LicensedRental

Larimer County, Colorado

Unincorporated Larimer County, CO vacation rental requirements

Outside city and town limits, Larimer County requires a short-term rental license with a pre-application meeting, a planning review, a conversion building permit, and a 22-item life-safety inspection. Up to 10 guests, one rental per property, spacing from other rentals and parks, and a cap of 208 licenses in the Estes Valley’s residential zones. The review needs a dimensioned floor plan and a site plan.

Checked against official sources November 8, 2026

Download checklist (PDF)Free. A printable version of this guide to tick off, with the official sources.

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License
Required, renewed every two years
$250 renewal from January 1, 2026.Source
Estes Valley residential zones
Capped at 208
EV E, E-1, R, RE, RE-1, RM. Waitlist spots can’t be transferred.Source
Spacing
500 ft from another rental
250 ft in Red Feather Lakes; also 500 ft from county parks and open space.Source
Guests
10 or fewer, one party
Drawings
Floor plan and site plan
Dimensioned floor plan of every level with alarms and extinguishers marked; exit maps in the operations manual.Source
Floodplain
Not eligible
If the home, its parking, or the nearby drive lane is in the floodplain.Source

Estes Park’s town page says 266 licenses went to unincorporated Larimer County when the shared Estes Valley cap was split in 2020; the county’s own page says the cap is 208. Ask the county.

Your licensing checklist

In order: the state, the county, then the town.

State of Colorado

  1. Get a state sales tax license

    If you rent rooms or a home for stays under 30 days, Colorado requires a sales tax license from the Department of Revenue. Platforms like Airbnb collect the state and state-administered taxes on their bookings; you file for anything booked directly.Source

    MyBiz Colorado →

  2. Check for home-rule city taxes

    Many cities and mountain towns collect their own sales and lodging taxes. Platforms aren’t required by the state to collect these, so you may need a separate city tax license and returns.Source

  3. Get your county or city rental license

    Most Colorado mountain counties and towns, and Denver, require a short-term rental license or permit, often with an inspection, an occupancy limit, posted information, and a local responder. Pick your area for the rules.

Larimer County, Colorado

  1. Then your town or area

    Cities and towns make their own rental rules inside their limits; the county’s rules apply only outside them. Pick your area.

Larimer County (unincorporated areas)

  1. Check eligibility and book a pre-application meeting

    Confirm your zone is eligible, the home and parking are out of the floodplain, and you are 500 feet from other rentals and county parks. In Estes Valley residential zones, join the waitlist. A pre-application meeting with the county is required before any lodging application.Source

  2. Prepare the drawings and access certificate

    Draw a floor plan of each level to scale or with room dimensions, labeling bedrooms, baths, stoves, doors, windows, and where the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, extinguishers, and cooktop fire-stop are, plus a site plan showing which building is the rental. Unless you take access from a state highway or numbered county road, a professional engineer must certify the access road.Source

  3. Get planning approval and the conversion permit

    Planning review (administrative special review, site plan, or special review, depending on your zone) takes at least 21 days. Then the Building Division issues an STR conversion permit.Source

  4. Pass the life-safety inspection

    Schedule it through the county’s online portal within six months of the permit, with an adult present. You then get a certificate of occupancy and your license, and must give the property manager’s contact details to neighbors within 500 feet.Source

  5. Taxes on each stay

    Stays under 30 days owe 2.9% state plus Larimer County sales tax. Airbnb and other platforms collect the state and state-administered taxes on their bookings; for direct bookings, file with the Colorado Department of Revenue. In the Estes Valley, the Estes Park Local Marketing District’s lodging tax also applies; ask the county whether your address is inside the district.Source

Fees

About $840 to start through site plan review, plus $250 every two years

Development review (site plan review)Other review types have their own fees.$542
STR conversion building permit$300
License renewal (every two years, from January 1, 2026)Listed on the county STR page.$250

Source

Inspection checklist

What the inspector looks for, from Larimer County (unincorporated areas)’s published checklist.

  • Egress openings in every sleeping roomOpenable without tools; window wells at least 9 sq ft.Source
  • Interconnected smoke alarms and CO alarms
  • Fire extinguishers (1-A:10-B:C) and stovetop fire-stop
  • No ventless gas appliances; garage fire separation
  • Wildfire defensible space; solid-fuel fire pits locked off
  • Operations manual with exit maps and escape routesPlus entrance/exit signs at each exterior door.Source
  • Septic approved by the Health Department
  • Address numbers at least 4 inches tall

House rules for guests

Rentals per property
One
Source
Complaints
Three strikes
Three valid complaints open a code case and a review of the approval.Source

Sources

A plain-language summary to help you prepare, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with the office before you apply. Spot something out of date? Email hello@licensedrental.com.