Short-term rental permit rules in Sarasota County, FL — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Unincorporated Sarasota County has no standalone STR permit. Operators must hold a Florida DBPR transient public-lodging license (state) and comply with the county's 30-day minimum-rental rule outside the barrier-island multi-family exception.
Florida law, not the county, licenses vacation rentals. A dwelling rented to guests more than three times a year for stays under 30 days is a 'transient public lodging establishment' and needs a DBPR license (FS 509.241/509.013). Sarasota County itself issues no separate STR permit today; instead its Unified Development Code (UDC Art. 8, Sec. 124-131) bans leases under 30 days in most residential zones, allowing true short-term use only for multiple-family (RMF) property on the barrier islands. A county registration program was directed for study in April 2026 but has not been adopted.
Operating without a required DBPR license, or renting under 30 days where prohibited, is a UDC/code-enforcement violation subject to citations and daily fines.
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