Short-term rental permit rules in Polk County, FL — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Florida preempts vacation-rental licensing to the state, so Polk County cannot require its own STR permit or ban rentals. Operators instead hold a state DBPR vacation-rental license plus a county business tax receipt.
Under FS 509.032(7)(a), regulation of public lodging establishments—which includes vacation rentals—is preempted to the state. Polk County therefore issues no local STR 'permit'; hosts license through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Locally, the county requires only a Class B local business tax receipt for each rental location and a Tourist Development Tax account. Incorporated cities (Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bartow) set their own rules within the same state framework.
Operating a public lodging establishment without a DBPR license is a state violation; the county can deny a business tax receipt without proof of the state license.
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