Short-Term Rental Permit in Florida: Cost, Steps & How to File
Every Florida business owner eventually asks the same three things about a short-term rental permit: who issues it, roughly what it costs, roughly how long it takes. The first one has a Florida-specific answer and it's at the top of this page.
Florida: verified exception
Vacation rentals are a public lodging category regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's Division of Hotels and Restaurants. DBPR: “Florida law requires owners of new public food service or lodging establishments, and new owners of existing establishments, to obtain a license from the division before commencing operation.”
DBPR lists Vacation Rentals and Timeshare Projects as their own public-lodging category, and notes one difference from other lodging: “Each new license requires a satisfactory opening inspection except vacation rentals.”
We are not publishing a fee figure for the state licence because we have not verified a current one from DBPR.
What actually applies
- City and county short-term rental rules stack on top of the state licence rather than replacing it.
Sources
- Florida DBPR — Hotels and Restaurants licensing: https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/hotels-restaurants/licensing/general/
- Florida DBPR — Division of Hotels and Restaurants: https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/hotels-restaurants/
Who issues a Short-Term Rental Permit in Florida
In Florida, the state office below issues this. Your city or county can require its own permit on top of it — clearing one does not clear the other.
- Florida DBPR, Division of Hotels and Restaurants
https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/hotels-restaurants/licensing/general/ - Florida — the state revenue or taxation department (handles state tax registration and permits)
https://floridarevenue.com
Finding your local office
Start with the city your address sits in — the relevant department is usually called Planning, Building, Community Development, or Business Licensing. If your address is unincorporated, the county performs that role instead. Calling the main switchboard and asking who handles this is usually faster than searching.
Starting point for anything else in Florida: the state business portal, https://dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz. It is a starting point, not the issuer of this permit.
The general US process
This sequence is the shape the process takes across the US. It is not a list of Florida requirements, and no step here should be read as one — the issuing office named above sets the actual requirements.
- Step 1: Check whether short-term renting is allowed at your address at all. That is a zoning question and it is decided locally.
- Step 2: Check whether the state licenses short-term rentals as well. Most do not; Florida does.
- Step 3: Register with whichever office regulates them, and with any state office if there is one.
- Step 4: Check for an owner-occupancy or primary-residence condition — a common feature of city rules, but far from universal.
- Step 5: Fit and document the safety equipment the rule lists.
- Step 6: Register for lodging or occupancy tax. That is frequently a different office from the permit.
- Step 7: Put the permit number in your listing where the rule asks for it. Listing platforms are increasingly required to check.
What varies: whether STRs are permitted at all, whether there is a cap or lottery, whether the state licenses on top of the city, and which tax applies.
Documents usually asked for
A typical list, not a Florida checklist.
- Proof of ownership or lease with landlord written consent
- Proof of primary residency
- Property tax bill
- Safety equipment photos
Related permits in Florida
Short-Term Rental Permit in states bordering Florida
Rules stop at the state line — same permit, each state bordering Florida:
See Short-Term Rental Permit in all 50 states & DC →
Frequently asked questions
Who issues a short-term rental permit in Florida?
The state office named at the top of this page issues it, and your city or county may require its own on top.
How much does a short-term rental permit cost in Florida?
We don't publish a Florida figure we haven't verified. The typical US range is $50–$1,500. The office named above has the real number for your address.
How long does it take to get a short-term rental permit in Florida?
Typical US processing is 7–60 days, and expedited handling is often available for a fee. The issuing office publishes its own turnaround, and that is the number to trust.
What is Florida-specific on this page: the issuing office, the verified Florida exception and its sources. Everything else — the numbered process, the document list, the cost and timeline — is the general US pattern, not a Florida rule, and is labelled that way above. Requirements, fees and deadlines are set by the issuing office; confirm with it before you file or pay.