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Host licensing and permits

Updated over 2 weeks ago

Withlocals has a dedicated section in your host profile for tour licenses and permits. A tour license is not mandatory to become a Withlocals host, but it is your responsibility to follow any local licensing regulations that apply to the experiences you run.

Where to find it

The tour licenses task lives in the Hosting and Training section of your onboarding, and the license page stays available in your host profile after onboarding. Click the task, or go to the license page directly from your host profile, to get started.

The license question

When you first open the license page during onboarding, Withlocals asks one question: Do you hold an official government-issued tourist license?

  • If you answer no, your answer is saved and no further action is needed. The task is marked as complete with the note that you are not a licensed guide.

  • If you answer yes, you continue to the license overview where you can add one or more licenses.

Withlocals asks you to treat all types of permits needed to offer services to tourists as a tourist license, not only a formal tourist guide certificate.

Adding a license

On the license overview, use Add license to open the add-license form. You fill in:

  • License type: picked from the list of license types Withlocals supports

  • Permit or license number

  • Expiration date, or tick no expiration if the license does not expire

  • Photos of the license document

You can add more than one license by repeating the steps. Each saved license appears in your license list, where you can edit it or remove it later.

Good to know

  • Answering "no" at the license question is a valid completion of the onboarding task. You do not need a license to be approved.

  • Editing an existing license is only possible for licenses created after a certain cut-off date. Older licenses can still be removed and re-added.

  • If you run tours that legally require a permit in your city or country, it is your responsibility to hold and maintain that permit. Withlocals does not verify local licensing rules for you.

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