Short-term rental permit rules in Marin County, CA — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Unincorporated Marin County requires every short-term rental (under 30 days) to obtain a STR License, a Business License, and a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Certificate. The countywide cap is 1,200 licenses, with 192 reserved for Stinson Beach and 204 for Dillon Beach. Application fee is $600.
Marin County has regulated short-term rentals since 2018. The January 2024 Board update established a countywide cap of 1,200 STR licenses in unincorporated Marin, excluding Dillon Beach. Stinson Beach has its own cap of 192 licenses, and Dillon Beach has 204. Property owners renting residential units for under 30 days must obtain a STR License from the Community Development Agency, a Marin County Business License, and a Transient Occupancy Tax Certificate. The new STR License application fee is a flat $600 for non-primary-residence STRs. CDA maintains waitlists where applicants exceed the available cap. Licenses must be renewed every two years.
Operating without all three approvals — STR License, Business License, and TOT Certificate — is a violation enforced by CDA Code Compliance. Hosting platforms can be required to remove unlicensed listings. Penalties include administrative fines and back-collected TOT plus interest.
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See how Marin County's permit requirements rules stack up against other locations.
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