of an incomplete incentive application. It provides an initial 10-day deficiency-correction period with extension contemplated, verification/inspection by a two-member committee, internal sanction processing and payment through the finance branch. Payment is expressly tied to budget availability. An eligible, complete incentive case is stated to be disposed of within 45 days. [S1, Appendix 2 pp.1054–1056] The 45 days is not a promise that money will be paid merely because an application has been filed.

F. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Policy 2025

An official current Tourism Policy 2025 file/link was located. However, the complete policy file could not be reliably inspected at clause level for Homestay/B&B/Gram Stay/Farm Stay benefits. Therefore: Homestay-specific capital subsidy under Tourism Policy 2025: Not stated in the current official material reviewed INSPECTED TO CLAUSE LEVEL. Current loan/interest-subsidy route specifically for a small Homestay: Not stated in the current official material reviewed. Current open application period for the 2018 Homestay incentives: NOT CONFIRMED. No property acquisition, construction budget or financing model should assume receipt of any incentive. [S18]

13 / Business implications

Translate the rules into a workable project

Before selecting or acquiring a property

the project team should first establish the exact local-body category of the address; ownership/title status; whether the actual eligible owner will reside there; intended registration holder; proposed operator; total building rooms; guest rooms and beds; sanctioned-plan position; and whether any forest, protected, heritage or other location-specific controls apply. A property commercially attractive for accommodation may still be unsuitable for the notified Homestay structure if the owner will not reside there or if the business requires a non-residential reception/commercial operating model. [S1, cls.2.6,6.1–6.2] Until the eight-room portal conflict is resolved in writing, an acquisition or design model should not depend on seven or eight rooms being legally registrable as Homestay.

Before construction or renovation

The intended accommodation category should be selected before finalising room counts, bathrooms, parking and common areas. Existing sanctioned/local-body-approved drawings must be compared with the proposed renovation because the portal requests the approved map and the Homestay classification measures actual room and bathroom areas. [S1, Form A; Appendix 1; S5] Tourism classification does not authorise construction that otherwise requires local planning/building approval.

Registration holder versus operating entity

For Homestay, the located primary text supports a resident owner/property-holder model. It does not establish that an LLP, company or professional management company can be substituted as registration holder. Therefore, a commercial agreement can allocate booking distribution, housekeeping, procurement, accounting or management functions only subject to the regulatory identity of the registered establishment. It cannot itself create eligibility that the tourism scheme does not grant.

What an LLP or management agreement cannot solve

An LLP or management agreement cannot by itself:

• convert an absentee owner into a resident owner;
• override the notified guest-room ceiling;
• legalise an unapproved building/use;
• transfer a Homestay certificate on sale;
• eliminate FSSAI/foreign-guest/police duties;
• transform a residential Homestay into an unrestricted commercial hotel operation; or
• guarantee a tourism incentive.

Property assessment and commercial planning

Each property assessment should therefore carry separate fields for title holder, proposed applicant, resident host, operator, local-body category, scheme category, room/bed count under both the six-room notified rule and unresolved portal figure, local planning/building status, food model, foreign-guest readiness, staffing/police-verification route, utility classification and subsidy assumptions.

Questions to resolve before commercial terms are proposed

the project team should not commit commercial terms until it knows who legally holds title, who can be the tourism registration holder, who will physically reside, whether any caretaker route is relevant, who employs staff, who contracts with guests, who makes statutory filings, whether food will be supplied as a food business, whether the property can lawfully be altered, and whether any incentive being modelled has a current approved application route. No fixed ownership percentage, revenue share, minimum income or capital contribution follows from the located regulations.

14 / Official-source conflicts

Resolve conflicting official instructions

Conflict 1 — Six rooms versus eight rooms

Source A: S1, 2018 Gazette, cls.2.1 and 2.6(b), plus Appendix 1: 1–6 guest rooms, maximum 12 beds, and two-thirds-room restriction. The current general portal description in S2 also says maximum six rooms. Source B: S3 current Scheme Comparison: maximum eight registered rooms and maximum twelve total rooms in premises. Hierarchy/date test: Gazette primary text is higher-authority than a portal comparison table. No gazetted amendment changing six to eight was located. Express override located?: No. Status: The official sources are not aligned. Affected properties: any Homestay designed for seven or eight guest rooms; potentially existing applicants seeing portal eligibility for that capacity. Authority to resolve: Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board/Managing Director and Tourism Department, which retains interpretation/amendment power under cl.17. A conservative six-room design reduces risk but does not constitute a legal resolution of the conflict.

Conflict 2 — Homestay “Revised 2018” versus “Revised 2019”

Source A: S1 is the notified *2010 (Revised 2018)* scheme. [S1, p.1035] Source B: S12 current Responsible Tourism webpage identifies Homestay as “2010 (Revised 2019).” Hierarchy/date test: a current webpage does not itself amend a Gazette scheme. Express 2019 amendment located?: No. Status: The official sources are not aligned. Affected properties: all applicants where a supposed 2019 amendment might change substantive requirements. Resolution office: MPTB/Tourism Department should identify the Gazette/order number if a 2019 revision exists.

Conflict 3 — Whole-state extent versus urban-only portal route

Source A: S1 cl.1.2 says the Homestay scheme extends to the whole State of Madhya Pradesh. Source B: S3 current wizard/comparison designates Homestay “Urban” and Gram Stay “Rural.” Hierarchy/date test: an implementation direction could potentially be issued under S1 cl.1.6, but no separate notified/issued direction implementing this geographic narrowing was located. Status: The official sources are not aligned. Affected properties: resident-owner homes in rural areas that otherwise satisfy the 2018 Homestay definition. Resolution office: MPTB/Tourism Department; request the order/circular on which the portal's urban/rural routing is based.

Conflict 4 — Provisional certificate versus final registration

Source A: S3 says a provisional certificate is available after successful online payment. Source B: S1 requires inspection/final certification; S8 shows payment → inspection assignment → inspection report → section approval → Director approval → completion. Hierarchy/date test: these can be reconciled if the post-payment document is treated strictly as provisional, not final approval. Status: RECONCILABLE ONLY BY DISTINGUISHING PROVISIONAL FROM FINAL. Affected properties: all new applications. Publication treatment: never write that payment automatically authorises a property to operate as a finally registered Homestay.

Conflict 5 — “No food/restaurant licence” versus current FSSAI framework

Source A: S1 cl.10.5 states that the Homestay property holder need not obtain a food/restaurant licence. Source B: current central FSSAI law/regulation framework regulates Food Business Operators, and S16 sets current 2026 registration/licence thresholds. Hierarchy/scope test: a state tourism scheme cannot safely be treated as granting an exemption from independently applicable central food-safety legislation absent an express central exemption. Status: The official sources are not aligned IN WORDING/SCOPE. Affected properties: Homestays preparing/supplying food as a food business. Resolution: obtain the applicable FoSCoS/FSSAI category based on the actual food model; MPTB should clarify what cl.10.5 intended by “food/restaurant licence.”

Conflict 6 — GST certificate requested versus GST applicability

Source A: Form A/current portal documentation includes a GST certificate. [S1, p.1046; S5] Source B: S1 cl.10.2 only states that GST law applies; it does not establish that every Homestay applicant must already possess GST registration. The public application manual also distinguishes mandatory and case-dependent uploads. Status: OFFICIAL PORTAL/LEGAL APPLICABILITY UNCLEAR. Affected properties: small/new applicants who are not otherwise GST-registered. Resolution office: MPTB for portal-document treatment; competent GST authority/tax adviser for actual registration liability.

Conflict 7 — Resident-owner model versus company/society PAN upload

Source A: S1 requires owner/family physical residence. Source B: S5 accepts PAN described as owner/company/society. Hierarchy test: a document-upload option is not substantive authority permitting a company, society or LLP to hold a Homestay certificate. Status: The official sources are not aligned / ELIGIBILITY NOT ESTABLISHED. Affected structures: company-owned, LLP-owned, society-owned or professionally operated properties. Resolution office: MPTB/Tourism Department.

Conflict 8 — Criminal-history disqualification wording

Source A: S1 cl.4 disqualifies, among other cases, a property holder convicted and imprisoned in a criminal case. [S1, p.1038] Source B: Form A declaration asks the applicant to affirm no criminal case registered in the preceding five years and no conviction. [S1, p.1046] Hierarchy/interpretation: the application declaration is materially broader than the disqualification wording. Express reconciliation: none located. Status: The official sources are not aligned. Affected applicants: anyone with a past-five-year registered criminal case but no conviction/imprisonment. Resolution office: MPTB/Tourism Department before signing any declaration.

15 / Unresolved questions for the authority

Take the remaining questions to the authority

The following questions are drafted for Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board/Tourism Department and should be answered in writing before the guide treats the issues as settled:

1. The Revised 2018 Gazette, cls.2.1 and 2.6(b), permits a maximum of six guest rooms/12 beds, while the current Scheme Comparison portal permits eight registered rooms. Which notification, order or circular legally authorises eight rooms, and what is its date and number?
2. How does the portal's “maximum 12 total rooms in premises” rule interact with cl.2.6(b)'s separate requirement that guest rooms not exceed two-thirds of the building's rooms?
3. The 2018 scheme extends throughout Madhya Pradesh, while the current portal routes Homestay only as “Urban”. Which direction under cl.1.6 or later instrument creates this urban restriction?
4. The Responsible Tourism Mission webpage calls the scheme “Revised 2019”. Was the Homestay Scheme amended in 2019? If yes, please provide the Gazette/order number and complete text.
5. Does the provisional certificate generated after payment permit accommodation of guests before inspection and final approval, or is it only an acknowledgement/interim certificate?
6. May a private limited company, LLP, partnership firm, trust or society be the registration holder under the Homestay Scheme? If so, how is the owner/family physical-residence condition satisfied?
7. The current document list accepts “registry/agreement”. Does a registered long-term lessee qualify as the property holder/applicant for Homestay, and who must physically reside?
8. Can a resident individual registration holder appoint a professional management company for reservations, staffing, guest service and revenue collection? Which functions and declarations must remain with the registered owner?
9. For joint, ancestral or inherited property, is consent/NOC from every co-owner required? Is there a prescribed format?
10. Is a GST certificate mandatory at first application where the applicant is not otherwise required to be GST-registered? What should be uploaded in that case?
11. What is the intended scope of cl.10.5 stating that no food/restaurant licence is required, given current FSSAI requirements for Food Business Operators?
12. Is a sale, inheritance or succession treated automatically as cancellation under cl.9, or is there a transfer/substitution procedure? What documents and timing apply?
13. What is the current procedure to amend approved guest rooms, grade, amenities or operator information? Does cl.5.11's one-week notification suffice?
14. Are the cl.13/Appendix 2 Homestay incentives currently accepting applications in FY 2026–27, and what budget head, application form and current sanction authority apply?
15. Do any benefits under Madhya Pradesh Tourism Policy 2025 currently apply to Homestay, B&B, Gram Stay or Farm Stay? Please identify the exact clause and eligibility conditions.
16. Please provide the current district/regional contact list for Homestay inspection and escalation.
17. Which authority hears an appeal or administrative review against refusal of a fresh/renewal application or cancellation? No express appeal provision was located in the inspected 2018 scheme.
18. How should an applicant answer the Form A criminal-history declaration where a criminal case was registered within five years but there has been no conviction or imprisonment, given the different wording in cl.4?
19. For an existing older building without a modern completion/occupancy certificate but with historical municipal records, what alternative building documents are accepted?
20. Does a registered Homestay require any separate Tourism Department approval before accepting foreign guests, or is compliance with the central Form III/Immigration and Foreigners Rules sufficient from the tourism side?