How do I apply for a Short-term Rental Operator's License?

How to apply for a Short-Term Rental Operator License?

This application is for hosts/operators to license their short-term rental units.

If you do not have a Seattle Services Account, please click How to create a new account.

Start at the Seattle Service Portal home page
https://services.seattle.gov/Portal/

1. Login to your account.
2. From the Home page, select Licenses – Short Term Rental.
3. Select Short Term Rental License and click Short-Term Rental Operator License.
4. As you are the Applicant, click the Myself button to add your contact information from your account.
5. Click Continue.
   • Pro-Tip: If the information selected from your account isn’t correct, go to Account Management. In the Contact Information section, click “Actions” to the right of your contact, and select “View”. Make your changes and save.
6. Enter your City Business License/Customer Number and click outside the field or press tab. The City Business License details will populate.
7. If applying as an individual, scroll down to Spouse Information and select whether or not you are married. If you are married, enter your spouse's first name, last name and email address.
   • Pro-Tip: The short-term rental ordinance allows a married couple to have only one operator license. They may not each obtain a separate license.
8. Scroll down to Legacy Operator and select whether or not you were legally operating short-term rentals prior to 9/30/2017.
   • Pro-Tip: Is my STR unit Legacy? 
     Yes, if: Your City Business License was opened before 9/30/2017 and you can prove you were operating each unit within the 12 months before 9/30/2017. For more information about Legacy units and Legacy Zones, see About legacy zones.
9. Scroll down to Member, Spouse of Member, Property Owner, Spouse of Property Owner List. If you are applying as an organization, enter all organization members, their spouses, property owners, and their spouses. When applying as an organization, at least one person must be listed in this portion of the application before you may continue. 
10. Click Continue.
    
11. Required Documents:
    • If you applied for a new City of Seattle Business License or updated your existing business license within the last 48 hours, you may be required to upload a copy of your City of Seattle Business License Tax Certificate.
    • Rental Registry is required for units identified as legacy units. This document requires to identify the specific dwelling unit and dates (up to 12 months) prior to Sept. 30, 2017. This document can be on an excel form, screenshots of booked dates, or word doc.
12. Click Continue.
    
13. Review the information on the page. Click the checkbox to agree that the information provided in your application is true and correct and confirm your compliance with City of Seattle requirements.
14. Click Continue.
    
15. Add or Remove Units: Click Continue to add the details regarding your rental unit(s).
16.  Enter the address of the rental unit and follow the prompts to describe the unit. You are allowed to add one primary unit and one secondary unit:
    • A Primary Unit is your primary residence as documented by voter registration, driver's license or state-issued identification, motor vehicle registration or other evidence as determined by Director's Rule
    • A Secondary Unit may be anywhere in the City of Seattle and is subject to the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (RRIO) program. You must enter the RRIO registration number associated with this unit.
17. Click Submit when you have completed entry of your rental unit information.
18. Click Continue to review and complete your application.
19. Click the checkbox to confirm your compliance with City of Seattle requirements and click Continue.
20. Click the Check Out button to pay the Short-Term Rental Operator License Fee and complete your application.
21. Click the Checkout button to enter your credit card Information and Submit Payment.
    Please wait…
    
    After you click Submit Payment, there are several processes happening behind the scenes. Please be patient while the page loads.

What do I need to include on each listing?

You need to include your Short-Term Rental Operator License record number on every listing advertising your rental unit.

Below are the steps to get to that number and print your license. Printing the license is not required but is available to you.

Start at any page in the Seattle Service Portal
https://services.seattle.gov/Portal/

1. Login to your account.

2. On the My Records tab, locate the Short-Term Rental Operator License record type. The Record Number (format, STR-OPLI-XX-XXXXXX) is your license number.

2. To print a copy of your operator license certification, click on your Short-Term Rental Operator License Record Number and click on Attachments.

4. Click on the Operator License report.pdf document to download and print your operator license certificate.