Short-term rental rules · Midwest City, Oklahoma
Short-term rentals in Midwest City, explained properly.
The City of Midwest City licenses short-term rentals under Article IV of Chapter 20 of its Code of Ordinances. An owner needs an annual license from the Engineering and Construction Services Department before operating, and the application includes a 24-hour local agent, proof of property insurance, a floor plan, working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, notice to neighbors and an annual fire and life safety inspection. Only residential, mixed-use or transit-oriented development properties may be used as short-term rentals. The City charges a $50 application fee and a $150 initial license fee, then $100 a year to renew, and short-term rentals are subject to the City sales tax and hotel tax. We haven't reviewed the zoning use tables yet, so confirm zoning before you buy. The article's penalty provisions and the tax rates are not shown on this page.
At a glance
What you need to know before you buy or list
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are short-term rentals allowed? | Only in residential, mixed-use or transit-oriented development properties, with a City short-term rental license; commercial-only and industrial properties may not be used [1] ClauseConfirming |
| City short-term rental license required? | Yes: an annual license from the City's Engineering and Construction Services Department before operating; fees are $50 to apply, $150 for the initial license and $100 to renew [1] Clause |
| City taxes on short-term rentals? | Short-term rentals are subject to the City's sales tax (Chapter 40, Article II) and hotel tax (Chapter 40, Article III); the rates are not shown here [1] Clause |
Watch this market
Want to know when Midwest City's rules change?
We watch Midwest City's official rule pages, council agendas and Oklahoma legislation. When a change affecting short-term rentals is proposed or passed, we email you what changed, when it takes effect, and a link to the source.
Alerts are free. Own in several cities? Pro will track every rule for your whole portfolio.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. See our privacy policy.
Detailed rules
The full picture, section by section
Operating rules
| Short-term rental license fees | $50 application fee, $150 initial license fee and $100 renewal fee (the renewal fee includes one annual inspection); each further inspection is $50 [1] Clause Sec. 20-208 sets the application fee at $50.00, the initial license fee at $150.00 and the renewal license fee at $100.00, which includes one (1) annual inspection fee. The inspection fee, in addition to the first annual renewal inspection if required, is $50.00 for each inspection thereafter. The fees are set in the Code itself, added by Ordinance No. 3536 (adopted November 14, 2023); the effective date of the ordinance is not shown in the saved text. Taxes are separate (see City taxes). |
|---|---|
| Local agent and local contact | A local agent reachable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is named on the application; if the owner or manager does not live inside the City limits, a local contact must also be identified who can respond to emergencies [1] Clause Sec. 20-206(b)(2) requires the name, addresses, cell phone number and email address of a local agent available to be reached twenty-four (24) hours per day and seven (7) days per week. Sec. 20-206(b)(21) says that if the owner or manager does not reside within the corporate city limits, an individual or individuals must be identified to serve as local contacts to respond to emergency conditions on notice from a guest, a City employee, law enforcement, a first responder or anyone else, and any change to the local contact must be given to the City within three (3) business days. The license lists the local contact (name, cell phone, email) for on-premises complaints. |
| Bedroom count and guest occupancy limit | The application states the number of bedrooms and the proposed occupancy limits, and the license shows a bedroom limit and a guest occupancy limit [1] Clause Sec. 20-206(b)(6) requires the number of bedrooms and the proposed occupancy limits, and Sec. 20-207(a)(3) has the license carry the license number and rental limitations, including the bedroom limit and guest occupancy limit. A numeric formula for the limits is not shown in the pages we reviewed, so the figure for a given house is whatever the City puts on the license. Sec. 20-206(b)(14) bars using the rental for any social event that exceeds the occupancy limit. |
| Proof of property insurance | Required: proof of current, valid property insurance with the application [1] Clause Sec. 20-206(b)(4) lists proof of current, valid property insurance among the items the applicant attests to and furnishes on request. The amount of coverage is not shown in the Article. |
| Safety equipment and annual inspection | Operational bedroom egress windows, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers, a floor plan with fire exits, and an annual fire and life safety inspection [1] Clause Sec. 20-206(b) has the applicant attest that all required bedroom egress windows are operational; that there are enough operational smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors for the square footage under the building code and the right number and location of fire extinguishers under the fire code; that the property complies with the City's minimum property maintenance, building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes; and that an annual fire and life safety inspection is done. The application includes a diagram showing the layout, on-site parking and a floor plan with fire exits and escape routes. Sec. 20-207(a)(7) asks for a certificate of occupancy or compliance issued within ten (10) years or a minimum life-safety inspection finding no hazard, and Sec. 20-209(3) ties renewal to completing the annual inspection with no City Code or state law violations found. |
| Notice to neighbors | Recorded property owners immediately adjacent to or directly across the street or alley from the property must be notified of the application, using the City's notice form [1] Clause Sec. 20-206(b)(12) requires notice to all recorded property owners immediately adjacent to or directly across the street or alley in any direction from the subject property. The notice is provided by the engineering and construction services department with the application and shows the owner's and required local agent's name, address, phone number and email, along with contact information for code enforcement, the police department, parking services and other offices. Whether the neighbors can object or whether the City acts on responses is not shown here. |
| Guest conduct, parking and events | Applicants attest that renting to anyone under 18 is restricted unless to a parent or guardian, there are no commercial events or social events over the occupancy limit, no amplified sound, noise within Chapter 26, and all vehicles parked off the street [1] Clause Sec. 20-206(b) lists these attestations: restrict rental to anyone under the age of eighteen (18) unless the rental is to a parent or guardian (item 13); no social event that exceeds the occupancy limit and no commercial event (14); outward appearance as a residential dwelling (15); no noise above chapter 26 of the Code, vibration, glare or odors that unreasonably interfere with others (16); no sound equipment, amplified music or amplified musical instruments (17); no violation of parking ordinances (18); all parking of vehicles off of the street (19); and no violation of open burning ordinances (20). The noise limits in Chapter 26 and the parking ordinances haven't been reviewed, so the specific hours and limits are not shown here. |
| Posted license and guest information | The license must be posted conspicuously, and the license holder must post and give guests an information packet (license number, contacts, parking, occupancy, noise, burn bans, water restrictions, trash rules, floor plan) [1] Clause Sec. 20-206(b)(23) requires the license to be posted in a conspicuous location at the rental. Sec. 20-211 has the license holder post in a prominent interior location clearly visible to guests, and provide as a packet, a summary of the restrictions: license registration and number; operator and property manager names and numbers; local contact; on-site and off-site parking; occupancy limits; noise restrictions including the prohibition on sound equipment and amplified music; parking restrictions; burn ban and water restriction information; trash and recycling rules and dates; the prohibition on commercial events or social events over the occupancy limit; and a floor plan with fire exits, extinguishers, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. |
| License renewal | Annual license; renewal needs the renewal fee, updated information, a completed annual inspection and no outstanding City Code or state law violations [1] Clause Sec. 20-207 provides for an annual license, and Sec. 20-209 lets a license be renewed annually if the licensee pays the renewal fee, updates any changes to the required information, completes the annual inspection with no City Code or state law violations discovered, and the property is not the subject of outstanding violations. The City may deny renewal if the applicant does not provide the information needed to show the unit meets all requirements. |
Enforcement
| Denial, suspension or revocation of the license | The City may deny, suspend or revoke a license for failing to meet the conditions, for code or state law violations in the 24 months before applying, or for violations found at an inspection; fraud or false statements are grounds for immediate revocation [1] Clause Sec. 20-210(a) lets the City deny a license application, or suspend or revoke an existing license, for failure to comply with any conditions of the short-term rental requirements; for violations of the Code or state law in the twenty-four-month period before the application (looking at frequency, whether intentional or knowing, and any other information on danger to public health, safety or welfare); or for violations discovered at an inspection. Sec. 20-206(b)(25) makes fraud, material misrepresentation or false statements grounds for immediate revocation and says all requirements must be continuously maintained throughout the permit. Sec. 20-210(b) lets the City consider whether a new owner has remedied the issues. Fines or other penalties are not shown in this article. |
|---|
State law that also applies
| Oklahoma state sales tax on rooms | 4.5% state sales tax on the service of furnishing rooms by hotels, motels, public rooming houses, public lodging houses and similar places; local sales taxes generally apply to the same items [2] [3] Clause 1 Clause 2 Section 1354(A)(7) of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes levies an excise tax of 4.5% of the gross receipts or gross proceeds from the service of furnishing rooms by a hotel, apartment hotel, public rooming house, motel, public lodging house or tourist camp, unless the sale is exempted in the Oklahoma Sales Tax Code. The Oklahoma Tax Commission says the state sales and use tax rate is 4.5%, that local taxes may also apply, and that, except for residential utilities and certain food, local taxes apply to the same taxable items and services as the state tax; it also lists lodging among the transactions the state sales tax levy covers. The statute and the Commission's answers read do not say in so many words whether a private home or room rented for short stays is a "public lodging house"; owners should confirm their filing duty with the Commission. City and county rates are shown on each place's page. |
|---|---|
| Do booking platforms collect the state tax? | Platforms with at least $10,000 a year of Oklahoma taxable sales must elect either to collect and remit sales tax or to meet notice and reporting requirements; the Tax Commission says platforms selling Oklahoma lodging may now have to collect state and local taxes [4] [5] [3] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 Under sections 1391 and 1392 of Title 68, a marketplace facilitator is a business that lists or advertises a marketplace seller's products and, directly or through others, collects the buyer's payment and passes it to the seller. Since Senate Bill 1339 (effective January 1, 2023), "product" includes services and other transactions taxable under the Sales Tax Code, but not a hotel or motel built with more than 12 rooms. A facilitator with at least $10,000 of taxable Oklahoma sales in the previous 12 months must file an election each year with the Tax Commission either to collect and remit the tax or to comply with notice and reporting requirements; one that elects to collect must get a sales tax permit, and its collection duty also covers local sales taxes administered by the Commission. The Tax Commission says marketplace facilitators making sales of Oklahoma lodging may now be required to collect and remit state and local taxes. Which election a given platform has made is not stated in these sources; check with the platform. City hotel or lodging taxes are separate and shown on each place's page. |
| State Department of Health hotel license | State law requires a license from the State Commissioner of Health to operate a "hotel", which includes any place where sleeping accommodations are furnished for pay to transient guests if five or more rooms are available for them [6] Clause Section 1-1201 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes makes it unlawful to operate or maintain a hotel without a license from the State Commissioner of Health, which (unless a rule says otherwise) expires each June 30 and carries an annual fee set by the Commissioner. For this section, "hotel" includes any hotel, motel, tourist court, apartment house, rooming house or other place where sleeping accommodations are furnished or offered for pay to transient guests, if five or more rooms are available for transient guests. The statute does not say how the Department applies this to a house or apartment rented short-term; owners renting five or more rooms should check with the Oklahoma State Department of Health. |
Changes
Recent and pending changes
We reviewed the code title page and Chapter 20, Article IV (Rental Property) as published on Municode and fetched on October 18, 2026. The Code is codified through Ordinance No. 3615 (November 13, 2025); the title page lists later adopted ordinances not yet codified, and none of their titles concern short-term rentals. We haven't reviewed City Council agendas or minutes, the zoning code (Appendix A), Chapter 26 (noise) or Chapter 40 (taxes) yet, so we will watch the Code for changes.
Midwest City adopted its short-term rental program in Article IV of Chapter 20 (definition, licensing, fees, renewal, denial and revocation, posting); Section 2 replaced the former crime-free rental housing section with the guest information posting rule.
Sources
Every rule above links to one of these
Newsletter
Not tracking Midwest City specifically?
One email a month with STR rule changes across the US markets we track.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. See our privacy policy.
Questions
Managing properties in several cities?
Tell us what you're trying to decide and which markets you operate in. We read every message.
This page is general information compiled from public sources, not legal or tax advice. HOA rules, deed restrictions and zoning for a specific property can be stricter. Confirm with the local permitting office and a qualified professional before buying or listing a property.