Summit County, CO Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

JURISDICTIONAL OVERVIEW. Summit County, Colorado is a non-home-rule statutory county containing the incorporated municipalities of Breckenridge, Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne, Blue River, and Montezuma, plus the unincorporated resort communities of Keystone, Copper Mountain, Tiger Run, Peak 7/Peak 8 base areas, Wildernest, and Summit Cove. Each town operates its own STR licensing program in addition to the County's, and STR operators inside town limits typically need only that town's license, not a Summit County license. Unincorporated parcels are subject to Summit County's Ordinance 20-C.

ORDINANCE 20-C — OVERLAY ZONES (effective February 15, 2023). The Summit County Board of County Commissioners adopted the revised STR ordinance (Ordinance 20-C) on February 15, 2023 after a moratorium imposed in late 2021 on new Type II licenses. The ordinance divides unincorporated Summit County into two overlay zones: the Resort Overlay Zone (ROZ) and the Neighborhood Overlay Zone (NOZ). The Resort Overlay Zone covers Copper Mountain, Tiger Run Resort, the undeveloped portions of the Keystone PUD, and unincorporated areas at the base of Peak 8 and Peak 7 in Breckenridge. The Neighborhood Overlay Zone covers all other unincorporated residentially-zoned land and is subdivided into four basin sub-areas: Lower Blue Basin, Upper Blue Basin, Snake River Basin, and Ten Mile Basin.

LICENSE TYPES UNDER ORDINANCE 20-C. (1) Resort License — issued to properties in the ROZ; uncapped; greater allowed occupancy; no cap on the number of nights rented per year; annual fee $295. (2) Type I Exception License (NOZ) — uncapped; issued only when the property has a 'Qualified Occupant' (QO) who is either the owner or a long-term renter and who satisfies BOTH (a) primary residency at the STR address for at least 9 months of each calendar year, and (b) employment within Summit County for at least 30 hours per week; annual fee $240. (3) Type II License (NOZ) — counts against the basin cap; subject to waitlist when the basin is at or over cap; annual fee $360. (4) Type III License — ELIMINATED by Ordinance 20-C as of February 15, 2023. Pre-existing Type III licenses (which formerly allowed unlimited nights in residential zones) were converted or sunset under the ordinance's transition provisions in Section 2.8.

NOZ BASIN CAPS (current snapshot). The four NOZ Type II basin caps and their reported issuance levels (per the County's STR Regulations page) are: Lower Blue Basin cap 550 (508 issued); Upper Blue Basin cap 590 (563 issued); Snake River Basin cap 130 (137 issued — over cap due to grandfathered units); Ten Mile Basin cap 20 (24 issued — over cap). When a basin is at or over its cap, no new Type II licenses are issued and applicants are placed on a waitlist; properties already holding Type II licenses may renew. Type I exception licenses do NOT count against the basin caps and may be issued without limit so long as the QO criteria are met.

QUALIFIED OCCUPANT (QO) DOCUMENTATION. To qualify for a Type I license, the applicant must submit (a) evidence of a Summit County mailing address; (b) evidence of Summit County employment such as a paystub or W-2 showing at least 30 hours/week; (c) a copy of the lease to the QO if the QO is not the owner; and (d) at least two of the following showing the STR address: voter registration, Colorado tax returns/tax documents, or Colorado motor-vehicle registration. False QO statements are a violation grounds for revocation under Ordinance 20-C.

UNIVERSAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. All STR applicants in unincorporated Summit County must submit, via the County's Host Compliance / Granicus portal, (1) a Colorado Department of Revenue sales tax license number and certificate; (2) a completed STR Acknowledgement Form; (3) entity ownership documentation if the property is held in a trust, LLC, or corporation; (4) for septic-served properties, a current On-Site Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) pumper report dated within the prior 3 years; (5) for properties served by a private well, a copy of the State Engineer-issued well permit; (6) for hot-tub use on well-served properties, proof of well augmentation; and (7) for non-gas outdoor fire pits, a fire-pit permit from Summit Fire & EMS. Applications listing unverified bedroom counts will be denied. All licenses run on a uniform license year ending September 30 and require annual renewal.

RESPONSIBLE AGENT. Every Summit County STR license must designate a Responsible Agent available 24/7 with a text-enabled phone, capable of responding within 60 minutes to a complaint or emergency. The Responsible Agent's contact must be filed with the County and updated through the Host Compliance portal whenever it changes.

BOOKING LIMIT. Ordinance 20-C imposes a maximum of 35 booking parties per license year (October 1 to September 30) for properties in the NOZ. The Resort Overlay Zone has no per-year booking limit.

LICENSE NUMBER ON LISTINGS — ORDINANCE 22. On September 24, 2024 the Board of County Commissioners adopted Ordinance 22, requiring every advertisement, listing, or marketing publication for a Summit County STR (including Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and direct-to-consumer websites) to display the valid Summit County STR license number. Listings without a displayed license number are subject to enforcement under HB23-1287 platform-removal procedures.

CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (CUP). Under Section 2 of Ordinance 20-C, a Conditional Use Permit through the Summit County Planning Department is required in the Resort Overlay Zone whenever the STR proposes (a) occupancy of 20 or more persons, or (b) deviation from the underlying zoning's occupancy, parking, or site-development standards.

LICENSE TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS. STR licenses do NOT run with the land. Transfer of title generally extinguishes the existing license, with limited exceptions defined in Section 2.8 of Ordinance 20-C: transfers to a spouse, child, or other immediate family member; transfers ordered by a Colorado court (e.g., divorce or probate); and certain LLC or trust restructurings where beneficial ownership does not change. A new owner not falling within these exceptions must apply for a new license — and if the basin is at cap, will be placed on the waitlist.

TAX OBLIGATIONS — UNINCORPORATED SUMMIT COUNTY. Operators must collect and remit (1) Colorado state-administered combined sales tax of 6.375% on stays under 30 consecutive days (this combined rate includes the 2.9% Colorado state rate, the 2% Summit County sales tax, and certain special-district add-ons; the State remits the 2% local share to the County); and (2) the 2% Summit County Short-Term Rental Lodging Tax adopted as Ballot Issue 1A on November 8, 2022 and effective January 1, 2023, dedicated to workforce housing and child-care services. Stays of 30 or more consecutive days to the same tenant are exempt from sales/lodging tax under Colorado law. Marketplace facilitators (Airbnb, Vrbo) qualifying as 'accommodations intermediaries' under HB19-1240 collect and remit the state-administered portion on the host's behalf, but the host remains responsible for the County 2% lodging tax on direct or non-marketplace bookings.

STATE STATUTORY AUTHORITY. Summit County's STR licensing authority derives from C.R.S. § 30-15-401(1)(s)(I) (HB20-1093, effective September 14, 2020), as supplemented by HB23-1287 (signed June 5, 2023, effective August 7, 2023). HB23-1287 expressly empowers Colorado boards of county commissioners to license owners (and owners' agents) of 'lodging units' rented for fewer than 30 days (excluding hotel units), to require platforms to display valid license numbers in listings, and to direct platforms to remove listings when a license has been suspended or revoked, when a property has been notified of a violation, or when the property is in an STR-prohibited area.

TOWN OF BRECKENRIDGE — SEPARATE REGIME. The Town of Breckenridge operates the most restrictive STR program in Summit County. The cornerstone is Ordinance No. 29, Series 2021, adopted September 28, 2021 and effective November 2, 2021, which capped the total number of non-exempt accommodation-unit licenses inside town limits at 2,200, modified by Ordinance No. 28, Series 2022 to add zone-by-zone caps. Breckenridge divides its territory into four STR zones: Resort Properties Zone (uncapped, includes Peak 8/9 base ski-in/ski-out properties), Tourism Zone 1 (cap allowing approximately 467 licenses; ~92% of Zone 1 homes eligible), Downtown Core Zone 2 (cap 130; ~51% of homes eligible; currently OVER cap due to grandfathered licenses, with reported waitlist of 5-10 years), and Residential Zone 3 (cap 390; only ~10% of homes eligible; significantly OVER cap with waitlist potentially up to 20 years). Breckenridge eliminated the Type III license (which had required a Conditional Use Permit) when it consolidated everything into a Type II framework. Annual fees in Breckenridge include a base accommodation-unit license fee plus an annual accommodation-unit regulatory fee of $756 per bedroom (with no per-property cap on bedrooms charged). Older license types and renewals range from $200 (Type I) to $500 (older license renewal) to $3,000+ (former Type III). Contact: str@townofbreckenridge.com or 970-547-3101.

OTHER SUMMIT COUNTY MUNICIPALITIES. The Towns of Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne, Blue River, and Montezuma each run separate STR programs with distinct licenses, fees, and rules; operators inside those municipalities should contact the town directly. Blue River, for example, requires a completed Self-Inspection/Compliance form with each STR application.

WHAT THIS MEANS IN PRACTICE. (a) If your property is in unincorporated Summit County in the Neighborhood Overlay Zone, you almost certainly cannot get a Type II license today (Snake River and Ten Mile basins are over cap; Lower Blue and Upper Blue are nearly full) — you must either qualify for the Type I QO exception (requires you or your tenant to live there 9+ months/year and work in Summit County 30+ hours/week) or join the waitlist. (b) If your property is in the Resort Overlay Zone (Copper Mountain, Tiger Run, parts of Keystone, Peak 8 base), licenses are uncapped at $295/year with no annual booking limit, but a CUP is required for occupancy of 20+. (c) If your property is in Breckenridge town limits in Zone 2 or Zone 3, you face waitlists of 5-20 years; new ownership generally extinguishes the license. (d) All operators must collect 6.375% state-administered sales tax PLUS the 2% Summit County STR Lodging Tax (or pay through the Town's separate sales/accommodation tax regime if inside an incorporated municipality), display the County license number on every listing per Ordinance 22, and designate a 24/7 Responsible Agent.