Short-term rental permit rules in Columbia County, GA — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Columbia County has no dedicated short-term rental permit or registration ordinance. STRs are legal in unincorporated Evans and Martinez, subject only to a county occupation-tax certificate and registering to remit the 5% lodging tax, with no zoning cap.
Georgia does not preempt local STR rules, but Columbia County has chosen not to adopt a dedicated short-term rental ordinance. Its zoning code (Chapter 90) contains no short-term or vacation-rental category and defines only owner-occupied bed-and-breakfast facilities. In practice an operator in unincorporated Evans or Martinez needs a county occupation-tax certificate (business license) and must register to remit the 5% hotel/motel excise tax under § 78-66. There is no registration cap, inspection regime or local-contact mandate at the county level. Grovetown and Harlem, the incorporated cities, may apply their own business-license rules inside their limits.
Failing to hold a county occupation-tax certificate, or to register and remit the lodging tax, exposes the operator to business-license enforcement and to tax assessments, penalties and interest from Columbia County Finance.
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See how Columbia County's permit requirements rules stack up against other locations.
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