First: zone and license type

• Check the property's overlay zone on the city's Short Term Rental map. Zone A licenses are by right; Zone B licenses are capped; some areas (shown red) take no new licenses at all.
• Pick the right license type. Hosted Short Term Rental: one guestroom in your home while you are present, maximum 400 square feet. Temporary Short Term Rental: a primary residence, maximum 2 occurrences and 30 cumulative days per calendar year. Full Short Term Rental license: everything else.
• Accessory dwelling units are strictly prohibited from use as Short Term Rentals. No license type fixes that.
• Home exchanges and home swaps count as short term rentals here and require a license too.

The license

• License obtained before you advertise, offer, or operate. The municipal code (Section 12-571(d)) makes unlicensed operation unlawful. Applications run through the city's CityView portal and must be completed in one session.
• Licensing and renewal fees paid. The city lists the current fee at $350 on its licensing page (as published when checked).
• Sales tax collection arranged and declared at application: how the tax on your stays will be collected is part of the application itself.

While you operate

• A local responsible party is in place: an individual or management company located in Routt County during the entire rental period, with access to the property and authority to make decisions.
• The license is displayed in a visible location inside the licensed premises.
• Occupancy stays inside the code limit: no more than one occupant per 200 square feet of net floor area or 16 occupants, whichever is more restrictive.
• Selling the property? Licenses do not transfer with a sale. A new owner applies fresh, with narrow reissuance exceptions the city lists in its FAQ.

Check with the city

• Whether a legal nonconforming registration or an old Vacation Home Rental permit changes your path: the city licensing page covers the exemptions and their limits.
• Current Zone B cap status for your neighborhood.
• HOA and condo rules: not in any public dataset. Check in writing.