Seattle, WA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)
Short-term rental permit rules in Seattle, WA, also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration, list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Key Facts
- Operator license required
- Unlawful to operate without one, SMC 6.600.040.B
- Platform license required
- Unlawful to operate without one, SMC 6.600.040.A
- Issuing agency
- SDCI Director
- License term
- Expires 1 year from issuance, renews annually
- Operator license fee
- $75 per dwelling unit per year
- Platform penalty for noncompliance
- $500/day rising to $1,000/day
Summary
Seattle makes it unlawful to run a short-term rental without a Director-issued operator license, and unlawful to operate a booking platform without its own platform license. Both licenses come from SDCI under SMC 6.600.040 and must be renewed annually.
A.Platforms. It is unlawful for any person to operate as a platform within Seattle without a valid platform license issued pursuant to this Chapter 6.600. B.Operators. It is unlawful for any person to operate as a short-term rental operator within the City without a valid short-term rental operator license issued pursuant to this Chapter 6.600.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
600 of the Seattle Municipal Code, enacted by Ordinance 125490 in 2017, regulates every dwelling unit offered for lodging use for fewer than 30 consecutive nights within Seattle city limits. B makes it separately unlawful for any person to operate as a short-term rental operator within the City without a valid operator license. 070, covering everything from local-contact availability to smoke detector and liability-insurance requirements. 060 to require any operator using the platform to either apply for a license through the platform or post an existing license number in every listing, and platforms must remove any listing the Department flags as noncompliant. C. D. 090.
Violations & Fines
Operating a short-term rental or acting as a booking platform in Seattle without the required license under SMC 6.600.040 is a violation enforced by SDCI's Director. Platforms face escalating civil penalties of $500 per day for the first ten days of noncompliance and $1,000 per day after that, per listing, under SMC 6.600.110.B.4; unlicensed operators face a $500 penalty for a first violation and $1,000 for repeat violations within five years under SMC 6.600.120.B.5.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a license to run a short-term rental in Seattle?
How do I apply for a Seattle short-term rental license?
How long does a Seattle STR operator license last?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Seattle
How Seattle compares: Most Airbnb-Friendly Cities in America·Compare Seattle to another location·View the Washington short-term rentals overview
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Short-Term Rental Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle short-term rental permits.