Merced County, CA Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)
Key Facts
- Registration deadline
- within 30 days of starting business
- Issuing department
- Community and Economic Development Dept.
- Certificate issuer
- County Tax Collector
- STR limit
- one short-term rental per parcel
- Guest log retention
- at least 3 years, owner-kept
- Emergency contact
- within 30-mile radius, 24/7
Summary
Unincorporated Merced County requires every hotel and short-term rental operator to register with the Community and Economic Development Department before opening for business, obtain a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate, and post it on the premises. Registration must happen within 30 days of starting business, and short-term rentals need a separate zoning administrative permit under Section 18.60.270.
Prior to establishing a transient occupancy business, each operator of any hotel or other transient facility shall submit an application to the community and economic development department. Upon community and economic development department approval, the tax collector shall issue a transient occupancy registration certificate that must be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises at all times... Persons engaged in such business as a hotel operator or short-term residential rental in the unincorporated area of Merced County must register within 30 days after commencing business, but such privilege of registration after the date of imposition of such tax shall not relieve any person from the obligation of collection and remittance of tax on and after the date of imposition, regardless of their eligibility to register or registration status.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4930839; v8 updated 2026-06-02).
Full Breakdown
070 requires any operator of a hotel or other transient facility, including a short-term rental, to submit an application to the community and economic development department before establishing the business. 270. Anyone operating a hotel or short-term rental in the unincorporated area must register within 30 days after commencing business; registering late does not excuse tax liability that accrued before registration. 270 layers additional registration-adjacent requirements onto short-term rentals specifically: they are limited to the owner's primary residence, one per parcel, and require an administrative permit whose number must appear in every advertisement alongside the operator's Transient Occupancy Tax Certificate number, bedroom count, maximum occupancy, and parking capacity.
5 by 11 inches while the unit is rented on a transient basis. Short-term rentals cannot operate inside accessory dwelling units, farmworker or agricultural-employee housing, or parcels under a Williamson Act contract, and only one is allowed per parcel.
Violations & Fines
Operating without the required Section 5.32.070 registration and posted Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate, or without the Section 18.60.270 administrative permit for a short-term rental, exposes the operator to code enforcement action; the certificate itself states it "does not authorize any person to conduct any unlawful business." Failure to keep the required three-year guest registration log available for the Treasurer/Tax Collector, to post the exterior identification sign, or to disclose the permit and tax certificate numbers in advertising are separate violations of Section 18.60.270's standards, and unregistered operators still owe all Transient Occupancy Tax that accrued while unregistered under Section 5.32.070.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to register my short-term rental in unincorporated Merced County?
Can I rent out more than one short-term rental on my property?
What records must a short-term rental operator keep?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Merced County
California rules heatmap·Compare Merced County to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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