Campsite Licences in Malaysia: What Exists, What You Can Check, and What You Can't

You found a campsite with nice photos and a WhatsApp number. Before you pay, ask one question: is it licensed? In Malaysia, that question has no simple public answer.

Dates and figures below come from KPKT and MOTAC statements, government portals and news reports.

What licence a campsite needs

A campsite is approved through your local authority, not by one national licence. The GPP Tapak Perkhemahan was prepared by KPKT through PLANMalaysia. Cabinet approved it on 13 December 2023. The 82nd National Council for Local Government meeting adopted it on 27 March 2024 for states and local authorities.

The guideline covers two categories: basic campsites and premium campsites. Premium includes glamping with permanent structures.

Compliance sits with the local authority and related agencies. A site may need a temporary building permit, a business licence, a signboard and advertisement permit, and a permit for outdoor or extreme activities. Requirements differ from one local authority to another.

Some states act on their own. Kedah issued its own state guideline in 2024. Negeri Sembilan issued its guideline in July 2024 and gave operators until the end of 2024 to apply for a special permit from the local authority. So ask about the licence that matches the site's state.

What MOTAC registration does and does not prove

MOTAC does not issue operating licences for accommodation. The local authority does that. MOTAC only registers tourist accommodation premises as PPP under the Tourism Industry Act 1992, through the TOURLIST system. MOTAC registration is not an operating licence approval.

As of January 2023, only 4,771 premises had registered as PPP nationwide. The number is a reminder that registration is not universal.

No official page says whether PPP registration covers tent campsites. MOTAC and the Works Ministry raised grading that includes campsites while the guideline was being finalised. That question stayed open.

What you can check today

• Carian Hotel Berdaftar on the MyGovernment portal shows premises registered with MOTAC as PPP. It is framed as a list of hotels, not campsite licences.
• TOURLIST handles PPP registration and grading, but its premise search sits behind a registered-user login.
• No public register of licensed campsites exists that you can search.

So you can check MOTAC registration. You cannot check the business licence or planning permission that actually authorises a campsite. The one check that matters most is the one you cannot do online.

Why the rules exist

The push for rules followed the Batang Kali landslide on 16 December 2022 at the Father's Organic Farm campsite. There were 92 victims. 31 people died. The GPP cites the JKR forensic report, which attributed the tragedy to high rainfall, not human activity.

KPKT gave existing operators a two-year regularisation period from 2 December 2023. That window ran until 2 December 2025. In April 2026, MOTAC warned unlicensed parties to stop providing tourism services, including accommodation, after joint operations with the police, the tax office and ESSCOM.

No official page publishes specific penalties for an unlicensed campsite. The guideline mentions fees, fines and moratoriums for existing sites, without figures.

Questions to ask before you pay

• Which local authority issued your business licence? Ask for the licence number.
• Do you hold planning permission for the campsite under Act 172?
• Are you registered as PPP with MOTAC? It helps, but it is not the operating licence.
• Do you hold permits for the outdoor or extreme activities you run?
• If an operator cannot name the local authority that approved the site, or say what it approved, book somewhere else. Hesitation on its own is not the tell: in December 2022 the Selangor state government said its local authorities had no specific conditions for campsite activities and that no such operating permit existed, after the Father's Organic Farm operator said they could not apply for one.

Frequently asked questions

Is there one national campsite licence in Malaysia?

No. A campsite is approved through planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 and local authority permits. The GPP Tapak Perkhemahan guides that process, with basic and premium categories.

Does MOTAC registration mean a campsite is legal?

No. MOTAC registers and classifies tourist accommodation premises as PPP. The operating licence comes from the local authority, and MOTAC registration is not that approval.

Can I check a campsite licence online?

Only partly. Carian Hotel Berdaftar shows MOTAC-registered PPP premises, framed as hotels. The TOURLIST premise search needs a registered login. No public register of campsite licences exists.

What changed after the Batang Kali landslide?

KPKT prepared the GPP Tapak Perkhemahan, approved by Cabinet on 13 December 2023. Existing operators received a two-year regularisation period from 2 December 2023. Kedah and Negeri Sembilan then issued their own state guidelines.

What should I ask an operator before paying?

Ask for the local authority business licence, planning permission under Act 172, MOTAC PPP registration, and permits for outdoor activities. Hesitation on the first two is your warning.