How to Register a Xiaohongshu (RedNote) Account from Overseas: 2026 Guide

Xiaohongshu (小红书), called RedNote in English, is where Chinese travelers plan their trips. Opening a Xiaohongshu account from abroad takes two very different paths. A personal account takes about ten minutes with a foreign phone number. A verified professional account for a hotel, tour operator or destination takes paperwork, a fee and a review that can drag on for weeks. This guide covers both, step by step, as the process stands in 2026.

Part 1: open a personal Xiaohongshu account from overseas

What you need

• A smartphone with the Xiaohongshu app (App Store or Google Play).
• A foreign mobile number that can receive SMS. No Chinese number is needed.
• One number per account, kept active for future logins.

Steps

1. Install the app and open it. Accept the privacy terms (同意 = Agree).
2. Choose phone login (手机号登录). If the app offers a one-tap login, pick “other phone number” (其他手机号码登录).
3. Tap the +86 code and pick your country from the list.
4. Type your number without the leading 0. Tick the user agreement box.
5. Tap 获取验证码 (Get code) and enter the code you receive by SMS.
6. Set your nickname, avatar and interests.

Want the menus in English? Chinese tutorials published in 2025 give this path: 我 (Me) > ☰ menu > 设置 (Settings) > 通用设置 (General) > 多语言 (Language) > English. Menu names move between app versions, so update the app first. You can also browse on the web at xiaohongshu.com.

If the SMS never arrives, wait a few minutes and retry once. Chinese tutorials from 2026 report that codes sometimes fail to reach foreign numbers. A number from another carrier often solves it.

Part 2: get a professional account for a tourism business

To show your company as verified, you need an enterprise professional account (企业专业号). Xiaohongshu’s own enterprise guide states that companies outside mainland China, and from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, can apply online.

Documents to prepare

• Company registration document (certificate of incorporation or business registration), as a color scan of the original, with the company seal or the signature and job title of a company officer.
• Certified Chinese translation of any document that is not in Chinese, stamped by a translation company or with your company seal. Older rules exempted English documents, recent ones do not, so prepare it anyway.
• Application letter (申请公函) on Xiaohongshu’s template, downloaded from the platform, filled in, stamped with a wet seal and signed by the account operator. Electronic, finance or contract seals are refused.
• The operator’s passport and contact details. A foreign phone number is accepted.
• A trademark certificate if your account name uses a brand, plus any license your sector requires.

Notarization: the published rules we read do not ask for notarized documents. Check again at filing, because reviewers can request extra proof.

Steps

1. Register a brand new account for the company with Part 1. Xiaohongshu’s guide advises against converting a personal account.
2. Open the verification page. In the app, 2026 Chinese tutorials give: 我 > ☰ > 设置 > 账号与安全 (Account and security) > 身份认证 (Verification) > 企业认证 (Enterprise). On desktop, use the professional account platform.
3. Fill in the account name, a bio of 20 characters or fewer, your avatar and your industry.
4. Upload the registration document, the translation and the signed application letter.
5. Pay the review fee by scanning the Alipay QR code.
6. Wait for the review. Answer any request for extra documents quickly.

Cost and waiting time

Chinese tutorials updated in July 2026 and citing the official rules give 600 RMB per review for an enterprise account, with the same fee for the yearly renewal (年审). A personal professional account is free. Xiaohongshu’s guide says the fee is not refunded if verification fails, and that a review order expires after 30 days.

The same 2026 sources quote about 3 working days for a standard review. For a foreign company, plan for longer. The real delay is preparing documents: getting the translation stamped, the letter signed by the right person, and a second round if one detail does not match. Each back and forth can add days or weeks. Also make sure someone on your team can pay with Alipay before you submit.

Once you are verified, the work starts. Our Xiaohongshu content strategy for tourism explains what to post. If your account already exists but nobody sees it, read how we fixed a failing Xiaohongshu account for a European resort. To reach more travelers fast, see how to get Chinese KOLs to review your hotel.

Let us open and verify your Xiaohongshu account

We set up Xiaohongshu accounts for hotels, tour operators, attractions and tourism boards outside China. We prepare the documents, arrange the stamped Chinese translation, fill in the application letter and follow the review until the account is verified. Then we write your first posts in Chinese. You keep full ownership of the account.