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

Calaveras County (which contains only one incorporated city, Angels Camp) administers short-term rentals in its unincorporated communities such as Arnold, Murphys, Copperopolis, Bear Valley and the Lake Tulloch area. Today there are two overlapping layers. First, a countywide tax obligation: any property rented for 30 days or fewer is subject to the County Transient Occupancy Tax (12%) under Code Title 3, Chapter 3.12, and the operator must register and remit through the County's STR registration portal operated by Deckard Technologies. More than 700 short-term rentals were registered with the County Tax Collector for TOT as of 2025. Second, a land-use permit: short-term vacation rentals are currently regulated through the County zoning code only in four subdivisions in the Lake Tulloch area, under Title 20, Chapter 20.20 (Lake Tulloch Short-Term Vacation Rental Regulations, beginning at Section 20.20.010). Outside those four subdivisions there was no adopted countywide STR permitting ordinance as of mid-2025. The Board of Supervisors directed development of a countywide Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance; the Board favored a registration model run by the Tax Collector rather than a lengthy discretionary permit, and a draft was under Planning Commission and public review through 2025. Owners should confirm current status with County Planning before listing, because requirements outside Lake Tulloch may have changed after adoption.