Amador County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

Amador County governs only the unincorporated areas - including the Shenandoah Valley wine country near Plymouth and Fiddletown, Pine Grove, Volcano, and the Kirkwood ski area - while the cities of Jackson, Sutter Creek, Amador City, Ione and Plymouth have their own rules. The County has repeatedly considered but not adopted a dedicated short-term-rental ordinance: the Planning Commission worked on a draft regulating short-term residential rentals (including Airbnb-style rentals) in 2019 amid heavy opposition from existing rental owners, supervisors had rejected an earlier proposal, and in 2023 the Board indicated it would again take up a potential ordinance after concerns that newly allowed tiny homes could be used as vacation rentals. As of the latest available reporting, no comprehensive STR ordinance had been adopted for the unincorporated area. In the absence of that ordinance, transient lodging is permitted through the Title 19 zoning code. Under Chapter 19.48, a bed-and-breakfast inn may be approved by use permit in an existing dwelling in zones including R-1, R-2, R-3, RE, A, AG, C-1, C-2, X, R1-A and PD. As an alternative, an applicant may request a use permit for detached room units used as short-term lodging; those detached room units require a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission. All of these uses are discretionary. Separately, every operator owes the County's 10% Transient Occupancy Tax under Code Chapter 3.16. Because rules can change, confirm the current permit pathway with Amador County Planning before listing.