TIMS card in Nepal explained for tour operators (current rules)

The TIMS card is one of the first things a new partner agency asks us about, usually because a client has read three different blog posts and found three different answers. That confusion is understandable. The card has been around since 2008, its rules were rewritten in 2023, the fee has changed more than once, and the Everest region has gone its own way since 2017. This guide sets out what the TIMS card is today, who needs it, where it does not apply, how it is issued, and how we handle it for the groups and individual travellers we operate for overseas agents.

What is the TIMS card and why does it exist?

TIMS stands for Trekkers' Information Management System. It is a joint programme of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN), and it came into effect on 1 January 2008. The idea is simple: every trekker's details, route and trekking company are recorded in one database, so that if there is an accident, a missing trekker or a natural disaster, the authorities and rescue teams can work out who is in a given area.

TAAN also describes TIMS as a tool for controlling illegal trekking operations. That second purpose matters for agents. Since the 2023 rule change, a TIMS card can only be obtained through a government-registered trekking agency, so the card is now as much about who is running the trek as about who is walking it.

What changed in 2023, and what are the current rules?

In March 2023 the NTB board revised the TIMS provisions. Under the revised rules, which the NTB dates from 31 March 2023 (the press reported them as applying from 1 April 2023), foreign trekkers on the listed routes must be accompanied by a licensed trekking guide and must carry a TIMS card issued through a registered agency. The separate green card for free individual trekkers, which travellers used to collect themselves from NTB offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara, was dropped.

The NTB's own TIMS page, which we checked on the date shown at the top of this article, lists 14 regions where the guide and agency-issued card rule applies:

Region	TIMS and licensed guide (NTB list)	Notes for operators
Annapurna	Yes	Also needs the Annapurna Conservation Area permit
Langtang and Helambu	Yes	Langtang National Park permit as well
Manaslu	Yes	Restricted-area permit for the restricted sections
Mustang	Yes	Upper Mustang is a restricted area with its own permit
Everest	Listed by NTB	Local Khumbu Trek Card used on the ground (see below)
Kanchenjunga, Makalu Barun, Rolwaling	Yes	Remote routes with long lead times; Kanchenjunga also needs a restricted-area permit
Dhaulagiri, Dolpo, Humla	Yes	Restricted permits apply in parts of Dolpo and Humla
Ganesh Himal-Ruby Valley, Panchpokhari Bhairabkunda	Yes	Lower-traffic routes; check lodge availability early

The NTB page does not publish a list of exemptions. When the rules were introduced, The Himalayan Times reported that mountaineers holding climbing permits, children under 10 and tourists travelling into these regions by helicopter were exempt. If any of those situations applies to your client, ask us to confirm the current position before you build the quote.

Do clients still need a TIMS card for Everest Base Camp?

This is the question we hear most, and the honest answer is that the Everest region works differently from the rest of the country. In 2017 Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, which covers the Everest area, decided to stop the TIMS system within its boundaries and charge its own fee instead. The Himalayan Times reported at the time that the TIMS check post at Monjo was removed on 1 October 2017.

The municipality now issues its own Trek Card at the tourist information centre in Lukla, and trekkers need a Sagarmatha National Park entry permit as well. In 2023 the Kathmandu Post reported that the card was also available at Jorsale for trekkers arriving on foot. The municipality's website currently lists the Trek Card fee as NPR 3,000 for most foreign nationals and NPR 2,000 for citizens of SAARC countries and China, with a passport and a recent photograph needed and roughly 15 minutes to process.

The NTB's list still names Everest among the 14 regions, so on paper the two systems overlap. In practice, what is checked on the trail in Khumbu is the municipality card and the park permit. The 2023 dispute between the NTB and the municipality was also about guides: the municipality said a guide was not compulsory in its area. For agents this is mostly academic, because every Everest trek we operate runs with a licensed guide. Our Everest or Annapurna comparison covers the other differences between the two regions.

How much does a TIMS card cost?

According to the NTB TIMS page checked today, the fee is NPR 2,000 per trekker for most nationalities and NPR 1,000 for citizens of SAARC countries. Payment is made online only, through services such as ConnectIPS and NepalPay. You will still see older figures quoted online, including separate group and individual rates, because some pages were never updated after 2023. Treat any fee that does not come from a current official page with caution.

The TIMS fee is a small part of the permit bill. National park, conservation area, local municipality and restricted-area fees are usually larger and change more often. We include all permits in our net rates, so you do not need to track each one, but please confirm the current fee with us before quoting a permit line separately to a client.

How does an agency obtain a TIMS card?

The process is now fully digital and runs through the trekking agency, not the traveller:

1. Collect the trekker's details. We need a clear passport scan for each client, the planned route and the trek dates. Final names must match passports exactly.
2. Register the trek on the TIMS portal. As a registered agency we submit the form with the trekkers, the licensed guide assigned to the group and the route.
3. Pay online. The fee is paid through an approved online payment service.
4. Receive the eCard. After payment, the system generates an eCard with a QR code for each trekker. The guide carries the cards and presents them at checkpoints.

Because the card is tied to a named guide and a route, a late change of guide or route means updating the registration. That is one reason we ask for final passport details at least a few weeks before departure, as set out in our planning timeline for agents.

Under the 2023 guidelines reported by the Kathmandu Post, a TIMS card is valid for 90 days from issue. When the rules were introduced, The Himalayan Times also reported penalties of Rs 12,000 for a trekker found on a listed route without a guide or TIMS card, and Rs 10,000 per trekker for a company that runs a trek without the cards. Penalties are never something we plan around, but they explain why checkpoints take the card seriously.

What about restricted areas and climbing permits?

Several of the regions on the NTB list include restricted areas, such as Upper Mustang, the restricted sections of Manaslu and Tsum, Nar and Phu, and Upper Dolpo. These need a restricted-area permit from the Department of Immigration in addition to the usual park or conservation area permit. In March 2026 the Department of Immigration changed its policy so that a single foreign trekker can now obtain a restricted-area permit, which used to be issued only to groups of two or more. The trek must still be arranged by a registered agency with a licensed guide, and one guide may lead no more than seven trekkers. That change opens restricted routes to solo clients who were previously asked to find a partner.

TAAN states that the TIMS system has been extended to all trekking areas, including restricted areas. Climbing is handled under its own permit system; see our climbing and expeditions page for the peaks we run. For any restricted or climbing itinerary, send us the route and we will confirm the full permit set in writing.

For travel agents: how to package it

What to include

• All trekking permits, including TIMS where it applies, the park or conservation area permit, any local municipality fee and any restricted-area permit, bundled into one permits line in the net rate.
• A licensed guide for every trek on a listed route. We do not run unguided treks.
• Clear pre-departure notes that tell clients the guide holds the permits and the eCards, so they are not worried when they never see a paper card.

Buffers and timing

• Collect passport scans at booking and confirm final names and dates at least a few weeks before arrival.
• For restricted areas, allow extra lead time: those permits have their own process and cannot be fixed at the last minute.
• Keep a spare day at the end of any trek that depends on a mountain flight; our winter trekking guide explains why this matters more from December to February.

Who it suits and upsells

• The guide rule actually makes Nepal easier to sell to first-time and solo trekkers, because the guide, permits and checkpoint paperwork come as one service.
• Add a Kathmandu Valley heritage day or Pokhara stay from our tours, or a paragliding morning from our activities, around the trek.
• For returning clients, use the 2026 restricted-area change to offer Upper Mustang, Manaslu or Nar and Phu as a solo option.

Browse our current routes on the trekking page, read common questions in our FAQ, and see how a Nepal DMC partnership works. When you are ready for net rates and sample itineraries with every permit included, become a partner and our operations desk will take it from there.