TranslateProperty Managers
A property manager who is certified by Sonoma County is required for all vacation rental properties. This page contains information on the property manager requirement, certification process and materials, updating property manager contact information, and reporting forms.
On this page:
Vacation Rental Urgency Ordinance
The Board of Supervisors approved an updated the urgency ordinance on December 15, 2020. View full text of ordinance to temporarily cap the number of whole-house vacation rental permits in unincorporated Sonoma County.
Short-term Rental Limitations Health Order
For the latest information on short-term rental limitations, visit the sites below:
Update Property Manager and 24-hour Contact
It is the vacation rental property owner’s responsibility to maintain updated property manager and 24-hour contact information on their vacation rental permit.
Property Manager Certification
Certification Deadline
All property managers who represent permitted vacation rentals as the 24-hour contact in unincorporated Sonoma County were required to obtain the certification by January 1, 2018. All new vacation rental permits submitted after that date are required to provide the contact of a property manager who has already passed the test and paid the fee.
Who Must Be Certified?
If you serve as the property manager or the 24-hour contact for one or more Vacation Rentals within unincorporated Sonoma County, you are required to take this course and pass the test. Managers of hotels, motels, campgrounds, or hosted rentals do not need to take this certification course.
Distance Requirement
Please be sure that you are within 30 miles of the vacation rental that you represent prior to taking the certification course. A property management company must ensure that they are located within 30 miles of all vacation rentals they intend to manage in unincorporated Sonoma County.
Use a mapping tool like Google Maps to help determine the distance between the property manager's office and the vacation rental property.
Certification Course Materials
The information covered by this course is available by reading the following document collection. Please read all of the materials prior to taking the test. A passing score of 28 is required.
Section 1: Background (PDF: 244 kB)
Section 2: Permitting Standards (PDF: 159 kB)
Section 3: Operational Standards (PDF: 477 kB)
Section 4: Responsibilities and Enforcement (PDF: 227 kB)
Section 5: Best Practices (PDF: 406 kB)
Section 6: Transient Occupancy Tax (PDF: 210 kB)
Certification Exam
Property Manager Certification Test
Property Manager Forms
Submit Incident Report Form for Property Managers (PDF Form: 172 kB) – Please open separately in a PDF reader software (such as Adobe Reader), or view by using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge web browsers. Fillable PDF forms are not compatible with Mozilla FireFox or Apple Safari web browsers.
PJR-145 Affidavit of Cessation of Vacation Rental or Hosted Rental Use (PDF) – Please remind the owner(s) of a vacation rental property to submit this form when they sell the property or no longer wish the property to be a vacation rental.