GuideDigital Arrival Card guide
From November 20, 2025, foreign travelers entering China must complete the Digital Arrival Card before arrival. Use this guide to prepare the fields, submit through an official channel, and keep proof ready for landing.
1. What the DAC is and why it is mandatory
The Digital Arrival Card, often shortened to DAC, is the online version of the entry information form used by border inspection. It collects identity, itinerary, contact, and first-night stay details before you reach the inspection counter.
For foreign travelers arriving from November 20, 2025 onward, the DAC is mandatory. Treat it as a border-preparation step, not as a visa or transit-permission approval.
- It does not replace a visa, visa-free eligibility, or 240-hour transit checks.
- It does not decide whether your itinerary satisfies the third-country transit rule.
- It should match the passport, ticket, and stay details you show on arrival.
2. When to fill it in
Complete the DAC within 72 hours before your arrival in China. Filing too early can leave you with a stale or invalid submission if the official system expects a recent declaration.
A practical timing is after your China-bound flight, train, or ship details are final, but before online check-in or airport arrival so you still have time to fix format errors.
- Recommended window: within 72 hours before scheduled arrival.
- Update the submission if your flight number, first-night address, or contact details change.
- Keep a screenshot or saved confirmation after submission.
3. What to prepare before opening the official form
Gather the information first so the form can be completed in one sitting. The official interface may time out or reject incomplete fields.
ChinaTransit can help you produce a preparation checklist through the arrival-card tool, but the final DAC must be submitted by you through an official channel.
- Passport number, nationality, full name, date of birth, and passport expiry date.
- China-bound carrier and flight, train, or ship number.
- First-night address in China, preferably with Chinese place names from your booking.
- Reachable phone number or contact method during travel.
- Transit or onward ticket details if you are using 240-hour transit.
4. Field-by-field notes and common format traps
Use the official screen labels as the source of truth. This guide explains common traveler mistakes in words; it does not claim to reproduce official screenshots.
The highest-friction fields are usually the first-night address, passport number, phone number, and carrier number. Enter them exactly and consistently with your supporting documents.
- First-night address: use the hotel or host address, and keep the Chinese address from the booking if available.
- Passport number: avoid spaces unless the official field explicitly allows them; do not confuse the letter O with zero.
- Carrier number: use the number on the China-bound segment, not the first flight of a multi-leg trip.
- Phone number: include the country code if the field asks for it, and use a number you can access while traveling.
- Purpose and stay length: keep them consistent with your visa-free, visa, or transit plan.
5. After submission
After the official system accepts the DAC, save evidence immediately. Network access at the airport or cruise terminal can be unreliable, and border staff may ask you to show the completed declaration.
Keep the screenshot or confirmation together with your passport, onward ticket, hotel booking, and transit-region evidence.
- Save a screenshot and, if available, the confirmation code or QR code.
- Make the image available offline on your phone.
- If details changed after submission, redo or update the declaration through the official channel before arrival.
6. Common errors and checks
Most DAC problems are data consistency issues. If the form rejects a field, compare it with the passport machine-readable zone, ticket receipt, hotel booking, and the official field instructions.
If you cannot resolve the issue, use the NIA official service channel rather than a third-party form filler.
- Arrival date outside the accepted 72-hour window: wait until the window opens or check the time zone.
- Address rejected: try the Chinese hotel name, district, city, and province from the booking.
- Flight or carrier field rejected: remove extra spaces and verify the China-bound segment number.
- Phone field rejected: test with country code and digits only if symbols are not accepted.
- Browser or app error: retry on a stable connection and keep screenshots of any persistent official error.
7. Official channels and non-official disclaimer
Submit the DAC only through the official NIA web channel at s.nia.gov.cn or the NIA 12367 app. ChinaTransit is not an official government channel and does not submit, store, or fill the DAC for you.
Use our arrival-card tool to organize a private preparation checklist, then complete the real declaration yourself on the official system. Official screens and field wording can change, so follow the official interface at the time you submit.
- Official web channel: s.nia.gov.cn.
- Official app channel: NIA 12367 app.
- ChinaTransit role: educational guidance and preparation checklist only.