Madera County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Many California short-term rental ordinances require operators to carry liability insurance (often a set minimum coverage amount) and sometimes to indemnify the jurisdiction. Madera County's published materials do not state a specific insurance figure. The tax-registration program is silent on insurance, focusing instead on the business license, TOT certificate, annual fee and tax remittance. The proposed Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance was described in County materials and Planning Commission coverage in terms of a non-transferable STVR permit and operational standards - occupancy tied to unit size, on-site parking, quiet hours and noise limits, trash management, and compliance with applicable fire codes, building regulations, defensible-space requirements and safety equipment - but the public descriptions did not specify a liability-insurance minimum or indemnification clause. It is common for such ordinances to add an insurance requirement, so one may appear in the final adopted version, but no specific coverage amount had been published while the ordinance remained in draft as of mid-2026. Operators should verify any insurance and indemnification conditions directly with the Planning Division when the ordinance is finalized. We do not state a coverage minimum here because none has been published in an adopted Madera County ordinance.