Clark County approves new short-term rental licensing rules, with first application appointments set for Jan. 5

What happened

Clark County commissioners unanimously approved changes to the licensing process for short-term rentals at their Tuesday, Nov. 3 meeting, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KTNV reported. The changes follow a federal court order calling on the county to set up its regulatory system. The county's licensing window was open only briefly and closed in August 2023, according to KTNV.

Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rogan told commissioners the new process allows applications year-round and sets response times for both the county and applicants, the Review-Journal reported. The ordinance also adds rules for appeals. The rules cover properties in unincorporated Clark County. Rentals inside other cities fall under those cities' ordinances.

How the new application process works

Steps and deadlines

Applicants will submit a completed application and a $45 fee by appointment, the Review-Journal reported. The county then reviews eligibility, conducts a fire inspection and issues a written approval or denial within 45 business days, not counting certain pauses. Approved applicants then pay the required licensing fees before receiving a license.

Applicants have 14 days to answer any questions about their application, and the 45-day clock pauses during those response windows. Denied applicants have 30 days to appeal. When several homeowners within 1,000 feet of one another apply, the county will review them on a first-come, first-served basis.

Key dates

KTNV reported that a new application will be released Dec. 1, and scheduling for in-person appointments begins Dec. 15. Appointments start Jan. 5, with the first at 8 a.m., according to the Review-Journal. KTNV reported that 168 appointments will be available each week.

Applications still pending

Forty-seven applications filed in 2023 are still pending, and the county says it will work through them, KTNV reported. The county is applying the new ordinance's timelines and process to those files. Each will still be judged under the rules in place when it was submitted.

What is not changing

Rogan said the new process leaves the other underlying rules in place, the Review-Journal reported. Those include 1,000 feet between rentals, 2,500 feet from resort hotels, no septic systems and no short-term rentals in rural townships. Limits on occupancy, minimum stays and parties also remain.

Rogan said the 1,000-foot buffer was the "fundamental issue with the pace of approvals and denials." When the window opened in 2022, the county received 1,306 applications at once, he said. Some were so close together that approving one meant denying several others.

Host Randy Gao, who is also a local real estate agent, told KTNV the spacing rule remains a concern. Licensing has been halted for years, he said. Because of that, a neighbor further down the line may have been licensed first, which could leave an earlier applicant unable to qualify.

The court fight behind the changes

The new process stems from a lawsuit filed in July 2025 by the Greater Las Vegas Short-Term Rental Association and Airbnb, the Review-Journal reported. They alleged the county did not provide a proper way to apply for licenses, which led to fines and liens against some properties. Assembly Bill 363, passed in 2021, requires the county and other valley cities to regulate short-term rentals, and the county adopted its ordinance in 2022.

U.S. District Judge Miranda Du granted a preliminary injunction against some of the regulations in December, and the county appealed. In October, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the injunction narrowed to help the county "stand up a functioning license regime," the Review-Journal reported. KTNV reported that the county cannot currently fine hosts for being unlicensed because of the December 2025 injunction.

Jacqueline Flores, the association's president and founder, called the changes "lipstick on a pig" and said she will keep fighting in court, according to the Review-Journal. She told KTNV she hopes for a smooth process and wants the group to be a resource for homeowners seeking a license. Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick said the county had heard from the court that it must fix the process first, KTNV reported.

What to watch next

• Dec. 1: The county releases the new short-term rental application, according to KTNV.
• Dec. 15: Appointment scheduling opens, with the first appointments at 8 a.m. Jan. 5.
• The county's review of the forty-seven applications still pending from 2023, according to KTNV.
• The rental association's continued court challenge, which Flores said she will pursue.