Sedona, AZ short-term rental registration
Sedona sits at the top of the range Arizona law allows, without going over it. Every short-term rental unit needs its own city permit, and the annual fee is $210 per unit, non-refundable and non-transferable. Around that permit the city has stacked the conditions the statute lets it ask for: a state tax licence, contacts for the owner, the designee and emergencies, liability cover of at least $500,000 in the aggregate, building safety approvals, and notice to the neighbours before the first guest. The permit number then has to appear on every advertisement and listing.[3]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Sedona?
Get a permit first
What you apply for: City of Sedona short-term rental permit
- Seasonal homes
- 1,260
- Housing units
- 6,686
- Residents
- 9,777
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City rulePermit required
- City fee$210
- Tax on each staySet locally
- Seasonal homes189 per 1,000
Sedona short-term rental permit
Sedona requires a city short-term rental permit for each rental unit, at a non-refundable, non-transferable fee of $210 a year per unit. Before the city will issue it you need a transaction privilege tax licence from the Arizona Department of Revenue, contact details for the owner, the owner's designee and an emergency contact, liability insurance of at least $500,000 in the aggregate on each unit, and all required building safety approvals. You must also notify every single-family property adjacent to, directly across from and diagonally across the street from yours before the first booking. Once issued, the permit number has to appear on every advertisement and listing. Arizona law caps any city permit fee at $250, so Sedona sits just under the statutory ceiling.[3]
What Sedona asks of you
Each short-term rental unit requires its own city-issued permit, with an annual non-refundable, non-transferable fee of $210 per unit.[3]
You apply for a transaction privilege tax licence from the Arizona Department of Revenue before the city permit.[3]
The city wants contact information for the owner, the owner's designee and an emergency contact.[3]
You must maintain liability insurance for each rental unit in the aggregate of at least $500,000.[3]
Building safety approvals and permits have to be in place, and the neighbours adjacent to, directly across from and diagonally across the street from the property have to be notified.[3]
The short-term rental permit number issued by the city goes on every advertisement and listing.[3]
What Arizona asks wherever you host
These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.
No Arizona city may prohibit short-term rentals, or restrict them by classification, use or occupancy beyond the closed list the statute sets out.[1]
Where a city requires a permit, its fee cannot exceed the actual cost of issuing it or $250, whichever is less, and the application may ask for only six things.[1]
A city may require you to notify the adjacent, opposite and diagonally opposite properties before the first booking, and to display the permit number on every advertisement.[1]
A stay of under thirty consecutive days falls in the state's transient lodging classification; from thirty consecutive days it does not.[2]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Sedona
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona transient lodging transaction privilege tax[2] | Not published | The state revenue department |
| City transient lodging tax[3] | Not published | The city |
Sedona's own transient lodging rate and the combined state and county rate are published in the Department of Revenue's transaction privilege tax rate table, which is reissued as rates change. Read the current table before you price.[2]
How short-term rental taxes work for US hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Sedona is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 1,260 of Sedona's 6,686 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 189 out of every 1,000. That ranks Sedona 4th of the 16 Arizona cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 4th of 16
- Share of housing
- 189 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $786,800
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Sedona sits among its neighbors
Carefree, AZ
Permit required
444 seasonal homes, 192 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in CarefreeLake Havasu City, AZ
Permit required
5,293 seasonal homes, 150 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Lake Havasu CityShow Low, AZ
Permit required
2,296 seasonal homes, 296 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Show LowPayson, AZ
Registration required
1,323 seasonal homes, 129 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in PaysonFAQ
Sedona short-term rental questions
How much is a Sedona short-term rental permit?
Does Sedona require insurance?
Do I have to put the permit number in my listing?
Sources
- A.R.S. § 9-500.39, Limits on regulation of vacation rentals and short-term rentals, Arizona State Legislature, read on September 20, 2026
- A.R.S. § 42-5070, Transient lodging classification; definition, Arizona State Legislature, read on September 20, 2026
- Property Owner Responsibilities, Short-term Rentals, City of Sedona, read on September 20, 2026
This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on September 20, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.
Before you list
Free tools for new hosts
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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Rental arbitrage calculator
Rent, deposit, furnishing, nightly rate and occupancy. You get monthly cash flow, the occupancy you break even at, and how long the setup takes to pay back.
Check-in instructions
The message a guest reads before getting in: access, keys, WiFi, parking, contact. English or bilingual output.