State

Colorado short-term rental laws (2026)

Whether you can host in Colorado depends on your town or county. License caps, bans in some areas and night limits all appear on the options list the state's Division of Local Government drew up for them.^[5]

Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified October 1, 2026.

The Maroon Bells at sunset above Maroon Lake, near Aspen, Colorado

Is Airbnb legal in Colorado?

Legal, under local rules

Your county or town sets the license terms. Booking platforms collect the 2.9% state sales tax.

9 official sources · verified October 1, 2026

Photo: Mike Scheid on Unsplash

PermitRequired · Local license where your county or town has one
Primary residenceVaries
Number on listingNot required
Night capA local option, where adopted

Colorado short-term rental laws

Colorado law lets each board of county commissioners license and regulate hosts who rent a lodging unit for less than 30 days. The county sets its own fees and terms for that license. It can also make booking platforms carry the county license or permit number in every listing. When a county reports an unlicensed or banned rental, the platform has seven days to remove it.^[1]

Every Colorado rule, sorted by what it asks

Filter by topic. Each line carries the number of its official source, listed at the bottom of the page.

You must

Check the license rules of your town or county before the first booking[5]
Put the county license number in listings where the county requires it[1]
Get a Colorado sales tax license before taking direct bookings[9]
Charge the 2.9% state sales tax when guests book you directly[8]
File any county lodging tax you collect with the state each quarter[9]

You must not

Rent a unit covered by a county short-term rental ban[1]
Keep hosting after your county license is suspended or revoked[1]

Not required

A state sales tax license, in some cases, if a collecting platform takes all your bookings[8]

Cities in this state

Short-term rental rules in 24 Colorado cities and counties

Ranked by the share of housing the Census counts as seasonal. Places the Census figure does not cover come first.

Short-term rental rules by city in Colorado
City or county	Local rule	Primary residence	Night cap	Seasonal homes per 1,000
Denver short-term rental rules	Primary residence only	Required	None published
Summit County short-term rental rules	Permit required	Varies	No night limit, 35 bookings in neighborhoods
Grand County short-term rental rules	Permit required	Not required	None in Section 14.7
Winter Park short-term rental rulesGrand County, CO	Registration required	Not published	None in Title 3, Chapter 10 of the town code	713
Grand Lake short-term rental rulesGrand County, CO	License required	Not published	None in the town zoning code	704
Dillon short-term rental rulesSummit County, CO	License required	Not published	None in Chapter 6, Article XI of the town code	574
Mount Crested Butte short-term rental rulesGunnison County, CO	License required	Not published	None published by the town	573
Breckenridge short-term rental rulesSummit County, CO	Capped	Not published	None in Title 4, Chapter 6 of the town code	559
Frisco short-term rental rulesSummit County, CO	Capped	Not published	None in Chapter 110 of the town code	522
Vail short-term rental rulesEagle County, CO	License required	Not published	None in Chapter 14 of the town code	511
Fraser short-term rental rulesGrand County, CO	Permit required	Not published	None in Chapter 6, Article 8 of the town code	499
Crested Butte short-term rental rulesGunnison County, CO	Capped	Varies	90 nights a year on a Primary Occupancy License	342
Avon short-term rental rulesEagle County, CO	Capped	Varies	42 nights on a Limited license, none on a Full license	339
Snowmass Village short-term rental rulesPitkin County, CO	Permit required	Not published	No annual limit, four-night minimum for houses	336
Telluride short-term rental rulesSan Miguel County, CO	Capped	Not published	29 nights a year in the Residential Zone or on a Limited license	296
Steamboat Springs short-term rental rulesRoutt County, CO	Allowed by zone	Varies	30 days a year, Temporary license only	295
Mountain Village short-term rental rulesSan Miguel County, CO	License required	Not published	None published by the town	268
Silverthorne short-term rental rulesSummit County, CO	Capped	Not published	None in Chapter 1, Article VII of the town code	257
Estes Park short-term rental rulesLarimer County, CO	Capped	Not published	No nightly limit in the town code	251
Aspen short-term rental rulesPitkin County, CO	Capped	Varies	120 nights a year on an Owner-Occupied permit	236
Salida short-term rental rulesChaffee County, CO	Capped	Not published	None in Chapter 6, Article VI of the city code	95
Boulder short-term rental rulesBoulder County, CO	License required	Required	None for a principal residence, 120 days for an ADU	9
Fort Collins short-term rental rulesLarimer County, CO	Allowed by zone	Varies	None in the municipal code	5
Colorado Springs short-term rental rulesEl Paso County, CO	Permit required	Varies	No night limit in the city code	5

Five jurisdictions, same questions

The Colorado column comes from the official sources on this page. The other columns show the headline rule from each WonderGuest page. Open a page for the full detail.

Short-term rental rules in Colorado compared with other jurisdictions
Question	Colorado	Arizona	New Mexico	Utah	Florida
Permit	RequiredLocal license where your county or town has one	RequiredLocal permit where the city has one, $250 at most	Not requiredState tax ID only, permits are local	Not requiredNone from the state. Cities issue their own	RequiredState license, $170 a year
Primary residence	Varies	Varies	Varies	Varies	Not required
Night cap	A local option, where adopted	None the statute allows a city to set	None in state law	None in state law	None published by the state
Number on listing	Not required	Required	Not required	Not required	Not required
Where allowed	Set by local rules, bans included	Everywhere: a ban is preempted	Where the local ordinance allows it	Where the city's zoning allows it	No local bans after June 1, 2011
Occupancy tax	2.9% state sales tax, plus local taxes	Transient lodging tax under 30 nights	Local, up to 5% of rent	1.07% state room tax, plus sales tax	6% state tax, Airbnb collects
Fine without permit	Listing removed within 7 days of a county notice	Up to $1,000 a month	Set locally, $500 a day in Albuquerque	Set by each city	Second-degree misdemeanor
		Arizona short-term rental rules	New Mexico short-term rental rules	Utah short-term rental rules	Florida short-term rental rules

Keep exploring

Coming up

What's changing

No change with an effective date appears in the official sources on this page as of October 1, 2026.

FAQ

Colorado short-term rental questions

Is Airbnb legal in Colorado?

Yes, where your local rules allow it. State law lets counties license short-term rentals. A county can also prohibit them, which obliges platforms to pull the affected listings once notified.^[1]

Do Colorado hosts need a state sales tax license?

Yes, if guests book you directly. The license costs $16, prorated, plus a $50 deposit. Hosts who sell only through a platform that collects every state-run tax may be exempt.^[8]

Can a Colorado county get a listing taken down?

Yes. The county sends the platform a notice naming the listing's URL and the reason. The platform then has seven days to remove it.^[1]

How high can a Colorado county lodging tax go?

Up to 6% since May 13, 2025, if local voters approve it. The previous ceiling was 2%. Counties may now spend the money on public safety or infrastructure work.^[6]

Did Colorado pass the 90-day lodging property tax bill?

No. The Senate Finance Committee postponed SB24-033 indefinitely on April 16, 2024. The bill would have classed a non-primary home rented short term for over 90 days a year as lodging property.^[7]

Sources

HB23-1287, County Regulation Related To Short-term Rentals, signed act (C.R.S. 30-15-401), Colorado General Assembly, read on October 1, 2026
HB20-1093, County Authority License And Regulate Business, Colorado General Assembly, read on October 1, 2026
HB24-1152, Accessory Dwelling Units, signed act (May 13, 2024), Colorado General Assembly, read on October 1, 2026
Accessory Dwelling Units, Colorado Division of Local Government, read on October 1, 2026
Regulating the Use of ADUs for Short-Term Rentals, Colorado Division of Local Government, read on October 1, 2026
HB25-1247, County Lodging Tax Expansion, Colorado General Assembly, read on October 1, 2026
SB24-033, Lodging Property Tax Treatment, Colorado General Assembly, read on October 1, 2026
Colorado Sales Tax Guide, Colorado Department of Revenue, read on October 1, 2026
Sales & Use Tax Topics: Rooms & Accommodations (revised April 2026), Colorado Department of Revenue, read on October 1, 2026

This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on October 1, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.

Before you list

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Short-term rental agreement generator

Parties, dates, rent, deposit checked against your state's cap, and the house rules clauses you enforce. A signed-ready PDF for direct and Vrbo bookings.

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