Florida county rules
Palm Beach County, FL vacation rental rules and taxes
Every short-term rental in Palm Beach County needs a county business tax receipt and a tourist tax account before it’s advertised, and both numbers must appear on every listing. You file the 6% tourist tax every month yourself, because platforms don’t send it to the county. Many towns add their own permit on top.
Checked against official sources November 4, 2026Section 17-117 was adopted in 2018 (Ordinance 2018-024) and amended in 2019 after a settlement with Airbnb and HomeAway. A revoked registration can’t be renewed for a year.
What to do
Register with the Tax Collector before you advertise
Apply for a vacation rental business tax receipt (or a home sharing receipt if you live there during stays) and a tourist development tax account, one set per property. You may not advertise or list the property until you have both.Source
Put both numbers on every listing
Airbnb, Vrbo, and other platforms must ask for your business tax receipt and tourist tax numbers before listing a Palm Beach County property, and the numbers must appear on every ad. Listings without valid numbers can be taken down.Source
File the tourist tax every month
File electronically every month, even in months with no bookings. Platforms collect the tax from guests and pass it to you; you send it to the Tax Collector. Keep records of each stay, its length, and its price for three years.Source
Renew the business tax receipt by September 30
Renewal needs the fee, every monthly return filed, and any changes to your registration. Without a renewal filed by September 30 you can’t keep advertising. The receipt can’t be transferred to a new owner or address.Source
No events or sales
County rules bar non-residential uses of a short-term rental, such as selling products or holding events that charge admission.Source
Then your town
Many Palm Beach County towns require their own permit and inspection. Pick your town for its full checklist.
Towns
Atlantis
Atlantis has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideBelle Glade
Belle Glade has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideBoca Raton
Boca Raton’s zoning code treats any building offering accommodations “on a short-term or transient basis” as a motel, a use its residential districts don’t allow. The city’s rules predate Florida’s 2011 law and have been reported as barring rentals shorter than six months. Confirm with the city before you list.
Full guideBoynton Beach
Boynton Beach requires every short-term rental to get a city Certificate of Use and Occupancy and business tax receipt, renewed each year after a new inspection: $525 to apply and $325 to renew. Up to 2 guests per bedroom plus 2 (10 at most), a floor plan and site plan, and a local responsible party who visits weekly.
Full guideBriny Breezes
We found no published vacation rental rules for Briny Breezes, a small town that is also a resident-owned mobile home cooperative. The cooperative’s own rules on leasing likely decide whether short-term rentals are allowed.
Full guideCloud Lake
Cloud Lake requires every vacation rental to register with the Town Clerk, with a town business tax receipt, and renew by October 1. Up to 2 guests per bedroom plus 2, gatherings no more than 1½ times that, and a responsible party within one hour.
Full guideDelray Beach
In Delray Beach, a home whose occupancy turns over more than six times a year is a “transient residential use.” That use is prohibited in single-family and planned residential districts and allowed in the Medium Density Residential (RM) district, under the city’s special use standards.
Full guideGlen Ridge
Glen Ridge has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideGreenacres
Greenacres has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideGulf Stream
Gulf Stream prohibits property rentals with lease terms of less than three months in both its single-family and multi-family districts, so vacation rentals aren’t allowed.
Full guideHaverhill
Haverhill has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideHighland Beach
Highland Beach requires a vacation rental certificate for every vacation rental, house or condo, renewed every two years by October 1 after a town inspection. Ads must state the maximum occupancy and parking, and a responsible party must be able to get there within two hours.
Full guideHypoluxo
Hypoluxo has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideJuno Beach
Juno Beach requires every vacation rental to register with the town’s Planning and Zoning Department and renew by October 1. Up to 2 guests per bedroom plus 2, a responsible party who can be there within two hours, and a sea turtle notice among the posted rules. The town may inspect after you register and each year.
Full guideJupiter
The Town of Jupiter has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license, a county business tax receipt, and a county tourist tax account, with both county numbers on every listing.
Full guideJupiter Inlet Colony
Jupiter Inlet Colony’s zoning code doesn’t allow renting a home for less than 30 days, or more than three times a year, so vacation rentals aren’t permitted. Owners who rent for longer must report each lease to the town within 10 days.
Full guideLake Clarke Shores
Lake Clarke Shores requires every vacation rental to register with the town and pass a life safety inspection: $450 to register plus a $33.08 business tax. Renew by October 1. Up to 2 guests per bedroom plus 2, and a responsible party within two hours.
Full guideLake Park
Lake Park prohibits “transient residential use,” a home with more than two turnovers in occupancy a year, in its R-1A, R-1B, and R-1 single-family districts. It’s allowed in R-1AA, R-2A, R-2, and the commercial districts, with a town rental business tax receipt and code inspection.
Full guideLake Worth Beach
Lake Worth Beach’s land development code treats any stay of 60 days or less as transient, and none of its zoning districts lists transient rentals of homes as an allowed use. In practice, short-term rentals of houses and condos aren’t permitted; confirm with the city before you list.
Full guideLantana
Lantana bans rentals of 30 days or less for single-family houses in the R-1 and R-1A zoning districts. Elsewhere, short-term rentals are allowed with a town business tax receipt and a rental information card, which every rental in town needs.
Full guideLoxahatchee Groves
Loxahatchee Groves has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideManalapan
Manalapan has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the county business tax receipt and tourist tax account; the town’s business tax schedule also has a class for rental units.
Full guideMangonia Park
Mangonia Park has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideNorth Palm Beach
North Palm Beach requires every vacation rental to register with the village and renew by October 1, with an annual inspection. The registration fee is $600. Up to 2 guests per bedroom plus 2, at most 5 cars outside the garage, and a responsible party within two hours.
Full guideOcean Ridge
Ocean Ridge’s zoning lists vacation rentals as a use in its medium- and high-density multi-family districts, but the town manager has said the town prohibited rentals shorter than 30 days before 2011. Confirm with the town before listing. Every non-condo rental in a residential district registers with the town each year by January 31.
Full guidePahokee
Pahokee has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guidePalm Beach
The Town of Palm Beach’s zoning sets a three-month minimum stay for homes. A home may be rented for less than three months no more than three times a calendar year, so regular nightly or weekly vacation rentals aren’t allowed.
Full guidePalm Beach Gardens
Palm Beach Gardens has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the county business tax receipt and tourist tax account, and most neighborhoods here have HOA rules that limit rentals.
Full guidePalm Beach Shores
Palm Beach Shores requires a yearly vacation rental permit for each unit, with an inspection before it’s issued and every year after, on top of the town’s rental business tax receipt. At most 8 overnight guests, interconnected alarms, a floor plan and site survey, and a responsible party within an hour.
Full guidePalm Springs
Palm Springs has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideRiviera Beach
Riviera Beach, including most of Singer Island, requires every rental to get a city business tax receipt and certificate of use. Vacation rentals apply as public lodging and need the DBPR license first, then pass zoning, code, fire, and police reviews before the city issues them.
Full guideRoyal Palm Beach
Royal Palm Beach has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideSouth Bay
South Bay has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Full guideSouth Palm Beach
South Palm Beach has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. The town is almost all condos, so your association’s lease rules usually decide whether short stays are allowed.
Full guideTequesta
Tequesta requires a yearly vacation rental permit for each unit, with an inspection before it’s issued and every year after. The permit costs $200 per bedroom a year plus a $100 inspection. At most 8 overnight guests, hard-wired interconnected alarms, a floor plan and site survey, and a responsible party within an hour.
Full guideUnincorporated Palm Beach
Outside city limits, Palm Beach County has no zoning permit or inspection for vacation rentals. You still need the DBPR license, a county business tax receipt, and a tourist tax account, with both county numbers on every listing.
Full guideWellington
Wellington requires a one-time $600 Vacation Rental Special Use Permit for each unit, plus an annual village business tax receipt and a human trafficking prevention certificate. Overnight, up to 2 guests per bedroom (children under 3 don’t count), and 1 car per bedroom, up to 4.
Full guideWest Palm Beach
West Palm Beach requires every rental unit, short or long term, to have a city business tax receipt and a rental license issued after a building inspection, plus a resident agent in the city. There is no separate vacation rental program.
Full guideWestlake
Westlake has no vacation rental registration, inspection, or occupancy rules in its code. You need the DBPR license and the Palm Beach County business tax receipt and tourist tax account, with both numbers on every listing.
Sources
- Code § 17-117, vacation rentals (tourist development tax article) · Palm Beach County (Municode)
- TDT support center · Palm Beach County Tax Collector
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.