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

As of mid-2026, the Kings County Code of Ordinances contains no chapter, article, or section that establishes a short-term rental (STR) or vacation rental permit program for the unincorporated county. The County regulates land use through a separate Development Code administered by the Community Development Agency, where zoning in the published Code of Ordinances appears as 'Appendix A - Zoning (Reserved).' Because no STR-specific permit exists, an operator's obligations come from two existing frameworks. First, the use must be consistent with the zoning of the parcel under the Development Code; a residential dwelling rented to transients may be evaluated as a lodging or commercial-type use depending on the zone, so operators should confirm permitted-use status with Community Development before listing. Second, the County's Transient Occupancy Tax ordinance (Chapter 22, Article III) requires anyone operating a 'hotel' - broadly defined to include structures occupied by transients for 30 days or less - to register with the Tax Collector and obtain a transient occupancy registration certificate within 15 days of commencing business (Sec. 22-41). That certificate is a tax-collection document, not a land-use permit, and the code text expressly states it 'does not constitute a permit.' Operators should verify current requirements directly with the County, as rules can change.