Nevada County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)
Short-term rental permit rules in Nevada County, CA, also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration, list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Key Facts
- Registration type
- TOT Certificate (no separate STR license)
- Threshold
- Rentals to transients for less than 30 days
- Where
- County online lodging registration system
- Certificate
- Issued by email; number = tax account number
- Filing frequency
- Quarterly returns required even if no tax due
- Monitoring
- Deckard / Rentalscape listing monitoring
Summary
The only registration required in unincorporated Nevada County is a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Certificate. Any property in the unincorporated area rented to transients for less than one month must register and obtain a TOT Certificate, which serves as the operator's tax account number.
Section 5.04.060 Annual Registration Certificate. In order that the County will have an accurate record of parties collecting transient occupancy tax, each operator will be required to register as hereinafter provided. A. Prior to commencing business and annually thereafter during the month of January of each year, each operator of any hotel renting occupancy to transients shall register such hotel with the Tax Administrator and obtain from them an Annual Registration Certificate to be at all times posted in a conspicuous place on the premises. Registration shall be on a calendar year basis, i.e., from January 1 through December 31, or balance of calendar year in the instance of a mid-year registration. B. Failure to register prior to commencement of business, or failure to re-register in the month of January in any year of continued operation, as above provided, shall be a misdemeanor. C. The Registration Certificate shall not be transferable and shall be returned to the Tax Administrator upon sale of property or cessation of business along with the final remittance of transient taxes due.
Full Breakdown
Because unincorporated Nevada County does not have an STR licensing program, registration is handled entirely through the Transient Occupancy Tax system rather than a Planning permit. Per the County Treasurer-Tax Collector, if your property is located in the unincorporated area of the County and is rented out to transients for less than one month, you must register for and obtain a Transient Occupancy Tax Certificate. Registration is completed through the County's online lodging registration system. Once the registration is processed, the operator receives the certificate by email; the certificate number is the account number associated with the lodging business and should be displayed and referenced on all remittances and correspondence submitted to the County.
Registration applies even if you only rent for a few days per year, and a return must be filed each quarter even when no tax is due. The County uses third-party monitoring (Deckard/Rentalscape) to identify listings and ensure registration and tax collection. Hosts renting through platforms other than Airbnb, such as VRBO and HomeAway, must register and remit TOT directly to the County, because those platforms do not collect the tax on the host's behalf. Note that the County does not impose separate restrictions on renting rooms within a primary residence or on renting a whole primary residence short term.
Violations & Fines
Operating without obtaining a TOT Certificate, or failing to file the required quarterly returns, may result in assessment of back taxes plus penalties and interest. The County's monitoring service can identify unregistered listings advertised on rental platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I register for if there's no STR permit?
Do I still need to register if Airbnb collects the tax for me?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Nevada County
How Nevada County compares: Most Airbnb-Friendly Cities in America·California rules heatmap·Compare Nevada County to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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