Short-Term Rental Laws in Minot, North Dakota

Minot — home of Minot Air Force Base + oil-patch workforce hub for the Bakken Williston Basin western edge — permits STRs broadly across residential and commercial zones with business license + lodging tax registration + life-safety standards. USAF base traffic, oil-patch workforce mid-term demand, and the annual Norsk Høstfest festival (largest Scandinavian festival in North America) drive STR demand. No primary-residence requirement, no nights cap, no zoning-class ban.

Zoning: STRs permitted in R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 residential and C-1, C-2, C-3 commercial zones. Downtown Minot historic blocks have design-review overlay for exterior work. The post-2011-flood redevelopment area (Mouse River corridor) has additional FEMA/state-coordination overlay rules for new construction or substantial-improvement work, but STR use itself is unrestricted within those overlays. HOA layers may apply to specific townhome/condo developments.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Minot Planning + Zoning + Finance Department jointly administer. Annual business license + STR registration. Application requires designated 24/7 local contact, proof of property insurance, life-safety self-certification, parking plan. Finance Department collects the Lodging Tax + city sales tax monthly. Operating unlicensed: administrative penalty + back-tax assessment. Enforcement primarily complaint-driven.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Minot is approximately 11.000% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

North Dakota State sales tax 5% + Ward County sales 0.5% + Minot city sales 2% + Minot Lodging Tax 3% — combined ~11% on transient lodging; confirm at Minot Finance Department

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.