From March 1, 2026, Russian citizens will be able to check into hotels by presenting passport data through the Max platform, Ekaterina Stenyakina, a member of the Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs, told RIA Novosti. The government has approved the rules for the provision of hotel services using a digital identifier, previously launched in pilot mode in September 2025.
The digital ID is an electronic version of a paper passport, containing information about the full name, date of birth, passport data, TIN, SNILS, place of registration and biometrics of a citizen. Access to the data will be selective, depending on the situation in which the QR code is presented. Since the end of 2025, digital passports have been accepted by banks and insurance companies for repeat visits and transactions, as well as in MFCs for a number of services.
From April 1, 2026, a similar opportunity will be available through the "Gosuslugi" mobile application. The digital passport is an alternative tool only in established situations: for the initial opening of accounts, notarial acts, real estate transactions, issuing powers of attorney, inheritance cases, court proceedings, traveling abroad or procedures requiring the original document, a paper passport remains mandatory.
Digital ID and QR code simplify identification and reduce the risk of losing a document, but do not completely replace it in legal and administrative procedures.
Read more on the topic:
- Some iPhone owners cannot access "Gosuslugi" without the Max messenger
- Application does not load: a large-scale failure occurred in the Max messenger on February 10
- Closed communication channels appeared in the Max messenger
