STRWATCH.AI 40/50 MARKETS · UPDATED 2026-07-18 · ALL CITIES
STRWATCH.AI / FL / Destin

Is a short-term rental legal in Destin, FL?

HEAVILY REGULATED

Whole-home short-term rentals are legal in Destin but tightly gated.

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Verified2026-07-18against official sources

Whole-home STR is allowed only in specific zoning districts per Land Development Code Article 7; several districts (e.g., CBN multi-family, CMU-V, SHMU single-family, TCMU multi-family) additionally require Conditional Use approval, and some properties may need a Change of Use approval that brings the site into compliance with current development standards before registration is issued. No owner-occupancy/primary-residence requirement was found. The ordinance does not clearly distinguish 'hosted' (owner-present) rentals from unhosted whole-home rentals -- both appear to fall under the same 'seasonal resident' registration requirement if rented for consideration for 1 day to under 6 months.

What you need to operate

City of Destin Short-Term Rental Registration $500-$700/year (by unit square footage) + $25 admin fee for paper applications
City of Destin, Code Compliance Department
Renewal: Annual; registration window opens Jan 1, due March 1; late fee of $100 after March 31 and $500 after June 1
Required for single-family, duplex, townhome, and condominium STRs rented for stays under 180 days. Property must be in an eligible zoning district (LDC Article 7); some districts require Conditional Use approval. Requires a Site/Parking Plan, Notarized Affidavit of Bedrooms and Parking (non-condo), City BTR, DBPR license, and FL DOR resale certificate. Fee amounts and late-fee tiers verified against City Resolution 25-10 (Schedule of Fees, Section 3, 'Rental Registration').
official source
Florida DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling License $50 application fee + $10 HEP fee + $170/year license fee (single unit, full year; $90 half-year)
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Hotels and Restaurants
Renewal: Annual (or semi-annual option); renewal date varies by county district
Required under F.S. Ch. 509 for single-family/duplex/townhome units rented more than 3 times per year for stays under 30 days, or regularly advertised as available. Condos need a separate DBPR Condominium license instead. Subject to inspection under Ch. 61C, F.A.C.
official source
City of Destin Business Tax Receipt (BTR) $31.25/year (1-4 rental units tier)
City of Destin
Renewal: Annual; invoiced July, due October 1, expires September 30
Prerequisite for issuance of the STR registration certificate (Code of Ordinances Sec. 13-110).
official source
Okaloosa County Business Tax Receipt $35/year
Okaloosa County Tax Collector
Renewal: Annual; renews each July, due September 30
Also a prerequisite for City STR registration issuance (Code of Ordinances Sec. 13-110(4)).
official source
Florida DOR Annual Resale Certificate (sales tax registration) Cost not verified
Florida Department of Revenue
Renewal: Annual
No stated registration fee. Required to collect and remit the state 6% transient rental tax and needed as a supporting document for the City STR application.
official source

The full picture

Whole-home short-term rentals are legal in Destin but tightly gated. STRs are only permitted in specific zoning districts under Land Development Code Article 7 (e.g., CBR, CBN, LDR-HI, BRMU, CMU, CMU-V, CG, GRMU, HDR, HIMU, MDR-HI, NHMU, ROI-TD, SHMU, TCMU), and several of those districts require separate Conditional Use approval before a property is even eligible to register. Any single-family home, duplex, townhome, or condo rented for stays under 180 days must register annually with the City. Per the City's Resolution 25-10 fee schedule (adopted 5-5-2025) and the 2026 STR Registration Guide (updated 1-8-2026), registration costs $500-$700/year by square footage, plus a $25 fee for paper applications; late renewals cost an extra $100 after March 31 or $500 after June 1. Hosts also need a Florida DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling license (~$170-230/year), a City of Destin Business Tax Receipt (~$31.25/year for 1-4 units), an Okaloosa County Business Tax Receipt ($35/year), and a Florida DOR resale certificate. Overnight occupancy is capped at 2 adults per bedroom plus 4 additional persons, up to 24 people per house. Parking requires 1 space per bedroom (2 total spaces if the home was built before 12/5/2016). Violations are a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail per violation (F.S. 162.22), and the City can also administratively suspend or revoke a registration. On top of city rules, hosts owe Florida's 6% state transient rental tax plus Okaloosa County's 6% Tourist Development Tax on rental income. Destin's core STR registration ordinance (Ord. 151.23, adopted 6-3-02) predates Florida's June 1, 2011 preemption cutoff in Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b), so the City's registration scheme is grandfathered and enforceable despite the state's general ban on local regulation of vacation-rental duration/frequency. A 2024 bill (SB 280) that would have imposed a statewide framework and further preempted local STR ordinances passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Governor DeSantis on 6/27/2024, so Destin's local ordinance remains the controlling framework as of this writing.

Taxes on guests & hosts

TaxRateApplies toPlatform collectsOfficial source
Florida Transient Rental (Sales) Tax 6% Rental/lease of living, sleeping, or housekeeping accommodations for 6 months or less Yes source
Okaloosa County Tourist Development Tax 6% Rental/lease of accommodations for 6 months or less within the Okaloosa County TDT District (Destin is within this district) Not verified source

Enforcement

PenaltiesOperating an unregistered STR, or violating registration/occupancy/parking/noise/garbage rules, is enforceable as a code violation (Code Enforcement Board or Special Magistrate, Ch. 14 and F.S. Ch. 162, Pt. 1), by civil citation (F.S. Ch. 162, Pt. 2), and/or as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to 60 days' imprisonment per violation under F.S. Sec. 162.22 (Code of Ordinances Sec. 13-117(4)). The City may also administratively deny, suspend, or revoke an STR registration for noncompliance (Sec. 13-117(3)).
Platform liabilityNo provision found in the City's Code of Ordinances imposing direct compliance liability on booking platforms (Airbnb/Vrbo) for host registration status. Separately, under Florida's marketplace-facilitator law (effective 7/1/2021), marketplace providers are required to register with the Florida Department of Revenue and collect/remit state sales and use tax (including the 6% transient rental tax) on transactions they facilitate.
NotesPenalty figures are drawn directly from the codified ordinance text (City of Destin Code of Ordinances, Ch. 13, Art. VI, Sec. 13-117) and F.S. Sec. 162.22.

What we could not verify (5)

  • Whether Airbnb/Vrbo automatically collect and remit the Okaloosa County 6% Tourist Development Tax on hosts' behalf could not be confirmed via an official Okaloosa County source -- the county's TDT portal FAQ describes owner/operator obligation to register and collect but does not address marketplace auto-collection for this specific county, so collectedByPlatform for that tax is left null.
  • Signage size differs between the codified ordinance text (Sec. 13-114, last amended 12-21-15: sign must be 18"x12" max / 16"x10" min) and the City's more recent FAQ and 2026 STR Registration Guide, which reference an 18"x18" sign and a 'Season Sign Sticker' system instead -- could not confirm whether the codified dimension language has been formally superseded.
  • Whether Destin's zoning-district eligibility list and Conditional-Use requirements for STRs (Land Development Code Article 7), as opposed to the original 2002 registration ordinance itself, qualify for the Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) pre-June-2011 grandfather exemption was not independently verified -- this is a legal question beyond what the available official sources resolve.
  • https://okaloosaclerk.com/board-services/tourist-development-tax/ (the Okaloosa Clerk's own TDT page) returned HTTP 403 and could not be fetched directly; TDT figures were instead verified via the county's designated online tax portal (okaloosatouristtax.munirevs.com) and the Florida DOR's official DR-15TDT statewide rate table, which independently confirm the 6% rate and county-level collection.
  • The DBPR's online checklist detail page (myfloridalicense.com) returned a system error and could not be fetched directly; DBPR license fee and requirement figures were instead verified via www2.myfloridalicense.com's official lodging-fees and vacation-rental/timeshare guide pages.

Sources

A markdown mirror of this page lives at /destin-fl.md for AI tools and researchers.

STRWatch publishes educational information about short-term rental regulation, verified against the official sources linked above as of the date shown. It is not legal advice, and rules change — a city can move between our verification passes. For decisions with money at stake, confirm with the authority linked above or a local attorney.