How to get a short-term rental permit in Milwaukee, WI (2026)
Milwaukee requires Tourist Rooming House License, renewed annual. Here's how to get and keep it.
Permit at a glance
| Permit required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Permit name | Tourist Rooming House License |
| Renewal | Annual |
Step by step
- 1
Confirm your property is eligible
Confirm the property's zoning allows short-term rentals. Milwaukee's zoning code (ch. 295) contains no 'tourist rooming house' or short-term-rental use category, no STR overlay districts, and no STR-specific zoning approvals; whole-unit STRs operate citywide in residential districts under the state Tourist Rooming House license alone. The only related zoning use is 'bed and breakfast' (an owner-occupied home renting rooms with meals), which is a special or limited use in residential districts and capped at 2 guest rooms (8 in the Milwaukee Bed and Breakfast District). Wisconsin's right-to-rent law (Wis. Stat. 66.1014) independently bars the city from prohibiting rentals of 7+ consecutive days.
- 2
Apply for the Tourist Rooming House License
Submit the Tourist Rooming House License application to Milwaukee. Milwaukee DNS, as a state agent under Wis. Stat. 97.615(2)(d), sets and collects its own license fees, and the city does not publish the amount on its Tourist Rooming House page (fees appear only on the application PDF, which could not be retrieved). Secondary sources conflict: some report a $100 initial license fee paid to DNS, others $110/year plus a one-time $300 pre-inspection fee (the latter figures match DATCP's pre-2026 statewide fee schedule and may be stale); none could be verified against a primary source (the fee-bearing application PDF returns 403 via Cloudflare and has never been archived). For comparison, where DATCP licenses directly, ATCP 72.08 Table A (licenses issued April 1, 2026 - March 31, 2028) sets $296.00 license fee + $592.00 preinspection fee for 1 TRH. Confirm the current Milwaukee fee with DNS (841 N. Broadway, Room 105) before relying on it.
- 3
Register for occupancy taxes
Register to collect and remit the applicable lodging/occupancy taxes for Milwaukee. Some are collected automatically by the booking platform and some you may need to remit yourself.
- 4
Renew on schedule
The permit renews annual — set a reminder so it never lapses, since operating on an expired permit typically triggers fines.
STR rules change without warning.
Get an email the moment Milwaukee changes its short-term rental rules — plus renewal reminders before your permit expires.
Watch Milwaukee for changes →Free monthly digest · same-day alerts from $5/mo · cancel anytime
Keep going
Verified July 21, 2026. Informational only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Permit requirements and fees change; confirm current requirements with Milwaukee before applying.