Any new establishments must apply for a Licence from the Authority before commencing operation. Validity periods of licences range from 12 to 84 months. Licences are subject to renewal upon their expiration. Holder of a licence should apply for a renewal not less than 3 months to 6 months prior to the expiry of the licence. For details on application for a licence, please refer to A Guide to Licence Applications under Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349) (PDF).

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that his premises do comply with the lease conditions, Deed of Mutual Covenant and other regulations or laws of Hong Kong.

Application forms can be obtained from the Office of the Licensing Authority or downloaded from the Home Affairs Department's website of http://www.had.gov.hk/en/public_forms/forms.htm. Completed forms are to be returned to the address as stated on the application forms.

Patronising licensed guesthouses is of utmost importance to ensure tourists' safety. In order to facilitate tourists in identifying a licensed guesthouse (general), the requirement of displaying guesthouse logos in prominent positions of licensed guesthouses (general) under the Licensed Guesthouse Logo Scheme has been implemented since September 2009.

It is one of the conditions for the grant of guesthouse licence (general) that the guesthouse logos issued by the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Authority (the Authority) must be displayed in prominent places of the guesthouse at all times. The prominent places mean the main entrance as well as the door of each of the rooms of the guesthouse, and any places inside the guesthouse as specified by the Authority.

The Authority may take actions against licensees under section 12D of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (i.e. to cancel, suspend or refuse to renew the licence concerned) if the above requirement of displaying the guesthouse logos is not complied with.