Effective March 3, 2025, Palm Coast Ordinance 2025-01 (Section 17-68) requires every short-term rental in the city to register annually with the City of Palm Coast through cdpservices.palmcoast.gov/btr. The annual fee structure is $375 registration + $75 inspection = $450 per property per year (City Council Resolution 2025-05). Required documents: Sample Lease Agreement with Section 17-68(A)(2)(A-H) terms, Responsible Party designation (up to 3 individuals), Business Tax Receipt application, Florida DOR Certificate of Registration for tourist development taxes, Florida DBPR Transient Public Lodging license, Executed Affidavit certifying compliance and no registered sex offenders among guests, and advertising compliance verification. Operators must ALSO separately register with Flagler County (which runs its own grandfathered STR program), with the Florida DOR (Form DR-1 sales tax), with the Flagler County Tax Collector (TDT), and hold the Florida DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling/Condo license.
Palm Coast's Section 17-68 registration system layered the new city program on top of the existing four-track Florida STR registration ecosystem. The result is a five-track compliance stack for Palm Coast STRs. Track one (city - new effective March 3, 2025): City of Palm Coast STR registration through cdpservices.palmcoast.gov/btr. Four-step online process: (1) download required documents from the city portal, (2) complete the online application, (3) upload all required documents, (4) await City review. Annual fees: $375 registration + $75 inspection = $450 per property (City Council Resolution 2025-05). Required documents listed in Section 17-68: Sample Lease Agreement that includes the terms outlined in Section 17-68(A)(2)(A-H) (which include quiet hours, parking rules, occupancy cap, pet limits, and responsible-party contact); designation of a Responsible Party (up to three individuals may be named, all of whom sign affidavits certifying no registered sex offenders among guests); Business Tax Receipt application; Florida DOR Certificate of Registration for tourist development taxes (proof that the operator has registered with the Flagler County Tax Collector); Florida DBPR Transient Public Lodging license; Executed Affidavit certifying compliance with all ordinance sections; advertising compliance verification (advertising must disclose the property is located in a residential community). City Business Tax contact: (386) 986-3766. The city expects approximately 270 registrants generating $120,000 in annual revenue. Track two (county - separate): Flagler County operates its own grandfathered STR registration program because the county adopted regulations before June 1, 2011 and qualifies for the FS § 509.032(7)(b) carve-out. Palm Coast STR operators must register separately with Flagler County in addition to the city - this is a parallel, not redundant, requirement. Track three (state license): Florida DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling license (single-family/townhome) or Vacation Rental Condo license (condo unit) is required for any dwelling rented more than three times per calendar year for periods of less than 30 days (FS § 509.242). Application is through myfloridalicense.com with a $50 application fee and approximately $170 annual license fee, expiring October 1 each year. Track four (state tax): Florida Department of Revenue registration using Form DR-1 establishes a sales tax account for the 6% state sales tax and the 1% Flagler County discretionary surtax; DR-15 returns are filed monthly through the DOR taxpayer portal. Track five (county tax): Flagler County Tax Collector registration through the Tourist Express portal at flagler.county-taxes.com/tourist for the 5% Flagler TDT under Flagler County Ordinance 2018-10. Returns are filed monthly through the Tourist Express portal - due on the 1st of the month following the reporting period and delinquent if not paid by the 20th. Tax Collector contact: (386) 313-4165. Total annual recurring costs for a single Palm Coast STR: $450 city + $170 DBPR + variable Flagler County registration fee + tax remittances on all bookings (12% combined). Operators with HOA/CC&R restrictions must also verify private-restriction compliance - the city registration does not override deed restrictions.
Operating a short-term rental in Palm Coast without the Section 17-68 city registration after March 3, 2025 is a violation enforceable by Palm Coast Code Enforcement under the graduated warning-then-fine framework: warning with defined correction period for first violations, then citations up to $250 per day first violation and $500 per day repeats under FS § 162.09. Submitting a registration application with materially false information (misrepresented bedroom count, falsified affidavit regarding sex offenders, fraudulent Sample Lease Agreement, undisclosed Responsible Party) is grounds for immediate registration revocation and may support additional fraud-on-the-city enforcement. Failing to provide the Florida DBPR license, Florida DOR Certificate of Registration, or Flagler County registration documentation prevents the city application from being approved. Failing to maintain a Responsible Party who is available to respond to complaints is itself a basis for enforcement against the registration. Failing to pay the $450 annual fee (or future fee changes adopted by Resolution) is a registration-violation enforceable through the graduated framework. Annual renewal failure results in the property's STR registration lapsing - continuing to operate after lapse triggers the unregistered-operation violation. Pattern violations of any Section 17-68 operational standard (occupancy cap, parking, quiet hours, pet limits, responsible-party availability) are grounds for non-renewal or revocation at the annual renewal cycle. Operating without the Florida DBPR license, the Flagler County registration, the Florida DOR sales tax account, or the Flagler TDT account triggers state and county enforcement independent of the city violation.
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