Short-Term Rental Laws by State (2026): All 50 States
There is no federal short-term rental law in the US. What your state adds on top of local rules falls into three buckets: a statewide registration or license (a growing minority of states), a state lodging or sales tax on short stays (nearly all of them), and — in a few states — preemption laws that limit what cities can prohibit. The table below covers all 50 states plus DC, with 28 statewide rule summaries human-verified against state statutes and agency sources, and links to our verified city-level rules (70 markets and counting).
Statewide data last verified: July 12, 2026 · informational only, not legal advice.
| State | Statewide registration & rules | Covered cities | State lodging tax | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Allowed Alabama has no statewide short-term rental license, permit, or operating restrictions, and no law preempting local governments — cities and counties are free to regulate or even ban STRs, and the… | 1 verified | Yes — ~9% | July 12, 2026 |
| Alaska | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Arizona | Permit required Arizona is one of the strongest STR-preemption states: since January 1, 2017 (SB 1350), state law bars cities, towns, and counties from prohibiting vacation rentals or short-term rentals, though SB… | 3 verified | Yes — ~5.5% | July 12, 2026 |
| Arkansas | Allowed Arkansas has no statewide short-term rental license, registration, or permit, and no enacted law preempting local STR regulation — cities and counties retain full authority to permit, cap, or… | 1 verified | Yes — ~8.5% | July 12, 2026 |
| California | Allowed California requires no statewide short-term rental license or registration and imposes no statewide lodging tax — regulation and transient occupancy taxes are left to cities and counties, and the… | 9 verified | Yes — ~0.2% | July 12, 2026 |
| Colorado | Allowed Colorado has no statewide short-term rental license and does not preempt local regulation — it is a local-control state where cities and counties set their own STR rules, and HB20-1093 (2020) and… | 4 verified | Yes — ~2.9% | July 12, 2026 |
| Connecticut | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Delaware | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| District of Columbia | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | 1 verified | — | — |
| Florida | Permit required Florida allows short-term rentals statewide and preempts cities and counties from banning vacation rentals or regulating how long or how often they can be rented, though local ordinances adopted on… | 11 verified | Yes — ~6.5% | July 12, 2026 |
| Georgia | Allowed Georgia has no statewide short-term rental license and no preemption law, so cities and counties are free to permit, restrict, or even ban STRs, and repeated attempts to pass state preemption (most… | 2 verified | Yes — ~4% | July 12, 2026 |
| Hawaii | Permit required Hawaii does not preempt local short-term rental rules — it does the opposite: Act 17 of 2024 (SB 2919) amended HRS § 46-4 to explicitly empower counties to regulate the 'time, place, manner, and… | 2 verified | Yes — ~18% | July 12, 2026 |
| Idaho | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Illinois | Allowed Illinois has no statewide short-term rental license and no law preempting local regulation — cities and counties (many with home-rule power, like Chicago) are free to permit, restrict, or ban STRs,… | 1 verified | Yes — ~6% | July 12, 2026 |
| Indiana | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Iowa | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Kansas | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Kentucky | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Louisiana | Allowed Louisiana has no statewide short-term rental license or permit and does not preempt local regulation — cities and parishes (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, etc.) set their own STR rules under home rule. | 1 verified | Yes — ~5% | July 12, 2026 |
| Maine | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Maryland | Allowed Maryland has no statewide short-term rental license or registry — licensing, zoning, caps, and permits are left entirely to counties and cities, and state law expressly does not preempt local STR regulation. | 1 verified | Yes — ~6% | July 12, 2026 |
| Massachusetts | Permit required Massachusetts allows short-term rentals statewide but requires every operator to register (for free) with the Department of Revenue via MassTaxConnect and appear on the state's public Short-Term… | 1 verified | Yes — ~17.45% | July 12, 2026 |
| Michigan | Allowed Michigan has no statewide short-term rental license, registration, or preemption law: STRs are legal by default at the state level, and each city, township, or village decides through local zoning… | 1 verified | Yes — ~6% | July 12, 2026 |
| Minnesota | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Mississippi | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Missouri | Allowed Missouri has no statewide short-term rental license, registration, or permit, and no state law preempting local STR regulation — cities and counties are free to allow, restrict, or ban short-term rentals. | 1 verified | Yes — ~4.22% | July 12, 2026 |
| Montana | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Nebraska | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Nevada | Allowed Nevada has no statewide short-term rental license — STR permitting is handled by cities and counties. | 2 verified | Yes — ~17% | July 12, 2026 |
| New Hampshire | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| New Jersey | Allowed New Jersey has no statewide short-term rental license or permit and does not preempt local regulation — the state expressly authorizes municipalities (N.J.S.A. 40:52-1(n)) to license and regulate… | 1 verified | Yes — ~14.63% | July 12, 2026 |
| New Mexico | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| New York | Permit required New York enacted the nation's first statewide short-term rental framework (Real Property Law Article 12-D, signed December 21, 2024 and amended February 28, 2025): hosts in 'covered jurisdictions'… | 1 verified | Yes — ~4% | July 12, 2026 |
| North Carolina | Allowed North Carolina requires no statewide license, permit, or registration to operate a short-term rental, and state law actually works in hosts' favor: G.S. 160D-1207(c) bars cities and counties from… | 1 verified | Yes — ~7% | July 12, 2026 |
| North Dakota | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Ohio | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Oklahoma | Allowed Oklahoma has no statewide short-term rental law: the state requires no STR license or registration and has not passed any preemption statute, so cities and counties are free to license, restrict, or… | 1 verified | Yes — ~4.5% | July 12, 2026 |
| Oregon | Allowed Oregon has no statewide short-term rental license or permit and no broad preemption law — cities and counties decide whether and how STRs may operate, subject to state land-use protections for… | 1 verified | Yes — ~1.5% | July 12, 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | Allowed Pennsylvania has no statewide short-term rental license, registration, or permit, and no law preempting local regulation — cities, boroughs, and townships control STRs through zoning under the… | 1 verified | Yes — ~7% | July 12, 2026 |
| Rhode Island | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| South Carolina | Allowed South Carolina imposes no statewide short-term rental permit and does not preempt local regulation — cities and counties may license, cap, or even ban STRs, and bills to change that (H.3861… | 4 verified | Yes — ~13% | July 12, 2026 |
| South Dakota | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | Allowed Tennessee has no statewide short-term rental license or permit; regulation is left to cities and counties, but the 2018 Short-Term Rental Unit Act (T.C.A. 13-7-601 to 13-7-606) partially preempts… | 4 verified | Yes — ~9.75% | July 12, 2026 |
| Texas | Allowed Texas has no statewide short-term rental license, registration, or permit — regulation is left almost entirely to cities and counties, and the Legislature has repeatedly failed to pass STR-specific… | 6 verified | Yes — ~6% | July 12, 2026 |
| Utah | Allowed Utah has no statewide short-term rental license or registration — operating rules are left to cities and counties, which may zone, restrict, or require local business licenses for STRs. | 3 verified | Yes — ~10.42% | July 12, 2026 |
| Vermont | Allowed Vermont has no statewide short-term rental license or registry and does not preempt local regulation — towns like Burlington, Stowe, and Woodstock set their own STR rules, and courts have upheld… | 1 verified | Yes — ~13% | July 12, 2026 |
| Virginia | Allowed Virginia has no statewide short-term rental license or registry — regulation is left mostly to cities and counties, which Va. | 1 verified | Yes — ~5.3% | July 12, 2026 |
| Washington | Permit required Washington regulates short-term rentals statewide through chapter 64.37 RCW (effective 2019): operators must register with the Department of Revenue and remit all applicable lodging-related taxes… | 3 verified | Yes — ~6.97% | July 12, 2026 |
| West Virginia | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Wisconsin | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
| Wyoming | Statewide summary in research — coverage coming | — | — | — |
“Statewide registration & rules” reflects state-level law only — city and county rules apply on top in every state. States marked “coverage coming” are in our research pipeline; each summary is published only after human verification against official sources.
State preemption: when state law overrides your city
A handful of states have preemption laws that stop cities from banning short-term rentals outright, which flips the usual power dynamic — instead of the city deciding whether you can host, the state guarantees you can, and the city can only regulate how. Arizona is the strongest example: since 2017, SB 1350 bars cities, towns, and counties from prohibiting vacation rentals, though they may still require a local permit with the fee capped at $250. Florida likewise preempts local governments from banning vacation rentals or regulating how long or how often they are rented, with only ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011 grandfathered. Texas has no preemption statute, but its courts have repeatedly struck down city bans — while Hawaii runs the other way entirely, with a 2024 state law that empowers counties to phase vacation rentals out of any zoning district. If you host in a preemption state, read both the state row above and your city's page: preemption limits what a city can ban, not what it can regulate.
Frequently asked questions
›Which states require a statewide short-term rental license or registration?
Of the 28 states with verified statewide summaries in our database, 6 currently require some form of statewide registration or license before hosting: Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington. In every other state we have verified, permitting is left to cities and counties — though a state tax registration is often still required.
›Which states preempt local Airbnb bans?
Arizona is the clearest case: since 2017 (SB 1350), state law bars cities and counties from prohibiting short-term rentals, though a 2022 amendment lets them require local permits with fees capped at $250. Florida preempts local governments from banning vacation rentals or regulating rental length and frequency, with ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011 grandfathered. Texas has no preemption statute, but its appellate courts have repeatedly blocked outright city bans. Hawaii goes the opposite direction — a 2024 law explicitly empowers counties to phase out vacation rentals.
›Are short-term rental laws set by the state or the city?
Mostly the city. In the majority of states, the state sets lodging taxes and sometimes a baseline registration, while the rules that decide whether you can host at all — permits, zoning, night caps, primary-residence requirements — are written by cities and counties. That is why two addresses a few miles apart in the same state can face completely different rules, and why you should always check the local jurisdiction's page after your state's.
›Do states without a permit requirement still tax short-term rentals?
Yes. Every one of the 28 statewide summaries we have verified includes at least one state-level lodging, sales, or occupancy tax that applies to short-term stays — even in states with no statewide permit. Major platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit these state taxes on bookings in many states, but the tax registration and any host-remitted lines remain the operator's responsibility.
Go deeper than the state layer
State law is only the first layer — in most markets, the rules that decide whether you can host are written at city hall. Compare city-level rules side by side, or browse every market we cover.
Methodology: statewide summaries are compiled from state statutes, legislative records, and state agency sources, and each is human-verified by the STR Rule Watch research team before publication — the table refreshes automatically as data is re-verified. Informational only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.