This chapter organises railway expense evidence; approval follows the employer's rules. Domestic e-ticket invoices and cross-boundary ticket documents have different scope, so separate the expenses by segment.
What to have ready
Distinguish the itinerary, ticket and invoice
Trip information helps identify your train, seat and stations, but displaying a fare does not make it a reimbursement invoice, and it is not a boarding credential. Current 12306 invoice instructions apply the fully digital invoice process to eligible domestic electronic tickets for travel on or after 1 October 2025, so an old tutorial telling you to queue for a paper reimbursement ticket is inappropriate for those journeys. The page expressly excludes cross-boundary passenger transport and domestic services not yet using electronic tickets from the same invoice service. For a business trip containing West Kowloon and a separate mainland leg, classify each ticket rather than applying the domestic process to everything. Prepare approval, business-purpose and payment evidence separately according to the employer's requirements.
Use the passenger route or a counter-issued scan sheet
Obtain the correct buyer name, any required unified social credit code and delivery email from the reimbursing organisation before applying; do not invent a mainland identifier for a Hong Kong company. A passenger using an eligible booking document can enter the 12306 electronic-invoice service, complete its checks and select the relevant ticket. Alternatively, bring the original booked document to a station ticket counter or suitable machine to obtain a scan-to-invoice sheet and complete the information in the mobile service. That sheet is a step in the process, so confirm that an invoice is actually issued. A purchaser applying for another passenger has separate order and identity requirements in the current FAQ; follow that route without surrendering account control or unnecessary full-document information to an unrelated agent.
Track the window, files and corrections
For travelled tickets, the ordinary request window runs for 180 days from journey completion; refund or change fees use 180 days from the successful transaction. Do not count both indiscriminately from the booking date. Confirm the amount and buyer details, then download the invoice or receive it by email. Repeated downloads are permitted, but that is not permission for duplicate reimbursement. Keep the issued electronic files and required payment records and follow the finance team's archiving instructions rather than retaining only a phone screenshot. Correct a mistaken buyer name or changed company details through the original invoice service, checking whether the old record was reversed and the replacement is valid. Ask 12306 about exceptions or late requests rather than treating an agent's promise as completed issuance.
Worked example: separate a cross-boundary leg, domestic leg and fee
An employee travels from Hong Kong on business and later uses a separate ordinary Guangzhou South to Shenzhen North ticket. She records the cross-boundary and domestic tickets separately and gets the correct buyer details from finance. After the domestic journey, she requests its invoice through 12306. If she also paid a change fee, she checks that fee record and its request start date rather than claiming the unused original fare again. For the cross-boundary ticket, she follows its own official reimbursement-document procedure. She compares passenger, segment, amount and company information before supplying issued files and internal evidence. If the buyer name is wrong, she completes correction and confirms the replacement instead of submitting both versions as valid expenses.
Separate ticket types and fees, then request the issued invoice at the correct time; trip information is insufficient.
Official information and enquiries
These are the reference and service entry points for this guide. Check current fees, eligibility, and schedules with the authority. The preparation date is not each source's official update date.