# Seattle — Short-term rental registration rules, city by city, from each city's own page For Seattle, registration / licence required? is Operating an STR without a regulatory license could subject you to fines and other penalties; ordinance / administering office is Seattle Municipal Code, verified against its source on 2026-08-18. - **City:** Seattle _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_ - **Registration / licence required?:** Operating an STR without a regulatory license could subject you to fines and other penalties. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_ - **Ordinance / administering office:** Seattle Municipal Code _(verified: appears in the quote below)_ - **Fee and licence term:** The fee for an STR operator regulatory license is $75 per unit and it must be renewed annually. _(per seattle.gov, not stated by the source above)_ - **Residence and unit limits:** Most short-term rental operators may operate two units: the operator's primary residence and a secondary unit, one in which the operator does not live. _(per seattle.gov, not stated by the source above)_ - **Dated rule change:** The City of Seattle began issuing STR regulatory licenses, which are valid for one year, on Jan. 2, 2019. _(per seattle.gov, not stated by the source above)_ ## What the source says > Operating an STR without a regulatory license could subject you to fines and other penalties. Avoid fines and penalties by completing the licensing process. ## What seattle.gov says > The fee for an STR operator regulatory license is $75 per unit and it must be renewed annually. Source: https://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/short-term-rentals ## What seattle.gov says > Most short-term rental operators may operate two units: the operator's primary residence and a secondary unit, one in which the operator does not live. Source: https://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/short-term-rentals ## What seattle.gov says > Short-term Rental Operator licenses are valid for 12 months from the date they are issued (e.g., if you received your short-term operator's license on March 15, 2021, your license renewal is due on or before March 15, 2022). Source: https://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/short-term-rentals ## What seattle.gov says > The City of Seattle began issuing STR regulatory licenses, which are valid for one year, on Jan. 2, 2019. Source: https://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/short-term-rentals ## Sources disagree More than one authority states this, and they do not state the same thing. Both are reproduced with the source each came from. ### Registration / licence required? seattle.gov says registration / licence required? is **Operating an STR without a regulatory license could subject you to fines and other penalties.**, as of 2026-08-18. > Operating an STR without a regulatory license could subject you to fines and other penalties. Avoid fines and penalties by completing the licensing process. Source: https://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/short-term-rentals seattle.gov says registration / licence required? is **Short-term Rental Operator Licenses issued by the City must be posted on every listing advertising or offering the short-term rental unit**, as of 2026-08-18. > Short-term Rental Operator Licenses issued by the City must be posted on every listing advertising or offering the short-term rental unit, including listings on platforms (e.g VRBO, Expedia, MrBnb, Airbnb etc.). The short-term rental license must be posted in this format: STR-OPLI-##-######. Example STR-OPLI-21-000123. Platforms may remove listings if the license number is not formatted correctly. Source: https://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/short-term-rentals ## Source - https://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/short-term-rentals Last verified: 2026-08-18. Review by: 2027-02-14. Part of [Short-term rental registration rules, city by city, from each city's own page](https://referencesource.org/str-registration-rules-major-cities/).