Papers, Please beginner guide: document checks, denial reasons, and money
Learn required documents, inspection comparisons, fingerprints, searches, stamps, and household calculations. Includes PC normal-Story examples and the dates version-dependent costs apply.
Edition: Papers, Please PC Steam (app 239030), Story mode, normal settings (Easy Mode OFF). Based on the Japanese-supported UI, with English document names for identification.
Verification scope: Uses version 1.4.11, the last PC entry in the official changelog. Version 1.4.12 is for iOS/Android. Public sources checked October 4, 2026; the currently distributed binary and Japanese UI inputs were not tested in-game.
Sources checked: 2026-10-04
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Basic order for processing one entrant
- Read the date, bulletin, and rules, then arrange the desk before the first call. Calling an entrant starts the workday clock.
- Spread out submitted documents and check passport nationality and the entrant's purpose.
- For a missing document, use inspection mode to compare its rulebook requirement with the empty counter in front of the entrant, then interrogate. Inspect any document subsequently produced.
- If the entrant cannot produce a passport after interrogation, a temporary visa slip is issued. Stamp it with denial; from Day 18, also add the reason stamp.
- Compare name, number, dates, issuing city, and photograph, checking for conflicts with the person and their claims.
- Highlight the two conflicting points and use the interrogation button. Wait for any additional test results.
- If resolved, inspect the remaining fields. If unresolved, deny or detain as the rules require.
- Apply the required stamps and return the documents that must go back to the entrant.
Shortcuts such as Space for inspection mode require booth upgrades. Do not assume every key function is available from the start.
What to compare against each document
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| Document or field | Compare with | Example discrepancy | Where to highlight or check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport | The country's issuing-city list in the rulebook, today's date, and the entrant | Nonexistent city, expired passport, or wrong photograph | Compare city with its national list, expiry with the date below the clock, and photograph with the entrant's face |
| Name and passport number | The matching field on another document | Slightly different spelling or number | Select both fields in inspection mode. For name conflicts, also check fingerprints and aliases after interrogation |
| Entry Ticket | Today's date | A ticket for yesterday | Compare the ticket date with today's date below the clock |
| Entry Permit | Passport, stated purpose and duration, and today's date | Mismatched number, expiry, or stated information | Compare the relevant two fields, or the transcript with the document |
| Arstotzkan ID Card | Passport, entrant's height, and weight | Different name, date of birth, or weight | Compare names, listed height with the entrant's face, and listed weight with the scale reading. Do not select the height chart itself |
| Work Pass | Passport name, stated employment, and work conditions on the entry permit | Claims to work without a pass, or an expired pass | For a missing pass, compare its rule with the empty counter; otherwise compare the relevant fields |
| Diplomatic Authorization | Passport and the authorization's listed destinations | Not authorized for Arstotzka | Check the authorized-country list against the relevant rule |
| Identity Supplement | Passport, entrant, and expiry | Conflicting appearance, height, or weight | Compare appearance or height with the face, weight with the scale, and expiry with today's date |
| Grant of Asylum | Passport and freshly taken fingerprints | Fingerprints do not match | Give the fingerprint form to the entrant and compare the returned prints with those printed on the grant |
| Certificate of Vaccination | Passport, vaccine type, and vaccination date | No polio vaccination, or a date too far in the past | Match name and number; verify a polio vaccination within three years of inspection |
| Access Permit | Passport, entrant, and spoken claims | The two older documents are offered instead | After consolidation, first verify that the required document is the new type |
| Document seals | The rulebook example for that same document | Missing seal or incorrect shape | Compare the seal or its empty position with the matching document example |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
English document names identify the paperwork. See the daily guide for introduction dates. An Entry Permit's enter-by date and the verbally stated duration of stay are separate fields.
Separate exceptions from ordinary foreign entrants
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| Entrant | Basic document combination | Exemptions | Still required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arstotzkan citizens | Passport plus ID Card after its introduction | Foreign entry permission | Vaccination and passport-confiscation bulletins apply separately |
| Diplomats | Passport plus Diplomatic Authorization | Ordinary Entry Permit, Identity Supplement, and Access Permit | Authorization must include Arstotzka; vaccination remains required after its introduction |
| Asylum seekers | Passport plus Grant of Asylum | Ordinary Entry Permit, Identity Supplement, and Access Permit | Fingerprints are mandatory; vaccination remains required after its introduction |
| Ordinary foreign workers | That day's ordinary foreign documents plus Work Pass | Claiming employment creates no exemption | Name, employment conditions, expiry, and seal |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Not every special-looking paper creates an exception. A Press ID does not replace entry permission.
Additional checks after highlighting a discrepancy
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| Symptom | Prerequisite | Next action | Decision check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Names differ | Compare the names on both documents and interrogate | Choose fingerprinting and hand over the form. Compare returned prints with the identity record, and read the aliases | If no alias is recorded, compare the no-alias statement with the conflicting name. Even if resolved, check other discrepancies |
| Face or height differs | Compare the face with the photograph or height field and interrogate | Give the fingerprint form and compare the returned prints with the identity record | Do not decide a document is forged from appearance alone |
| Weight differs | Compare the listed weight with the scale | Interrogate, then search. Check both sides of the photographs | Compare discoveries with the rules, then use detention if available |
| A document is missing | The document is mandatory that day | Compare the rule with the empty counter and interrogate | Inspect additional documents. If no passport is produced, deny on the temporary visa slip; from Day 18, also add the reason stamp |
| The reason stamp does not appear | Denying entry from Day 18 onward | Complete the discrepancy comparison and interrogation | Apply both denial and reason stamps. If further checks resolve the discrepancy and nothing else is wrong, approval is possible |
| There is no detention button | Detention is available that day and a qualifying offense has been established | Distinguish ordinary expiry from a detainable offense | Not every denied entrant can be detained |
| A passport was confiscated | The entrant falls under today's confiscation rule | Put the passport in the confiscation drawer at the bottom. Stamp the issued Seizure Slip with approval, or denial plus reason. Return the remaining documents and slip | Confiscation alone is not grounds for denial. For a detainee, place the passport in the drawer before pressing detention |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Additional tests depend on the day's available functions and the discrepancy. You cannot use an option that has not appeared yet.
Income and living costs on normal settings
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| Item | Conditions and figures | Short calculation | Caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | 5 per correctly processed, paid entrant | 12 correct paid entrants earn 60 | Do not count errors or processing completed after 6 p.m. as equivalent paid work |
| Citation penalties | Per day: 0, 0, 5, 5, 10, 15... | Three citations cost 5 in total | The first two also lose the pay for those entrants |
| Detention payments | After the payment arrangement, the basic payment is 5 for every two detainees, paid together | Four eligible detainees give a base amount of 10 | See daily answers for initial payment caps and settlement days; this is separate from salary |
| Class-8 rent | 20 on Days 1–3; 25 from the night of Day 4 | Fixed rent of 25 from Day 4 onward | The effective date was corrected in PC version 1.4.10 |
| Food | 5 per surviving family member | 20 for the initial four relatives | Do not include the inspector in this count |
| Heat | 10 in Class 8 or 7 | Class 8: rent 25 + food 20 + heat 10 = 55 | Changes with housing class |
| Medicine | 5 per sick relative | Two sick relatives require another 10 | Check health before applying a fixed saving routine |
| Easy Mode bonus income | 20 each night | Normal calculations here add 0 | Mixing modes changes the required processing count |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Example: with four healthy initial relatives, Class 8 housing, Day 4 onward, 12 correctly processed paid entrants, and no optional purchases, salary 60 − living costs 55 = a gain of 5. One medicine costing 5 makes the balance 0. An incident may end a day before you can process that many entrants.
What to check at the end of the day
- Review citations and salary separately to identify why funds fell.
- Check family health and how many relatives need medicine.
- Add rent, food, and heat, then check what remains for tomorrow.
- Consider optional spending such as housing or gifts after living costs.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Housing | Rent | Heat | Consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 8 after the increase | 25 | 10 | Initial baseline |
| Class7 | 30 | 10 | This move does not reduce heat costs |
| Class6 | 40 | 5 | The rent increase is larger |
| Class5 | 50 | 0 | Even with no heating cost, total fixed costs rise |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Moving up one housing class costs 100. Offers depend on progress and conditions, so availability on a particular day is not guaranteed.
Answer 7 (spoilers)
Answer — reveal (spoilers)Close
Answer 01: inspection upgrades
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| Upgrade | Use | Availability and conditions | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspection shortcut | Toggle inspection with Space | First upgrade: 5 on the night of Day 5 | Do not confuse Space behavior before and after purchase |
| Stamp controls | Tab/Enter assist stamping | Later offers appear three days after the previous purchase | Check for wrong or missing stamps |
| Rulebook shortcut | Move quickly to the required page | Next upgrade stage, 5 | Still read the actual rule |
| Double-click inspection | Double-click an item to begin a comparison | Next upgrade stage, 5 | Organize the desk to avoid wrong selections |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
The earliest purchase nights are Days 5, 8, 11, and 14. From PC 1.4.10 onward, old instructions to buy remaining upgrades on the night of Day 31 do not apply.
Frequently asked questions
What should I select when a required document is missing?
In inspection mode, select the rulebook line requiring that document and the empty counter in front of the entrant. If interrogation produces another document, inspect it too.
Are the first two citations harmless because they cost nothing?
Even with no fine, you lose that entrant's salary. Later citations also bring penalties. Treating the first two as a free daily allowance obscures your finances.
Should I deny immediately if names differ?
Interrogation may allow fingerprints and aliases to establish a match. Check whether the conflict is resolved, then inspect the remaining documents.
Must I deny someone whose passport is confiscated?
Confiscation and admission are separate conditions. If nothing else is wrong, approve the Seizure Slip. When denying, stamp both denial and reason on that slip.