What Is KBS? The ID Notification System in Hotels

01What Is KBS and Why Does It Exist?

Businesses providing accommodation in Türkiye are required to report their guests' identity details to the competent law enforcement unit. The basis for this obligation is Law No. 1774 on Identity Notification. Reporting that used to be done with paper lists is now done electronically through the Identity Notification System.

The purpose of the system is public safety. Having a record of who stayed at which facility between which dates is used for tasks such as locating wanted persons and reaching guests in emergencies. For that reason the notification is not a formality but the facility's legal responsibility. For the guest the process is invisible; they present their ID at check-in and the facility takes care of the rest.

The obligation does not cover only large hotels. Businesses offering accommodation, such as guesthouses, apart hotels, boutique hotels and campsites, must also report. Confirm which facilities are covered, and the details, with the law enforcement unit you are attached to.

02Police KBS vs Gendarmerie KBS

Which system a facility is attached to depends on which law enforcement unit is responsible for its location. Facilities in city centers are usually in a police zone and report through the Police KBS. Facilities in rural areas and some coastal regions are in a gendarmerie zone and use the Gendarmerie KBS.

The two systems serve the same function, but their login addresses, user registration processes and technical connection structures are separate. Choosing software without knowing which system your facility is attached to can bring surprises during setup. Share this information in your first conversation with the software company.

03What Information Is Reported to KBS?

The notification includes information that identifies the guest and the stay. For Turkish citizens the national ID number is used, and for foreign guests passport or foreign ID details. In general, the information requested is as follows:

• First name, last name and ID or passport number
• Nationality and, where needed, supplementary details such as date of birth
• Check-in date and room occupied
• Check-out date; a check-out notification when the guest leaves

04How Is the Hotel KBS Notification Made?

The facility first applies to the law enforcement unit it is attached to, is registered in the system and receives user credentials. After that, notifications can be made in two ways: manual entry on KBS's own screen, or automatic submission through the hotel software's connection with KBS.

1. The facility applies to its police or gendarmerie unit and is registered as a KBS user.
2. The guest presents their ID or passport at check-in and the details are recorded.
3. The notification is sent manually from the KBS screen or from the hotel software.
4. When the guest leaves, a check-out notification is made.
5. Faulty or unsent notifications are checked and resent.

05The Risks of Manual Reporting

At a busy check-in hour, typing the same information first into the hotel program and then into the KBS screen takes time and causes errors. A typo, a forgotten guest or a missing check-out notification can turn into a problem during an inspection.

Failing to comply with the notification obligation carries an administrative sanction. The type and scope of the sanction are set out in legislation; ask your legal adviser or the law enforcement unit for the current position. The real source of risk is usually not bad intent but records overlooked in the rush.

• Typing errors caused by writing the same information twice
• Guests forgotten during group check-ins
• Check-out notifications not made for early or late departures
• Records where it is unclear whether they were sent

06Automatic KBS Reporting with a PMS

When the hotel management system works connected to KBS, guest information is entered once. When check-in is completed, the notification is prepared and sent automatically; reception does not retype the same information on a second screen. We described how this setup works in general in our what is hotel software article.

Aurora hotel software works connected to the Gendarmerie KBS. Guests who are Turkish citizens are reported automatically at check-in; foreign guests and check-out notifications are collected in a pending list and sent from there in bulk or one by one. The sent, pending or error status of each record appears in the archive with its date.

A guest with missing ID details stands out in front-desk alerts, so the notification does not slip through. If your facility is in a police zone, discuss your need openly in the demo meeting and clarify the connection structure before setup.

07KBS and KVKK: Protecting the Data

ID and passport details are personal data under KVKK No. 6698 (Turkish data-protection law, comparable to GDPR). Although the notification is a legal obligation, storing this data securely within the facility and making it visible only to authorized people is the facility's responsibility. Giving the guest a privacy notice is part of this process too.

In practice these measures stand out: staff accessing only the screens they need, keeping a log of operations, and not letting paper documents such as ID photocopies circulate uncontrolled. Software that offers role-based permissions and an activity log makes these measures easier. You can find our other KVKK articles under the KVKK tag; take your legal adviser's opinion on the final wording of any texts.

08One Record from Check-In to Invoice

KBS notification is only one step of the guest record. The same identity and contact details are also used in the registration form, the guest account and the invoice at check-out. If the information is retyped at every step, the chance of error rises at every step.

In a system that works with a single record, reception registers the guest once; the KBS notification, KVKK consent, account statement and e-invoice (the Turkish e-invoicing system) are all produced from the same record. We explain the general workings of invoicing on our e-invoice integration page.

To shorten check-in time, the list of arriving guests should be reviewed before busy days and the information that can be taken at reservation should be completed in advance. That leaves only ID verification and a signature at arrival. To discuss a flow that suits your property, you can reach us through our contact page.

09The KBS Advantage in a Cloud PMS

In web-based hotel software, the notification archive can also be monitored from outside the property. At the end of the day, a manager can see from their phone which notifications are still in the pending list. In multi-property businesses this follow-up is done separately for each property. A guest arriving on the night shift is also processed under the same rules, without waiting for the morning team. Writing down checking the pending list at every shift handover as a working rule ensures no record gets lost in between.

In systems installed on a local computer, by contrast, notification status stays tied to that computer; a failure or connection problem can stop the whole flow. We covered the pros of a cloud setup and the points to watch in our cloud PMS article.