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Georgia · Fulton County

Fulton County

county Allowed Verified · last verified 2026-07-15

Fulton County, Georgia has NO county-level short-term-rental ordinance. Verified against the Fulton County Code of Laws as codified through Resolution No. 2026-0041, enacted January 21, 2026 (Supp. No. 57; "Online content updated on May 22, 2026"): the publisher's own full-text index (Municode productId 10816) returns 0 hits for "short term rental", "short-term rental", "vacation rental", "Airbnb", "homestay", "home sharing", "home-sharing" and "hosting platform". The index is demonstrably working — the same search returns 4 hits for "tourist court", 17 for "lodging" and 3 for "bed and breakfast". The 7 residual hits on the bare phrase "short term" are all unrelated (stormwater/land-disturbance, airport agreements, pension administration). There is no county STR license, registration, cap, primary-residence rule, or night limit. The reason is structural: Fulton County is effectively fully municipalized. Following the incorporation of the City of South Fulton (2017), the county's only remaining unincorporated territory is the Fulton Industrial District (FID) — an industrial corridor. The county's audited FY2024 ACFR states verbatim that "the County is almost completely municipalized," and describes the FID fund as accounting for "municipal type services for the remaining unincorporated area of Fulton County, including police, fire, zoning and other related services." The county's own Permits and Inspections page states "Fulton County issues business licenses for businesses located in the Fulton Industrial District. Other business licenses are issued within each city," and its Finance page states "Fulton County issues licenses to businesses located in the Fulton Industrial District (unincorporated) ONLY." STR rules therefore come from the 15 municipalities (Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, South Fulton, Union City, Fairburn, Palmetto, College Park, East Point, Hapeville, Chattahoochee Hills, Mountain Park), not the county. The county's zoning instrument (Code Appendix B, the 1955 Zoning Resolution) has NO short-term-rental use category, though it does define adjacent transient-lodging uses — "Bed and Breakfast Inn" (guest rooms "for fewer than 30 consecutive days"; allowed in non-residential districts, and in AG-1 and TR with a Use Permit), "Hotel, Apartment" ("temporary lodging ... for fewer than 30 days"), and "Rooming House" (lodging "for periods of 30 days or longer"). What the county DOES impose: (1) a Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax under Code ch. 74, art. III (Sec. 74-181 et seq.), levied at 7% — triple-anchored: the county's audited FY2024 ACFR schedule prints "Collection Rate 7%" with "$181,037" collected for the year ended December 31, 2024 (FY2023 ACFR: 7%, $143,010), and the Georgia DCA rate report lists Fulton County at 0.07 under O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51(a)(5). NOTE the codified text at Sec. 74-182(c) still reads "From and after June 1, 1990, the tax payable under this section shall be five percent" and is stale/superseded by an uncodified resolution. The tax reaches stays under 30 consecutive days (Sec. 74-181 defines "permanent resident" as 30+ consecutive days; Sec. 74-186(1) exempts permanent residents) but, per Georgia AG Op. 93-12 and O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50 et seq., only inside the county's "special district" — territory NOT within a municipality levying its own excise tax — which explains the tiny base (13 of Fulton's 15 cities levy their own hotel-motel tax per the DCA report; only Palmetto and Mountain Park do not appear). (2) an operator registration with the Director of Finance under Sec. 74-187 (certificate of authority issued "without charge"); (3) a countywide Fulton County Board of Health tourist accommodation permit under Code Sec. 34-627(a), which adopts Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-2 (effective January 1, 2014) — applicability to a typical single-home STR is UNCONFIRMED because the state definition at Rule 511-6-2-.03(uu) requires "any facility consisting of two or more rooms or dwelling units providing lodging and other accommodations to the general public" and excludes "a facility intended for permanent residence, or a facility available only to members of a club or through private lease or invitation"; (4) an occupation tax certificate under Sec. 18-31 for any business "having a location or office in the unincorporated area of Fulton County" (i.e. FID only), renewable by March 31 annually; and (5) Sec. 34-630, "Additional regulations for tourist courts operating in unincorporated areas" — the only county provision that actually regulates transient-lodging OPERATIONS (no hourly rates, posted rates, sequential guest receipts, a guest register with ID verification retained 3 years, posted owner/operator contact). Since July 1, 2021 (HB 317, O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50.4), marketplace innkeepers such as Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the local hotel-motel excise tax and the state $5/night hotel-motel fee.

Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-15 · sources linked below.

Requirements checklist

  • city Municipal short-term rental permit/license (the operative STR requirement in Fulton County) Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: Varies by municipality · Applies to: Essentially every STR located in Fulton County. Fulton County is fully municipalized except the Fulton Industrial District (an industrial corridor), so STR licensing is a city function (e.g., City of Atlanta, City of South Fulton, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, etc.). Consult the specific city record. · official page ↗
  • county Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax operator registration with the Director of Finance (Fulton County Code Sec. 74-187) Conditional
    Fee: $0 / one_time · Renewal: None stated; certificate must be surrendered upon cessation of business at the location named or upon its sale or transfer · Applies to: Any person operating a "hotel" in the county. Sec. 74-181 defines "hotel" broadly as "any structure or any portion of a structure, including any lodging house, rooming house, dormitory, Turkish bath, bachelor hotel, studio hotel, motel, auto court, inn, public club, or private club, containing guestrooms and which is occupied, or is intended or designed for occupancy, by guests, whether rent is paid in money, goods, labor, or otherwise." Per Georgia AG Op. 93-12 and O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50 et seq., the county tax — and therefore this registration — reaches only the county's "special district," i.e. territory not inside a municipality that levies its own hotel-motel excise tax. Per the Georgia DCA rate report, 13 of Fulton's 15 municipalities levy their own tax (only Palmetto and Mountain Park do not appear), so the practical reach is very narrow. Since HB 317 (7/1/2021) marketplace innkeepers remit the tax for platform-booked stays. · official page ↗
  • county Fulton County Board of Health tourist accommodation permit (Fulton County Code Sec. 34-627(a); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-2) Conditional
    Fee: $475 / year · Renewal: Permit expires upon change of ownership, location or change of type of operation; annual inspection fee applies each year · Applies to: Operators of a "tourist court or tourist accommodation." The Fulton County Board of Health page states "All tourist accommodations must have a permit and a current license from the Fulton County Board of Health to be open and operating in Fulton County" (countywide, since the Board of Health is a county health function). Whether a typical whole-home or single-unit STR qualifies is UNCONFIRMED: the state definition adopted by Sec. 34-626 (Rule 511-6-2-.03(uu)) covers "any facility consisting of two or more rooms or dwelling units providing lodging and other accommodations to the general public" and provides that "A tourist accommodation is not a facility intended for permanent residence, or a facility available only to members of a club or through private lease or invitation." The BOH's own gloss echoes the two-or-more gate: tourist accommodations "consist of two or more rooms, or dwelling units, connected or separated, on a common piece of property that provides lodging and other services to the general public." No Fulton County source found that expressly applies or exempts platform STRs. Confirm with the Fulton County Board of Health before relying on this. · official page ↗
  • county Additional regulations for tourist courts operating in unincorporated areas (Fulton County Code Sec. 34-630) Conditional
    Fee: — · Renewal: N/A — continuing operating standards · Applies to: Tourist courts "within the unincorporated areas of Fulton County" — in practice the Fulton Industrial District only, since that is the county's sole remaining unincorporated territory. Same definitional gate as the BOH permit (state "tourist accommodation" = two or more rooms or dwelling units), so applicability to a typical single-home STR is UNCONFIRMED. This is the only Fulton County provision that regulates transient-lodging operations (as opposed to taxing them). NOTE: this requirement was absent from the draft record and was surfaced by full-text search of the code. · official page ↗
  • county Fulton County Business Occupational Tax Certificate (Fulton County Code ch. 18, art. II) Conditional
    Fee: — · Renewal: Annual. Per the county Finance department: "Business Occupational Tax Certificates are valid for a calendar year, January 1 through December 31, and must be renewed by March 31 of each year." · Applies to: Only businesses with a location or office in the unincorporated area of Fulton County — i.e. the Fulton Industrial District only. Sec. 18-31 ("Applicability"): "All persons, firms, corporations, including professional corporations, or other business entities now or hereafter operating a business having a location or office in the unincorporated area of Fulton County shall be subject to the requirements of this article." Because the FID is an industrial corridor, this will not reach a residential STR in practice; STRs located in any of the 15 municipalities are licensed by their city instead. · official page ↗

Taxes

TaxRateAdministered byAirbnb remitsVrbo remits
Fulton County Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax — — — —
Georgia State Hotel-Motel Fee — — — —
State and local sales tax on accommodations — — — —

Operating rules

Primary residence
No
Min stay (nights)
—
Max nights / year
—
Max occupancy
—
Zoning-restricted
—
Cap on licenses
—
  • Fulton County imposes NO STR-specific cap, night limit, minimum stay, primary-residence rule, occupancy limit, or density/distance rule. Any such restriction applicable to a given property comes from its municipality. The only county-level operating restrictions on transient lodging (Sec. 34-630) apply to "tourist courts" in unincorporated areas — i.e. the Fulton Industrial District — and are gated by the state "tourist accommodation" definition requiring two or more rooms or dwelling units.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Airbnb legal in Fulton County?
Fulton County, Georgia has NO county-level short-term-rental ordinance. Verified against the Fulton County Code of Laws as codified through Resolution No. 2026-0041, enacted January 21, 2026 (Supp. No. 57; "Online content updated on May 22, 2026"): the publisher's own full-text index (Municode productId 10816) returns 0 hits for "short term rental", "short-term rental", "vacation rental", "Airbnb", "homestay", "home sharing", "home-sharing" and "hosting platform". The index is demonstrably working — the same search returns 4 hits for "tourist court", 17 for "lodging" and 3 for "bed and breakfast". The 7 residual hits on the bare phrase "short term" are all unrelated (stormwater/land-disturbance, airport agreements, pension administration). There is no county STR license, registration, cap, primary-residence rule, or night limit. The reason is structural: Fulton County is effectively fully municipalized. Following the incorporation of the City of South Fulton (2017), the county's only remaining unincorporated territory is the Fulton Industrial District (FID) — an industrial corridor. The county's audited FY2024 ACFR states verbatim that "the County is almost completely municipalized," and describes the FID fund as accounting for "municipal type services for the remaining unincorporated area of Fulton County, including police, fire, zoning and other related services." The county's own Permits and Inspections page states "Fulton County issues business licenses for businesses located in the Fulton Industrial District. Other business licenses are issued within each city," and its Finance page states "Fulton County issues licenses to businesses located in the Fulton Industrial District (unincorporated) ONLY." STR rules therefore come from the 15 municipalities (Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, South Fulton, Union City, Fairburn, Palmetto, College Park, East Point, Hapeville, Chattahoochee Hills, Mountain Park), not the county. The county's zoning instrument (Code Appendix B, the 1955 Zoning Resolution) has NO short-term-rental use category, though it does define adjacent transient-lodging uses — "Bed and Breakfast Inn" (guest rooms "for fewer than 30 consecutive days"; allowed in non-residential districts, and in AG-1 and TR with a Use Permit), "Hotel, Apartment" ("temporary lodging ... for fewer than 30 days"), and "Rooming House" (lodging "for periods of 30 days or longer"). What the county DOES impose: (1) a Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax under Code ch. 74, art. III (Sec. 74-181 et seq.), levied at 7% — triple-anchored: the county's audited FY2024 ACFR schedule prints "Collection Rate 7%" with "$181,037" collected for the year ended December 31, 2024 (FY2023 ACFR: 7%, $143,010), and the Georgia DCA rate report lists Fulton County at 0.07 under O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51(a)(5). NOTE the codified text at Sec. 74-182(c) still reads "From and after June 1, 1990, the tax payable under this section shall be five percent" and is stale/superseded by an uncodified resolution. The tax reaches stays under 30 consecutive days (Sec. 74-181 defines "permanent resident" as 30+ consecutive days; Sec. 74-186(1) exempts permanent residents) but, per Georgia AG Op. 93-12 and O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50 et seq., only inside the county's "special district" — territory NOT within a municipality levying its own excise tax — which explains the tiny base (13 of Fulton's 15 cities levy their own hotel-motel tax per the DCA report; only Palmetto and Mountain Park do not appear). (2) an operator registration with the Director of Finance under Sec. 74-187 (certificate of authority issued "without charge"); (3) a countywide Fulton County Board of Health tourist accommodation permit under Code Sec. 34-627(a), which adopts Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-2 (effective January 1, 2014) — applicability to a typical single-home STR is UNCONFIRMED because the state definition at Rule 511-6-2-.03(uu) requires "any facility consisting of two or more rooms or dwelling units providing lodging and other accommodations to the general public" and excludes "a facility intended for permanent residence, or a facility available only to members of a club or through private lease or invitation"; (4) an occupation tax certificate under Sec. 18-31 for any business "having a location or office in the unincorporated area of Fulton County" (i.e. FID only), renewable by March 31 annually; and (5) Sec. 34-630, "Additional regulations for tourist courts operating in unincorporated areas" — the only county provision that actually regulates transient-lodging OPERATIONS (no hourly rates, posted rates, sequential guest receipts, a guest register with ID verification retained 3 years, posted owner/operator contact). Since July 1, 2021 (HB 317, O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50.4), marketplace innkeepers such as Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the local hotel-motel excise tax and the state $5/night hotel-motel fee.
Do I need a license or registration for a short-term rental in Fulton County?
Yes — Fulton County requires: Municipal short-term rental permit/license (the operative STR requirement in Fulton County); Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax operator registration with the Director of Finance (Fulton County Code Sec. 74-187); Fulton County Board of Health tourist accommodation permit (Fulton County Code Sec. 34-627(a); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-2). See the requirements checklist for fees, renewal, and official links.
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Fulton County?
Fulton County Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax, Georgia State Hotel-Motel Fee, State and local sales tax on accommodations. Use the lodging-tax estimator on this page for a specific stay.

Official sources

Related coverage

In Georgia

Cities in this county Atlanta

Informational summary of publicly available sources; not legal advice. Verify against the linked official sources.