The Complete Guide

How to Get a Memphis Short-Term Rental Permit: The 2026 Guide

Everything you need to legally operate an Airbnb or VRBO in Memphis and Shelby County. Written by operators who run Memphis short-term rentals every day.

Ordinance Chapter 5-44 / No. 5631

Effective July 1, 2023

Apply Through Accela Citizen Access Portal

Term 365 days, non-transferable

The 30-Second Version

Initial Fee

$300

Non-refundable application fee under the 2023 amended ordinance

Annual Renewal

$150

Due at least 30 days before expiration

Required Insurance

$1,000,000

Per-occurrence liability minimum

Max Bedrooms

3

Sleeping rooms per permit, per property

Combined Tax Rate

18.75%

7% state + 2.75% local sales + 4% Memphis + 5% Shelby

Typical Timeline

2 to 3 weeks

From submission to approval if inspection passes first time

The 5-stage path to a legal Memphis STR

1

Verify Zoning

2

Bind Insurance

3

Pass Inspection

4

Submit via Accela

5

Register & List

Who needs a Memphis STR permit

If you rent a residential property to transient guests for less than 30 consecutive days inside Memphis or unincorporated Shelby County, you need a permit. Full stop. This applies regardless of platform (Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, direct bookings), regardless of ownership structure (individual, LLC, trust), and regardless of whether you occupy the property yourself.

The city ordinance defines a short-term rental as a residential dwelling unit, a portion of a dwelling unit, or a detached accessory dwelling unit containing not more than three sleeping rooms that is rented for transient occupancy of less than 30 continuous days.

What is not considered a short-term rental

• Hotels, motels, and bed-and-breakfast establishments (governed separately)
• Boarding houses
• Campgrounds
• State-licensed health care facilities and temporary family healthcare structures
• Properties owned by federal, state, or local government agencies
• Rentals to the same occupant for 30 or more consecutive days (including month-to-month leases)

The grandfathering rule

Memphis and Shelby County's updated STR framework took effect July 1, 2023. Properties operating as STRs before that date received grandfathered protection from the new permit requirements. That protection is real, but narrow, and conditional.

Grandfathering ends automatically when any of these occurs

• The property is sold or transferred to a new owner
• The property ceases operation as an STR for 30 continuous months or longer
• The property receives three or more violations of local law related to STR operation, noise, disorderly conduct, overcrowding, or similar

The complete requirements checklist

Use this as your pre-application punch list. Every item below is pulled from the Shelby County STR application and the operational provisions of Chapter 5-44 / Ordinance 5631.

Documentation you must submit

• Completed Short Term Rental Property Permit Application signed under oath by the property owner
• Site plan drawn to scale showing each unit, all other structures on the parcel, and key site features (driveways, parking, access points)
• Proof of current property ownership(deed, title, or recent property tax statement in the owner's name)
• Proof of insurance evidencing homeowner's fire, hazard, and liability coverage of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence
• Confirmation of final inspection by Memphis/Shelby County Code Enforcement (the Clerk's Office will verify this on file)
• Responsible Party designation with a current address within 50 miles of the rental property and a 24/7 phone number
• Property tax certification confirming the owner is current on all taxes for this property and every other Shelby County property owned

Certifications you must sign

• The STR will not interfere with the quiet enjoyment rights of neighboring properties
• You have received and understand the Shelby County Short Term Rental Ordinance
• No citations have been issued on the property by law enforcement or regulatory agencies in the prior 12 months
• The property complies with all applicable County Technical Codes
• You have not had a similar permit denied, suspended, or revoked by any city or state agency in the 365 days preceding this application
• You have no unpaid court fines or court costs related to STR ordinance violations
• You will comply with all Room Occupancy Tax requirements

The step-by-step application process

Every day you are not permitted is a day you cannot legally list. This is the fastest-to-approval sequence, run in parallel wherever possible.

Memphis STR permit fees and total startup cost

The permit itself is cheap. The actual out-of-pocket to get to your first guest is not. Here is a realistic all-in breakdown for a typical Memphis non-owner-occupied STR.

These are hard government costs only. They exclude your insurance premium (typically $1,500 to $3,500 annually for a Memphis STR depending on property value and coverage), safety equipment ($150 to $400 for alarms and extinguishers), signage, and the software stack most operators run. Run your own numbers with our Memphis rental investment calculator.

Memphis STR safety requirements and property standards

These are the non-negotiable life safety items. Inspectors will look for all of them. Missing any single one is grounds for a failed inspection, and a failed inspection is grounds for permit denial.

Required safety equipment

Property condition requirements

• No outstanding or unresolved violations of building, zoning, health, or fire safety codes
• Compliance with the County's Technical Codes
• Compliance with Memphis City Code §22-1 (noise control) and Ordinance 4840 (garbage collection and disposal)
• The minimum property conditions set forth in Ordinance 4232

The Responsible Party role

The Responsible Party (sometimes called the Short-Term Rental Agent or Local Contact) is the single most operationally demanding requirement in the ordinance. Misunderstanding this role causes more permit issues than anything else.

Who qualifies

• A natural person, not a company or LLC
• At least 21 years of age
• Resides at an address within 50 miles of the rental property
• Designated in writing on the permit application

What the Responsible Party must do

• Answer calls 24 hours a day for the full duration of every short-term rental stay
• Be physically present at the rental property within two hours of notification from the City or County regarding any issue, complaint, or alleged violation
• Accept service of any notice of violation related to the property's use or occupancy
• Use best efforts to prevent disturbances to neighbors including noise, disorderly conduct, overcrowding, alcohol, or illegal drug use by guests
• Ensure compliance with all noise, garbage, and applicable code provisions

Memphis STR insurance requirements in detail

The $1,000,000 liability number is a floor, not a target. Here is what the ordinance actually requires and what sophisticated operators carry.

Ordinance minimum

• Homeowner's fire insurance
• Hazard insurance
• Liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence

Tennessee Short-Term Rental Unit Act minimum

Tennessee's state-level STR law (TCA 13-7-603) requires STR operators to maintain liability insurance of at least $500,000 unless the listing marketplace provides equivalent coverage in aggregate. Shelby County's $1,000,000 requirement is the higher bar, so that is the number you need to hit.

What standard homeowner's policies usually exclude

• Commercial activity on the insured premises
• Liability from guests injured on the property during a paid stay
• Property damage caused by paying guests
• Loss of rental income from covered events

Dedicated STR or hospitality-grade policies from carriers like Proper Insurance, Steadily, CBIZ, and several specialty lines from Lloyd's and Markel address these gaps. We cover the full insurance picture in our Memphis landlord insurance guide. The underwriting question that matters most is whether the carrier treats your property as a commercial dwelling (they will ask nightly rate, max occupancy, annual revenue, and platform). Do not patch a homeowner's policy with an STR endorsement unless the carrier explicitly endorses the commercial use in writing.

Memphis STR zoning and the Unified Development Code

Memphis takes a relatively permissive approach to STR zoning compared to Nashville or Chattanooga. STR use is allowed in most residential and commercial districts so long as the property meets the permit requirements. That said, "most" is not "all," and the zoning check is the single most important due-diligence step before you close on a property intended for STR use.

Key zoning facts

• The Unified Development Code (UDC) serves as the zoning code for both the City of Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County
• Residential Districts: generally permitted with a proper STR permit
• Commercial Districts: generally permitted with a proper STR permit
• Properties rezoned from residential to commercial must wait 18 months before applying for an STR permit
• Overlay districts (including historic overlays with an "H" suffix) may impose additional restrictions

How to verify your address

1. Pull the property address on the Shelby County Zoning Atlas (publicly accessible)
2. Call the Memphis Planning Department at (901) 576-6619 with the address and the question "Is this parcel zoned for short-term rental use under the current UDC?"
3. For unincorporated Shelby County properties, call the Shelby County Division of Planning and Development at (901) 576-7197
4. Get the answer in writing (email is fine) before signing any purchase contract

If the property is not STR-eligible in its current zoning, check whether it is a fit for long-term rental management. Same asset, different operating model, and the LTR inventory in Memphis has been strong across most neighborhoods.

Memphis STR business license and tax account registration

The STR permit alone does not make you legal. You also need the business licensing infrastructure behind it and a clear picture of which tax accounts you actually need to register for yourself.

What you need regardless

Two registrations apply to effectively every Memphis STR operator, whether you use platforms or not.

• City of Memphis Business License($15 fee) through the Shelby County Clerk's Office. Required to conduct business within Memphis city limits.
• Shelby County Business License($15 fee). Required for any commercial activity in Shelby County.

What you need only if you take direct bookings

Memphis STR taxes: what you owe and who collects it

This is the section that costs the most operators money. Memphis has one of the highest combined lodging tax rates in the country, and the marketplace-facilitator rules mean different taxes are collected by different parties in different ways. Here is the full picture.

The four stacked tax components on every Memphis STR booking

Who collects what

Tennessee is a marketplace facilitator state. Under TCA 67-4-1502, short-term rental marketplaces are required to collect and remit lodging taxes on the bookings they facilitate within Tennessee. But not every platform operators use counts as a marketplace facilitator under Tennessee law. The breakdown matters.

Platform-by-platform tax coverage in Memphis

The practical rule for Memphis: if Airbnb and Vrbo are your only two channels, tax operations are largely automated. Add a third channel and your tax workload changes materially regardless of which third channel it is.

Other triggers that change your tax obligations

Even if you stay on Airbnb and Vrbo exclusively, the following can still create direct filing obligations:

• Total gross receipts exceed $10,000 in a Tennessee county or city jurisdiction, which triggers Tennessee business tax registration separately from sales tax
• A guest stay exceeds 30 continuous days, which may change the sales-tax treatment of that booking
• A platform changes its collection agreement with Tennessee or Shelby County, which happens periodically and is worth checking annually in each platform's host dashboard

Filing cadence (if you have registered accounts)

• State sales tax: monthly through TNTAP, due by the 20th of the month following
• Shelby County hotel-motel tax: monthly, due by the 20th of the month following
• Memphis hotel-motel tax: monthly, due by the 20th. Returns are required even if $0 in tax is due. Failure to collect or remit, or willful false returns, are subject to a civil penalty up to $50

Day-to-day operating rules

These are the rules you must comply with for every single stay. They come directly from the ordinance and are enforced through code violations and complaint-driven inspections.

• Minimum stay: No compensation may be received for occupancy of less than 24 hours. Day-use and hourly rentals are prohibited.
• Maximum sleeping rooms: No more than three sleeping rooms may be permitted per STR property. A single-family home with four or more bedrooms cannot be permitted as a fully-sleeping STR; extra rooms must be staged and used as non-sleeping spaces (office, den, game room, media room) and your listing must reflect the permitted sleeping capacity.
• Principal renter age: The principal renter (the person on the reservation) must be at least 18 years old.
• Occupancy standard: A widely applied working standard across Tennessee is two people per bedroom plus two additional guests. This is not a specific Memphis ordinance figure, but is consistent with Tennessee common practice. Your listing's max occupancy should be stated on the application and reflected in your house rules.
• Noise compliance: All permit holders and their transient guests must comply with Memphis City Code §22-1 on noise control.
• Garbage and sanitation: Compliance with Ordinance 4840 is required, including proper container placement and pickup timing.
• Posted information: Responsible Party name and phone number must be conspicuously posted inside the unit.
• Non-discrimination: Permit holders, hosting platforms, and responsible parties may not discriminate against any guest based on membership in a class protected by the Tennessee Human Rights Act.
• Self-reporting: On receipt of a citation for conduct on the property, the owner must notify the Clerk's Office in writing or electronically, and within 30 days of the court's final decision on that citation.

Listing and advertising rules

Once your permit is issued, the way you list the property is also regulated.

• Permit number on every listing. Your STR permit number must appear on every public advertisement of the property. This includes Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Furnished Finder, your direct booking site, social media posts marketing the listing, and any other channel.
• Accurate capacity. Maximum transient capacity per night must match what you stated on the permit application. Advertising higher capacity than your permit states is a violation.
• Responsible Party accessibility. Even if the Responsible Party is not publicly named in the listing, their contact must be provided to guests at check-in and posted inside the unit.

Memphis STR penalties and enforcement

Enforcement has ramped up materially since the July 2023 ordinance update. The City and County now use third-party monitoring software to cross-reference public listings against the permit database and identify unpermitted rentals.

Financial penalties

• Operating without a permit:$50 per day per unit plus applicable court costs
• Advertising without a permit number: Treated as a violation under the ordinance, subject to civil penalty
• Failure to collect or remit hotel-motel tax: Civil penalty up to $50 plus interest on unpaid amounts
• Willful false tax return: Separate civil penalty

Non-financial consequences

• Permit suspension or revocation after persistent violations
• Loss of grandfathered status after three or more violations (forces immediate compliance with current rules)
• Denial of future permit applications at that address for up to 365 days
• Referral to zoning enforcement for properties operating outside permitted districts
• Voided insurance coverage (most carriers exclude unlicensed commercial use)

Memphis STR permit renewal process

The permit expires exactly 365 days after issuance. There is no grace period. Operating on an expired permit is operating without a permit.

Renewal timing and process

• File the renewal at least 30 days before expiration. This is not a suggestion. Applications received inside the 30-day window may not be processed before your current permit lapses.
• Pay the $150 renewal fee. Non-refundable.
• Verify the Responsible Party is still accurate. Changes since the original application must be updated in the renewal.
• Provide updated proof of insurance. Carriers change, policies lapse, certificates expire. Renewal requires a current certificate.
• Self-certify compliance. You will re-sign the same certifications on the original application, including no citations in the prior 12 months and no unpaid fines.

Appeals and the Short-Term Rental Appeals Board

If your permit application is denied, or your existing permit is revoked or not renewed, you have the right to appeal to the Memphis Short-Term Rental Appeals Board established under Section 8 of Chapter 5-44.

How the appeals process works

• On denial, revocation, or non-renewal, the Clerk's Office notifies you within 15 days of the completed decision
• The notice includes information on how to request an appeal to the board
• You must file the appeal within 10 days after receipt of the denial
• The board hears the appeal at its next scheduled meeting, or within 45 days of receipt if no meeting is scheduled before that date
• You may present evidence and argue your case
• The board's decision may be further appealed through the court system

The most common Memphis STR permit mistakes

We run Memphis short-term rental operations every day and review prospective properties across the city constantly. These are the mistakes that cost owners the most.

1. Buying a grandfathered STR and assuming the grandfathering transfers. It does not. New owner equals new permit.
2. Listing before the permit is issued. Every day of listing without a permit is a $50 violation. The "I'll get the permit soon" timeline is the most expensive version of this mistake.
3. Skipping the zoning verification. Calling after closing to learn the property is in an ineligible district is the fastest way to make a six-figure mistake.
4. Relying on a standard homeowner's policy. Claims get denied at the worst possible moment because the carrier was never told about the commercial use.
5. Naming an out-of-market Responsible Party. A friend who lives in Nashville is not a valid Responsible Party. They are neither within 50 miles nor capable of being physically present within two hours.
6. Failing to include the permit number on listings. Every platform treats this differently. Airbnb has a dedicated permit field in most jurisdictions. Vrbo accepts it in the listing body. Direct booking sites require it displayed on the property page.
7. Not registering for all four tax accounts. Airbnb collects most but not always all of the required Memphis taxes. Missing a registration means back-filing and penalties when you are caught.
8. Permitting more bedrooms than the property is permitted to sleep. A house zoned for three bedrooms cannot be advertised as sleeping six on a pullout and a futon if it means listing extra sleeping rooms.
9. Missing the renewal window. Lapsed permits require re-doing the initial application at the initial fee.
10. Ignoring the first noise complaint. One complaint is a conversation. Three complaints ends grandfathered status, triggers a nuisance review, and can lose the permit.

Memphis STR permit FAQ

Getting permitted is the easy part.

Making money month after month while staying compliant, answering the 2 a.m. call, and keeping the reviews above 4.8 stars is the harder part. That's what LPS does.

Talk to LPS about your property See a Memphis STR case study

What you handle solo vs with a Memphis property manager

Running a Memphis STR legally and profitably is a full operations job. The permit is the starting line. Here's what the actual workload looks like.

If you want the short-term rental income without the short-term rental workload, that's the gap LPS fills. If your property isn't a fit for STR at all because of zoning or HOA restrictions, we also run a Memphis long-term property management program that pivots the same asset into stable monthly rent.

Official contacts directory

The authoritative sources. When in doubt, these are the phone numbers to call.

Official documents and resources

• Accela Citizen Access Portal: Start your STR permit application
• City of Memphis Chapter 5-44: Short Term Rental Ordinance (Municode)
• City of Memphis Licenses and Permits (Official Page)
• Memphis / Shelby County Unified Development Code
• Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point (TNTAP)
• Shelby County Room Occupancy Tax Information

Related guides and next steps

Explore the rest of our Memphis STR owner library.