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

In December 2009 the Napa County Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 1332, which amended Section 18.08.260 of the Zoning Ordinance and added Section 18.104.410 to make clear that any rental of a dwelling unit for less than 30 consecutive days is a prohibited transient commercial occupancy outside the incorporated cities. Section 18.08.260 defines a 'dwelling unit' as a separate, independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy or rental or lease for a period of thirty days or longer; anything shorter falls outside the definition and outside what is allowed in residential and agricultural zones. Section 18.104.410 then declares transient commercial occupancies of dwelling units prohibited in all residential and agricultural zoning districts in the unincorporated county, with narrow carve-outs for farm labor camps, residential care facilities, family day care homes, and legally permitted bed-and-breakfast establishments, hotels, or motels. Because the County has not adopted a permit program, there is no Airbnb/VRBO permit, no transient-use license, and no registration pathway for whole-house, room, or ADU short-term rentals on properties in the unincorporated county. The Planning, Building and Environmental Services Department and Code Compliance Division enforce the prohibition. New ADUs and junior ADUs approved under Ordinance No. 1456 must record covenants confirming that neither the second unit nor the primary dwelling 'shall be used for short-term residential rentals.' The five incorporated cities (Napa, American Canyon, St. Helena, Calistoga, Yountville) have their own rules and are not covered here.