# Getting started with the BookMyHost panel

Source: https://bookmyhost.com/guides/getting-started-bookmyhost-panel (updated 2026-10-18)

The BookMyHost panel is where you create servers, add funds, read invoices and open tickets. This guide covers the first steps: creating an account, the one-time verification, the welcome credit and your first deployment.

## Create your account

Open the panel and choose Create account. You enter your name, email, mobile number, country and a password, and you confirm the email by clicking the link we send. Indian accounts are asked a GST question first, because a GSTIN fills in the company details for you; accounts outside India choose individual or business.


## Verify once

Cloud providers in India must verify every subscriber before provisioning resources, so the panel asks for a short, one-time verification. After it, every service unlocks: servers, storage, Kubernetes clusters and AI tokens.

1. **Phone** Enter your mobile number and the one-time code we send. The code arrives by SMS or on WhatsApp.
2. **Email** Open the confirmation link in your inbox.
3. **Identity** Indian residents verify through DigiLocker, and only a masked Aadhaar number is stored. Other countries upload a passport, national ID or driving licence and a selfie; a person on our team reviews it, usually within one working day.
4. **Business details (optional)** Add a company GSTIN to receive GST tax invoices that you can claim input credit on.

## Welcome credit

When your verification is complete, a promotional welcome credit is added to your wallet. It is spent before your own money, it cannot be withdrawn as cash, and it expires after a set number of days. The Billing page shows the amount and the expiry date. See promos and offers for how it combines with the recharge bonus.


## Add funds and deploy

Servers are prepaid from a wallet. On some accounts a top-up unlocks deploying before verification is finished, and the panel shows the amount when that applies. Add funds from the Billing page, then choose New server, pick a size and an operating system, and order. Read how to add funds and how to launch a VPS next.


## FAQ

- **Do I need to verify before I can look around the panel?** No. You can explore the dashboard first. Verification is needed to deploy services, unless the panel offers a top-up that unlocks deploying on your account.
- **Why does BookMyHost ask for identity verification?** Providers in India are required to verify every subscriber before provisioning cloud resources and to keep those records on file. It is a one-time step.
- **Is my Aadhaar number stored?** Only a masked Aadhaar number is stored. Verification goes through DigiLocker and is checked against UIDAI.
- **Can a company sign up?** Yes. Add your company GSTIN on the business step to get GST tax invoices for input tax credit.
- **What if I am outside India?** You verify with a photo ID and a selfie instead of DigiLocker, and verification is optional on some accounts outside India.