Minnesota Short-Term Rental Rules by City: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Duluth

If you list a home, room or apartment on Airbnb, VRBO or a similar platform in Minnesota, you face three layers of rules: state health and tax law, city licensing and zoning, and the platform's own requirements. Minnesota has no general statewide business license, so the state layer is mostly about lodging licensing and taxes, while the city layer decides whether you can operate at all and what it costs. This guide covers the state rules that apply everywhere, then the current rules for Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Duluth, four of the state's larger cities.

Disclaimer: This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and thresholds change, and the figures below reflect what was verified as of October 23, 2026. Confirm every number with the named agency before you commit money or sign a lease. For complex situations, such as a property with a mortgage, a rental that is also your home, or multiple units, talk to a qualified attorney and a CPA.

The state layer: Minnesota short-term rental laws that apply everywhere

Minnesota's short-term rental laws start with lodging licensing. Under Minn. Stat. 157.15, subd. 7, a short-term rental rented for less than one week is treated as a hotel or motel and needs a license from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). MDH's lodging page lists vacation home rentals among the properties it covers.

The state lodging license fee is a $300 base fee plus $15 per sleeping unit under Minn. Stat. 157.16. A four-bedroom house with four sleeping units would therefore start at $360 under the state fee schedule, before any local charges. Confirm the current figure with MDH before you budget for it.

In some parts of the state, a local health agency handles lodging licensing under a delegation from MDH rather than MDH itself. Before you apply, ask MDH or your city which agency issues the license for your address. Filing with the wrong office is a common reason for delays.

Taxes are the second state layer. Under Minn. Stat. 297A.61, stays under 30 days owe Minnesota sales tax and any local lodging tax that applies. The state sales tax rate is 6.875 percent, and local taxes are added on top, so your effective rate depends on where the property sits. To collect tax, you need a Minnesota Tax ID and a Sales and Use Tax account with the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Register through the Department's online new business registration page at https://www.mndor.state.mn.us/tp/eservices/_/?link=NewBusinessReg before your first taxable booking. Registration with Revenue is a tax registration, not a license, and it does not replace the city and state licensing described in this guide.

Finally, if you operate under a name other than your legal name or your LLC's name, you need a Certificate of Assumed Name from the Minnesota Secretary of State. It costs $50 online or in person or $30 by mail, and it must be published for two consecutive issues in a qualified legal newspaper in the county of your principal place of business. Forming an LLC or corporation does not require that publication, so the two are often confused. Details are at https://www.sos.mn.gov/business-liens/business-forms-fees/assumed-namedba/.

Why the city matters more than you expect

Minnesota has 87 counties, about 853 cities and about 1,780 townships. Short-term rental rules are set mostly at the city level, and each city defines its own categories, such as owner-occupied versus non-owner-occupied, home share versus whole-unit rental, and host versus platform licensing. Neither Minneapolis nor St. Paul issues a general business license. Both license by category, so the rental-specific license in your city is the one that matters. Always check the city's business licensing page before you list.

Minnesota licensing is handled by trade or activity, through agencies such as the Department of Labor and Industry, MDH, the Department of Agriculture, the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division and others. The state's central lookup is License Minnesota (mn.gov/elicense), which lets you browse by topic, by agency or from an A to Z index. Use it to check for anything your rental triggers beyond lodging, such as a food license if you serve breakfast.

Minneapolis

Minneapolis licenses short-term rental hosting platforms, and the platform license fee depends on how many listings the platform manages:

• $1,071 for 1 to 100 listings
• $5,891 for 101 to 499 listings
• $26,775 for 500 or more listings

The city's Business Licenses office publishes platform requirements, but it does not publish a separate host fee in the materials we reviewed. Check Minneapolis Business Licenses directly for current host rules before you list, and ask whether your property type needs a different category. These fees apply to platforms, not hosts. Ask your platform whether it holds a current Minneapolis platform license before you rely on it.

Because the host rules are the part you must meet yourself, do not assume that a platform license covers you. Confirm the host requirements, and then pair them with the state lodging license and tax steps above.

St. Paul

St. Paul has the most detailed published host requirements of the four cities. As of October 2026:

• Host license: $45 per unit, for both owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied rentals. The license has a one-year term.
• Insurance: $300,000 in coverage that names the city as an additional insured. The alternative is to list only through a licensed platform, so confirm which path your platform uses before you buy a separate policy.
• Fire Certificate of Occupancy: required if the rental is non-owner-occupied.
• Platform license: $11,181 for platforms operating in the city.

The insurance requirement is the one hosts most often miss. A standard homeowner's policy often excludes paid short-term stays, so ask your insurer in writing whether the policy covers a rental, and confirm the city's required wording before you buy anything. This is an area to take to an insurance agent and, if needed, an attorney.

Rochester

Rochester splits the rules by occupancy:

• Owner-occupied: you register the rental with the city. Ask the city what the registration involves.
• Non-owner-occupied: you need a license and an inspection before you can rent.

The license fee for non-owner-occupied rentals is not published online, so you will need to ask the city directly. Before you invest in a property for this purpose, call the city's licensing staff, ask for the registration and license forms, and ask how long the inspection takes to schedule. Stay-length and lodging-tax questions above apply there as they do elsewhere.

Duluth

Duluth offers three tracks, and which one you fall under depends on how you use the property:

1. Owner-present home share: you rent part of the home while you live there and remain on site during the stay.
2. Owner-resident rental: you live in the home and rent it while you are away, limited to 21 nights a year.
3. Whole-unit rental: you rent the entire unit with no owner on site. These are capped, so permits are not guaranteed.

Ask Duluth Planning whether permits are available in your zone and what the fees are. Because the whole-unit permits are capped, do not buy a property on the assumption that you will get one. Confirm availability in writing before you make an offer or sign a lease.

City rules at a glance

City	Main requirement	Published fee or figure	Confirm with
Minneapolis	Platform license; host rules apply	$1,071 (1 to 100 listings), $5,891 (101 to 499), $26,775 (500+)	Minneapolis Business Licenses
St. Paul	Host license, insurance, Fire Certificate of Occupancy if non-owner-occupied	$45 per unit; platform license $11,181	St. Paul licensing office
Rochester	Register if owner-occupied; license and inspection if not	Not published online for non-owner-occupied	City of Rochester
Duluth	Three tracks: owner-present home share, owner-resident (21 nights a year), capped whole-unit permits	Not in our materials	Duluth Planning

Steps to take before your first booking

1. Confirm your city and zoning. Look up the address with the city, not just the county, and ask whether the property is zoned for short-term rentals.
2. Identify your occupancy type. Owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied rentals are treated differently in Rochester, St. Paul and Duluth.
3. Get the city license or permit. Ask for the current forms and fees, and build in time for inspections.
4. Apply for the state lodging license with MDH or the delegated local health agency. Stays under one week fall under the state hotel and motel rules.
5. Register with the Department of Revenue for a Minnesota Tax ID and a Sales and Use Tax account before taxable sales begin.
6. Check insurance in writing against the city's requirements and your platform's terms.
7. Check the Secretary of State if you operate under a name other than your own. Use the Business Search at https://mblsportal.sos.mn.gov/Business/Search to confirm your entity's status.

What to confirm with each agency

Several figures in this guide are not published in the materials we reviewed, and some rules depend on your specific address. Treat the following as open items until you have a written answer:

• MDH or your local health agency: the lodging license fee for your property, and which agency issues it.
• Minneapolis Business Licenses: current host rules and any host fee.
• St. Paul: the exact insurance wording and whether your platform satisfies the requirement for you.
• Rochester: the license fee for non-owner-occupied rentals and the inspection timeline.
• Duluth Planning: whether whole-unit permits are open in your zone and what the fees are.
• Minnesota Department of Revenue: how the sales tax and local lodging tax apply to your stay lengths and your local rate.

Keep copies of each written answer. If a city or agency tells you something that conflicts with this guide, follow the agency's written answer and update your records.

Working with professionals

Short-term rental rules sit where zoning, health licensing, tax and insurance overlap. A qualified Minnesota attorney can review a city's ordinance and your lease or deed restrictions. A CPA can advise on how the sales tax, the local lodging tax and your income reporting fit together. An insurance agent can confirm in writing whether your policy covers paid stays. Each professional costs money, but a single missed license or uncovered claim can cost much more.

For Minnesota state tax registration and business filings, the official starting points are the Minnesota Department of Revenue at https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/ and the Minnesota Secretary of State at https://www.sos.mn.gov/. The Department of Revenue and Secretary of State are the authoritative sources for those specific steps, so check them before you rely on any summary, including this one.