How to Start a Short-Term Rental in St. Paul: Host License, Insurance and Certificate of Occupancy

If you are researching how to start a short term rental business in St. Paul, expect the process to involve several separate approvals, not one permit. St. Paul requires a short-term rental host license for any rental under 30 days. Before the city will issue it, you need proof of ownership or a lease, proof of business registration, $300,000 in aggregate liability insurance naming the City of Saint Paul as certificate holder (or a licensed platform route, covered below), and, for a unit you do not live in, a Fire Certificate of Occupancy. Minnesota adds its own tax registration on top of the city process.

This guide puts the steps in the order that avoids the most rework. Check zoning first, because nothing else matters if the property cannot host stays under 30 days. Then set up your business name and tax registration, arrange insurance, and finish the city paperwork.

This article is informational, not legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and agency practices change. The City of St. Paul, the Minnesota Department of Revenue and the other agencies named here are the final authority. Before you buy, sign a lease or take a booking, talk to a qualified attorney, a CPA and a licensed insurance agent about your situation.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything. A missing document is the most common reason an application stalls.

• Proof of ownership of the property, or a signed lease that allows you to host short stays.
• Your Minnesota Secretary of State registration for the business that will hold the license, or a signed statement if you operate as a sole proprietor under your legal name.
• A certificate of assumed name, if you operate under a trade name rather than your legal name.
• A certificate of insurance showing $300,000 aggregate liability coverage, with the City of Saint Paul listed as certificate holder.
• A Fire Certificate of Occupancy for each non-owner-occupied unit, or a provisional Certificate of Occupancy application.
• A Minnesota Tax ID and a Sales and Use Tax account from the Department of Revenue.
• The number of units you plan to license, because the host license fee is charged per unit.
• A payment method for the $45 per-unit fee.

Step 1: Confirm Zoning Allows Short Stays at Your Address

Zoning decides whether the rest of the process matters. St. Paul regulates short-term rentals under zoning Sec. 65.645 and licenses them under Chapter 379 of the legislative code. Read both, then check that your property's zoning district and dwelling type allow a rental of under 30 days.

The city's licensing page does not state a cap on nights per year or a distance rule between rentals. Do not treat that silence as a green light. Call the Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) at 651-266-8989 with your street address and ask directly whether any cap, distance or neighborhood rule applies to your property and unit type. Write down the name of the person you spoke with and the date.

If you are buying the property, make this call before you make an offer. If you are leasing, get your landlord's written permission before you apply.

Step 2: Set Up Your Business Name and Entity

Minnesota has no general statewide business license. Filing an entity with the Secretary of State is a filing, not a license, and St. Paul licenses by activity, so the short-term rental host license is the approval that matters for your rental. Your entity choice still matters for liability and taxes, so decide it with your CPA or attorney.

You have three basic options.

• Sole proprietor under your legal name. The city application asks for proof of an assumed name, but a sole proprietor operating under their legal name may sign a statement instead. You still need to confirm which Secretary of State registration the city expects for your situation.
• Limited liability company (LLC). Articles of Organization under Chapter 322C cost $155 filed online or in person, or $135 by mail. LLC formation does not require a newspaper publication. The Annual Renewal costs $0 and is due December 31 every year. If the LLC lapses, reinstatement costs $65 by mail or $85 online or in person.
• Trade name (assumed name). If you want a brand name such as a neighborhood or property name, file a Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State. It costs $50 online or in person, or $30 by mail. After filing, the certificate must be published for two successive issues in a qualified legal newspaper in the county of your principal place of business, which is Ramsey County for a St. Paul business address. Failure to publish may make the certificate invalid. The certificate must be renewed each year at no charge.

Search the Secretary of State business database before you pick a name to confirm no similar name is already on file. The search is at mblsportal.sos.mn.gov/Business/Search, and general information is at sos.mn.gov.

Step 3: Register With the Department of Revenue

Register with the Minnesota Department of Revenue for a Minnesota Tax ID and a Sales and Use Tax account before you accept your first taxable booking. The Department's new business registration service is at the Department's e-services page, and its main site is at revenue.state.mn.us. This registration is a tax registration, not a license.

Stays under 30 days are taxable. The state sales tax rate is 6.875 percent, and local taxes sit on top of it. St. Paul also applies a local lodging tax to these stays, so register for it while you are in the Department's system. Confirm the local lodging tax rate with the Department of Revenue, because it is not part of this guide's verified figures.

If you operate through a pass-through entity or as a sole proprietor, the income from the rental flows to your personal return. Individual income tax in Minnesota runs from 5.35 to 9.85 percent across four brackets. An LLC that files federally as a C corporation pays the 9.8 percent corporation franchise tax instead. Ask a CPA which structure fits your numbers.

Step 4: Arrange the Required Insurance

St. Paul requires $300,000 in aggregate liability insurance, and the certificate must name the City of Saint Paul as certificate holder. Ask your insurance agent for a certificate that does exactly that, and get the city's exact certificate holder wording from DSI so the certificate matches the application.

Ask the insurer a direct question: does my policy cover short-term rental use of this property? Many standard homeowners policies exclude or limit rental activity, and a policy that covers you as a resident may not cover paying guests. You may need a separate policy written for short-term rental use.

The city also allows a route around the direct insurance requirement. If you use only a licensed platform, such as Airbnb or VRBO, to take bookings, the requirement can be met that way. Confirm with DSI how this works for your listing before you rely on it, and do not assume it covers any direct bookings you take outside the platform.

Step 5: Get the Fire Certificate of Occupancy

If the unit is non-owner-occupied, the application needs a Fire Certificate of Occupancy. If you cannot get the certificate in time, you can file a provisional Certificate of Occupancy application instead. The requirement applies to non-owner-occupied units, so if you live in the unit, the fire certificate does not apply, but the rest of the application still does.

Start this step early. The inspection and any corrections it requires can be the slowest part of the process, and the city's licensing page does not give a turnaround time. Ask DSI which office handles the fire certificate and what the inspection covers before you schedule anything.

Step 6: Check Whether a State Hotel and Motel License Applies

A state hotel and motel license from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) may apply to short stays, including rentals of under one week. Whether it applies depends on how your property is used and what you offer, so do not assume the answer. Contact MDH before you accept bookings, and keep a written record of what the agency tells you.

Step 7: Apply for the St. Paul Host License

St. Paul's host license covers rentals under 30 days and costs $45 per unit, whether the unit is owner-occupied or non-owner-occupied. The fee table was last edited on October 7, 2026, so confirm the current amount with DSI before you pay.

The application needs the following:

1. Secretary of State registration and proof of your assumed name, or the sole proprietor statement described in Step 2.
2. Proof of ownership or your lease.
3. A Fire Certificate of Occupancy for a non-owner-occupied unit, or a provisional Certificate of Occupancy application.
4. The $300,000 insurance certificate naming the City of Saint Paul, or confirmation that you use only a licensed platform.
5. Cooperation with a police investigation and a review by the licensing director.

The license is issued for one year and must be renewed each year. Put the renewal date on your calendar the day you receive the license.

Short-term rental platforms need their own St. Paul license, which costs $11,181. That platform license is separate from your host license.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Buying or signing a lease before checking zoning. A purchase or lease built on the assumption that you can host short stays can cost you far more than the license fee if the answer is no.
• Treating the Secretary of State filing as the license. The filing creates a legal entity or registers a name. It does not authorize short-term rental operation.
• Assuming your homeowners policy covers guests. Ask in writing, and get a separate quote if the answer is no.
• Skipping the assumed name publication. A trade name certificate is not complete until it is published, and a missed publication may make it invalid.
• Accepting bookings before the license is issued. Keep listings unpublished or clearly pending until you have the license in hand.
• Forgetting tax registration. Register with the Department of Revenue before your first taxable booking, not after.
• Letting the LLC lapse. The Annual Renewal costs $0, but missing the December 31 deadline can trigger termination and a reinstatement fee of $65 by mail or $85 online or in person.
• Assuming there is no cap or distance rule. The city page does not state one, which is not the same as confirming there is none.

Tips That Save Time

• Call DSI before you do anything else. Give them your exact address, unit count and whether you will live on the property.
• Keep one folder with digital copies of every document, named by the application item it supports.
• Send your insurance agent the exact certificate holder wording before you request the certificate, so it is right the first time.
• Ask the Secretary of State and the Department of Revenue for written confirmation of any filing status you are unsure about.
• Ask a CPA whether an LLC, a sole proprietorship or another structure makes sense for the income you expect, and ask an attorney to review your lease or purchase terms.

What Results to Expect

A complete application, filed in the order above, can give you a one-year host license that you renew each year, a documented tax registration, and insurance that meets the city's stated minimum. Those are the outcomes the process is designed to produce. It cannot guarantee bookings, occupancy or income, and those depend on your property, location, pricing and how you manage the listing.

Plan for the process to take longer than you expect if the fire inspection, the insurance quote or an agency answer is delayed. The city's licensing page does not publish a turnaround time, so ask DSI for an expected timeline at the start.

Items to Confirm With Each Agency

Some details in this guide must be confirmed with the agency that controls them. Use the table below as a checklist before you commit money.

Item	Who to ask	Why it matters
Zoning, night caps and distance rules	DSI, 651-266-8989	The city page states no cap or distance rule
Current host license fee	DSI	The fee table was last edited October 7, 2026
Fire Certificate of Occupancy and provisional application	DSI, which will direct you to the right office	Required for non-owner-occupied units
State hotel and motel license	Minnesota Department of Health	May apply to stays under one week
Sales tax and local lodging tax	Minnesota Department of Revenue, revenue.state.mn.us	Stays under 30 days are taxable
Business registration and assumed name	Minnesota Secretary of State, sos.mn.gov	Required for the application and for publication rules

Final Notes

Starting a short-term rental in St. Paul is a sequence of approvals, and the order matters. Confirm zoning first, then register your business and taxes, arrange insurance, complete the fire certificate if the unit is not owner-occupied, and file the host license application with the $45 per-unit fee. Keep every confirmation in writing.

This article is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. For decisions about entity choice, lease terms, insurance coverage and tax reporting, consult a qualified attorney and a CPA before you commit.