Washington County, WI Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Chapter 8, § 8-6C(1) of the Washington County Code bars any person from operating a hotel, motel, tourist rooming house, or bed-and-breakfast establishment in Washington or Ozaukee County without first obtaining a license from the Department, unless a specific exemption applies. The license must be posted where the public can see it and cannot be altered or defaced under § 8-6C(2). Operating any of these facilities without a valid license triggers a fee for operating without a license, charged in addition to every other applicable fee under § 8-6C(3) and § 8-6H.

To get licensed, an operator files a completed application with the Department, pays all applicable fees, and supplies the proof, inspection reports and documentation the applicable Wisconsin statute or administrative code provision requires under § 8-6E(1); the Department then issues a license, a conditional license, or a denial within 30 days of receiving the completed application under § 8-6E(2). A conditional license lists the violations that must be corrected and the deadline for fixing them; if the corrections are not made in time, the license goes void and the inspection and license fees are not refunded under § 8-6E(3).

Every license expires each year on June 30, except a license first issued between April 1 and June 30, which runs to the following June 30 under § 8-6F. Renewal requires paying the annual fee before expiration, with a late fee added if payment slips past the expiration date under § 8-6G. The Department can suspend or revoke a license for noncompliance with a correction order; suspension and revocation notices are written, explain the right to a Board hearing, and take effect 15 days after issuance unless a hearing is requested within that same window under § 8-6L.