Cumberland County, ME Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

Maine counties have very limited regulatory authority compared to counties in California, Colorado, or Florida. The Cumberland County government (cumberlandcountyme.gov) operates the Sheriff's Office, Cumberland County Jail, Emergency Management Agency, Regional Communications Center (911 PSAP), Registry of Deeds, District Attorney's Office, Public Health Department, Cross Insurance Arena, and Probate Court — but it does NOT operate Community Development for permitting purposes outside Cumberland's own facilities, does NOT zone, does NOT issue building permits, and does NOT publish a county code of ordinances. There is no county vacation-rental, lodging, or B&B permit. Substantive STR permit authority is delegated to each Cumberland County municipality under 30-A MRS § 3001: 'Any municipality, by the adoption, amendment or repeal of ordinances or bylaws, may exercise any power or function which the Legislature has power to confer upon it, which is not denied either expressly or by clear implication.' Portland (Code Ch. 6 Art. IX), South Portland (Code Ch. 14 Art. VIII), Bar Harbor-area towns, and Bridgton have adopted STR registration regimes; many smaller towns have none. State-level overlays still apply: Maine's mandatory Uniform Building and Energy Code (25 MRS § 2451) applies in every Cumberland County municipality because each exceeds 4,000 population, and any STR within 250 feet of a great pond, river, freshwater wetland, or tidal water is also subject to mandatory shoreland zoning under 38 MRS § 435.