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HomeShort-Term Rental LawsMontanaWhitefish

Local guide

Whitefish Short-Term Rental Laws

Whitefish, Montana STR compliance: Whitefish allows STRs only in specified resort and business zones and requires a permit, business registration, annual fire inspection, and monthly resort tax. Review property eligibility, STR Permit and Business Registration, Montana Lodging Facility Sales and Use Tax, and renewal actions from official sources.

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  • Official sources
  • Address used only for local rules

Compliance layers

A Clear Answer, Then a Path Forward.

Critical Finding

See whether the property can operate now, what blocks it, and which exception may apply.

Address Context

Confirm zoning, current land use, jurisdiction, and the rules that actually govern the address.

Required Approvals

Get the permits, licenses, documents, inspections, and tax registrations needed before launch.

Recommended Path

Follow prioritized next steps, deadlines, renewal duties, and viable alternatives when rules change.

Decision rule

Whitefish: resolve “Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2” before relying on the STR Permit and Business Registration

Whitefish allows STRs only in specified resort and business zones and requires a permit, business registration, annual fire inspection, and monthly resort tax.

Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2. This is the first property-level screen for the Whitefish filing.

Renew by January 1 each year. Treat renewal status as part of continued eligibility, not an administrative afterthought.

  • STR Permit and Business Registration

    Whitefish allows STRs only in specified resort and business zones and requires a permit, business registration, annual fire inspection, and monthly resort tax.

    Warning

Local facts that distinguish Whitefish

Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2. Only after that result can this address move from research to an active STR Permit and Business Registration.

Legal posture
Whitefish allows STRs only in specified resort and business zones and requires a permit, business registration, annual fire inspection, and monthly resort tax.
Local approval
STR Permit and Business Registration
Eligibility boundary
Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2.
Property or operator condition
Complete the annual fire inspection.
Approval prerequisite
Post the local contact and registration number outside the unit.
Published government charge
The City publishes a $400 annual permit and business-registration fee.
Continuing duty
Renew by January 1 each year.

Test the Whitefish address against its local rules

Apply “Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2” to the actual parcel and rental model before opening the Whitefish government case.

  • Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2

    Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2. Retain the official Whitefish result that proves this condition; a contrary result stops the STR Permit and Business Registration path.

    Required

  • Complete the annual fire inspection

    Complete the annual fire inspection. Retain the official Whitefish result that proves this condition; a contrary result stops the STR Permit and Business Registration path.

    Required

  • Post the local contact and registration number outside the unit

    Post the local contact and registration number outside the unit. Retain the official Whitefish result that proves this condition; a contrary result stops the STR Permit and Business Registration path.

    Required

Move the Whitefish decision “Complete the annual fire inspection” into an active STR Permit and Business Registration

Start with “Complete the annual fire inspection”; the resulting local record keeps the Whitefish land-use decision distinct from tax registration and renewal.

  1. Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2

    Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2. The observable result is a property-specific record supporting this eligibility decision; otherwise correct the address or rental model before filing.

  2. Complete the annual fire inspection

    Complete the annual fire inspection. The observable result is a property-specific record supporting this classification decision; otherwise correct the address or rental model before filing.

  3. Post the local contact and registration number outside the unit

    Post the local contact and registration number outside the unit. The observable result is a property-specific record supporting this prerequisite decision; otherwise correct the address or rental model before filing.

  4. Submit after documenting “Post the local contact and registration number outside the unit”

    Use https://www.cityofwhitefish.gov/187/Short-Term-Rental. Keep the Whitefish case identifier and agency response alongside the evidence for “Post the local contact and registration number outside the unit”; payment or submission alone is not proof that the STR Permit and Business Registration is active.

  5. Set up Montana Montana Lodging Facility Sales and Use Tax

    Montana applies a combined 8% lodging facility sales and use tax and requires a seller permit. Returns and payments are due after each calendar quarter under the Department schedule.

  6. Preserve the Whitefish approval after issuance

    Renew by January 1 each year.

Separate the Whitefish charge from Montana tax

The City publishes a $400 annual permit and business-registration fee.

Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2. The resulting Whitefish approval and the Montana Lodging Facility Sales and Use Tax record solve different compliance problems; neither substitutes for the other.

  • Whitefish charge

    The City publishes a $400 annual permit and business-registration fee.

  • Montana Lodging Facility Sales and Use Tax

    Montana applies a combined 8% lodging facility sales and use tax and requires a seller permit.

  • Marketplace and direct bookings

    Marketplace-facilitated sales and operator-direct sales must be reconciled.

  • State filing control

    Returns and payments are due after each calendar quarter under the Department schedule.

Keep the Whitefish approval aligned with the licensed property

Renew by January 1 each year.

  • Retain the active STR Permit and Business Registration

    Match the issued record to Whitefish, the property address, and the approved rental class while continuing to satisfy “Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2”.

    Required

  • Continue to satisfy: Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2

    Recheck this Whitefish condition together with the continuing duty “Renew by January 1 each year” before changing ownership, occupancy, unit configuration, or the listing model.

    Required

  • Continue to satisfy: Complete the annual fire inspection

    Recheck this Whitefish condition together with the continuing duty “Renew by January 1 each year” before changing ownership, occupancy, unit configuration, or the listing model.

    Required

  • Maintain Montana records

    Marketplace-facilitated sales and operator-direct sales must be reconciled. Returns and payments are due after each calendar quarter under the Department schedule.

    Required

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

STR Permit and Business Registration. Whitefish allows STRs only in specified resort and business zones and requires a permit, business registration, annual fire inspection, and monthly resort tax.

Confirm zoning is WB-3, WRR-1, WRR-2, WRB-1, or WRB-2.

Complete the annual fire inspection. Post the local contact and registration number outside the unit.

Montana Lodging Facility Sales and Use Tax. Montana applies a combined 8% lodging facility sales and use tax and requires a seller permit.

Renew by January 1 each year.