Get your Nashville rental permit filed, and never miss a renewal
Check your address against Metro’s own zoning and permit records. Then we can prepare the application, file it for you, and renew it every year.
A house in East Nashville
Metro issues no new not-owner-occupied permits in residential zones. An existing one can be renewed, but not passed on if the property is sold.
What Metro will ask for, for an owner-occupied permit
- Four proofs that you live there
- Notarized “True and Accurate” affidavit
- Proof all taxes on the property are paid
- Floor plan of every floor
- UL217 smoke detectors
- Inspection certificate
- $1 million liability insurance
- Letters to the neighbors
- Notarized Owner Authorization Form
Filing for you is $299, charged only when Metro issues the permit.
- The address check is free and takes a few seconds.
- Renewal reminders are free too, by permit number. No subscription.
- Filing is $299. Charged only when Metro issues your permit. Nothing if Metro refuses it. Metro’s $313 you pay to Metro.
- We’re a private service, not the city.
What Metro asks for
Every short-term rental in Nashville needs a permit from Metro Codes before it’s listed. The application has three parts, and Metro’s page asks for them in this order.
- 1
Email the sensitive papers
Proof you live there, or the papers linking you to the owning LLC or trust, go to Metro by email, not through the upload.
- 2
Get every document ready as a PDF
Affidavit, tax proof, floor plan, inspection certificate, insurance and the neighbor letters with their certified-mail receipts.
- 3
Apply on ePermits in one sitting
The online form can’t be saved part-way, so everything has to be ready first. Metro staff then review it and send the fee to pay.
Four proofs that you live there
Two from a Tennessee ID, Davidson County voter card, W-2 or 1099, or vehicle registration, and two from your insurance, a pay stub or a bank statement.
Check each one before Metro does
Notarized “True and Accurate” affidavit
Metro’s own form, for your permit type, signed in front of a notary.
Fill it in for you to sign
Proof all taxes on the property are paid
Property tax receipts. On renewal, room, occupancy and sales tax too.
Tell you which receipts Metro accepts
Floor plan of every floor
Every room, window and door, and where each smoke detector is. A basic but accurate plan; the inspector verifies it.
Draw it from your sketch and measurements
UL217 smoke detectors
In every sleeping area, every room on the way out from it, and on each story including the basement. Four sleeping rooms at most.
Yours to do
Inspection certificate
From a state-licensed architect, engineer or home inspector: smoke alarms, egress windows and 3-inch house numbers to the 2018 codes. Buildings with a shared hallway need the Fire Marshal instead.
Send you local inspectors who do it
$1 million liability insurance
Fire, hazard and liability cover of at least $1M per occurrence. Your Airbnb or Vrbo profile page can count as proof.
Check your policy says what Metro needs
Letters to the neighbors
Written notice to the owners in front, behind, to the sides and above or below, at their mailing address. Signed by them, or sent certified.
Find the owners, write and mail the letters
Notarized Owner Authorization Form
Only if someone else applies for you. It lets us file and talk to Metro on your behalf.
Fill it in for you to sign
If an LLC or trust owns the property, the proof you live there is replaced by papers linking you to the company, and the permit is not owner-occupied.
Renew every year, or start again
A permit lasts 365 days. Metro emails 60 and 45 days before it runs out, and the permit isn’t renewed until the fee is paid. Metro’s renewal page says keeping track is the owner’s job.
For a not-owner-occupied permit in a residential zone, a missed renewal can’t be undone. Metro issues no new ones there, so a lapsed permit is gone for good.
Free renewal reminders
An email 90, 60 and 30 days before your permit expires. Free, with no subscription, and nothing else.
Enter your permit number, or check your address above to find it.
Have us file it
$299 for a new permit. We file it with Metro for you, using the Owner Authorization Form, and Metro’s $313 fee you pay to Metro yourself when its staff ask for it.
No permit, no fee
Charged only when Metro issues your permit. Nothing if Metro refuses it.
A missed renewal is on us
If we’re handling your renewal and miss Metro’s deadline, we refund that year’s fee and file again at no charge.
You
- Sign the affidavit and the authorization form in front of a notary
- Book the inspection (we send you inspectors who do it)
- Send us your insurance, ID and tax receipts
Us
- Check the address and tell you which permit you can get
- Draw the floor plan from your sketch
- Write and mail the neighbor letters by certified mail
- Check every document against Metro’s list, then file it
- Answer Metro’s questions until the permit is issued
- Renew it every year before it lapses
Ask us to file your permit
We reply within two working days with what we need from you.
Check your address above first and we’ll attach the result.
Questions
Can someone else apply for my Nashville short-term rental permit?
Yes. Metro accepts an application made on the owner’s behalf if the owner signs a notarized Owner Authorization Form. We fill it in for you; you sign it in front of a notary.
How much does a Nashville short-term rental permit cost?
Metro’s fee is $313, paid to Metro directly when its staff have reviewed your application. If we file for you, our fee is $299, charged only once Metro issues the permit, and nothing if it doesn’t.
What happens if Metro refuses the permit?
You pay us nothing. Our $299 is charged only when Metro issues the permit. Metro’s own fee is between you and Metro.
What if you miss my renewal?
If we’re handling your renewal and miss Metro’s deadline, we refund that year’s fee and file again at no charge. Reminders are free either way: we email 90, 60 and 30 days before your permit expires.
How much liability insurance does a Nashville short-term rental need?
At least $1 million per occurrence, covering fire, hazard and liability. Metro’s application page sets that limit; a $500,000 policy isn’t enough. An Airbnb or Vrbo profile page can count as proof of cover.
What does NS mean on Nashville zoning?
A zone ending in -NS, such as RM9-NS, carries a no-short-term-rental condition: neither owner-occupied nor not-owner-occupied permits are issued there. The address check flags it.
Can I get a not-owner-occupied permit in a residential zone?
Not a new one. Metro issues no new not-owner-occupied permits in AR2A, R, RS or RM zones. A permit that already exists there can be renewed, but it can’t be transferred if the property is sold.
How often do I have to renew?
Every year. A permit is valid for 365 days. Metro emails 60 and 45 days before it expires; you renew by emailing the renewal affidavit, and the permit isn’t renewed until you pay. Metro says keeping track is the owner’s job.
Are you part of Metro Nashville?
No. We’re a private service and not connected to Metro or its Codes Department. Metro never asks for wire transfers, QR-code payments or “urgent processing” fees, and neither do we.
Where does the address check get its answers?
From Metro’s own open data: the parcels map, which carries each lot’s zoning, and the register of short-term rental permits, both updated daily. The zoning rules come from Metro’s permit pages, read on 6 November 2026. It’s a guide, not a ruling: Metro decides each application.