County jurisdiction · checked 2026-09-13
Can you BnB it in unincorporated Tuolumne County?
AllowedUnincorporated Tuolumne County allows short term rentals but requires a fire and life safety inspection before operating, renewed every two years, plus a transient occupancy tax certificate and 12 percent TOT. There is no countywide permit cap, no primary residence rule, and the code does not say what happens to the inspection when the property is sold.
The rules, with their sources
Permit or licenseA permit or license is required before operating.L18.70.020 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Hosted onlyThe code does not limit rentals to hosted stays.L1Tuolumne County Ordinance Code Chapter 8.70, Inspection of Short-Term Rentals, Ord. 3443 section 1, 2023; Chapter 3.32, Transient Occupancy Tax · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Primary residenceThe code does not require the rental to be the operator's primary residence.L1Tuolumne County Ordinance Code Chapter 8.70, Inspection of Short-Term Rentals, Ord. 3443 section 1, 2023; Chapter 3.32, Transient Occupancy Tax · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Transfer when the home sellsChapter 8.70 is silent on transfer. The chapter contains no sentence mentioning transfer, sale, change of ownership, successor or new owner. The inspection attaches to the short term rental structure and must be renewed every two years, so a buyer inherits a property whose inspection status carries a remaining term rather than a permit held in the seller's name. The Transient Occupancy Tax side is different: the registration certificate under Chapter 3.32.060 is issued to the named operator and is not transferable, so a buyer must register with the Tax Collector in their own name, and Chapter 3.32.270(A) makes a successor withhold enough of the purchase price to cover any unpaid transient occupancy tax until the seller produces a receipt or a certificate that nothing is due.L18.70.010 · code text · checked 2026-09-13
Read the code text →
In the county's own words
8.70.020“It is unlawful to maintain, operate or use a short-term rental in the unincorporated area of Tuolumne County without a Fire Inspection.” source
8.70.010“a single-family dwelling, a secondary dwelling unit, multifamily dwelling unit, studio, condominium, townhouse, duplex, guesthouse” source
8.70.010“the owner of the real property on which the short-term rental exists.” source
3.32.020(G)“any person who exercises occupancy...for a period of thirty consecutive calendar days, or less” source
Citation: Tuolumne County Ordinance Code Chapter 8.70, Inspection of Short-Term Rentals, Ord. 3443 section 1, 2023; Chapter 3.32, Transient Occupancy Tax
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How this page was verified
Verified from the municipal code (level 1), checked on 2026-09-13 by the CanIBnB research desk. Research is AI assisted and human reviewed; the method, the level system, and the re-check schedule are on the How we verify page. If anything here is wrong, report it and it goes in the public corrections log.