TL;DR: The City of Myrtle Beach does not set one legal guest limit for vacation rentals. Your actual limit comes from the building and fire codes the city has adopted, the capacity the property files with the city, and the rules the owner or association attaches to the unit. Always confirm the number in writing before you book.
If you have searched for a straight answer on how many guests a Myrtle Beach rental allows, you have probably noticed the answer is hard to pin down. That is not an oversight on your part. The City of Myrtle Beach Code of Ordinances contains no single persons-per-bedroom rule for short-term rentals. Instead, the city points to national technical codes it has adopted, and leaves the specific number to be set property by property. Once you know where to look, the answer for any given rental becomes fairly easy to find.
Why There Is No Single Number for Myrtle Beach Vacation Rental Occupancy Limits
The city handles construction and safety standards by adopting national model codes rather than writing its own. According to the City of Myrtle Beach Code of Ordinances (§ 6-300), the city adopts the International Building Code, International Residential Code, International Property Maintenance Code, and related standards by reference, treating them as though written into the ordinance in full. A separate provision, § 9-41, adopts the International Fire Code in the edition approved by the South Carolina Building Codes Council.
Those adopted codes are where sleeping-area and egress requirements live. They set minimum room sizes and exit capacity, which is what ultimately caps how many people a unit can safely hold.
The zoning ordinance does not help here either, and that surprises a lot of people. Myrtle Beach zoning defines "Occupancy" as a category of use, describing any dwelling unit, business, activity, or office. It is a land-use term, not a headcount.
So the short answer is that no ordinance names a number. The longer answer is that four different sources stack together to produce one.
Where Your Actual Guest Limit Comes From
Four layers determine the number for any specific Grand Strand property. Most guests only ever see the last one.
What sets the guest limit for a Myrtle Beach rental
| Source | What It Controls | Where You See It |
|---|---|---|
| Adopted building & fire codes | Sleeping area size and exit capacity — the safety ceiling | Rarely visible to guests; enforced through inspection |
| Rate card filed with the city | The unit's stated maximum accommodation | Posted inside the room or unit |
| HOA, POA, or condo master deed | Building-level restrictions, often stricter than code | Association documents; ask the owner or manager |
| The rental agreement | The number you are contractually bound to | Your booking confirmation and signed terms |
Source: City of Myrtle Beach Code of Ordinances, §§ 6-300, 9-41, and 11-102.
The lowest number in that stack governs. A four-bedroom house might satisfy the fire code for a large group, but if the association caps overnight guests at eight, eight is your limit.
The Posted Rate Card Is Your Best On-Site Reference
This is the most useful and least known provision in the entire code. Under § 11-102, every public lodging establishment must post its rate schedule conspicuously in each room, unit, or apartment. That posting has to show the maximum amount charged for one person, two persons, three persons, or as many persons as the unit will accommodate.
Copies must be filed with the city, and no establishment may charge more than the posted and filed rate.
That last clause is the part worth remembering. The rate card is a filed document, not a suggestion. If the posting shows pricing tiers that stop at six people, the unit's stated capacity is six. Walk in, find the posting, and you have your answer in writing.
Rules That Apply Regardless of Group Size
A few requirements apply to every short-term stay in the city, and they catch visitors off guard more often than occupancy questions do.
Identification at check-in. Under § 14-220, the guest responsible for payment must produce a valid driver's license or other government-issued photo ID. Renting to an adult without obtaining that identification is a misdemeanor.
Every vehicle gets registered. The same section requires the guest to provide the plate number and state of issuance for each vehicle used during the stay, and the operator must issue a parking placard or card to be displayed in each one.
Guests under 18 need an accompanying adult. A responsible adult, chaperone, parent, or legal guardian must register in person at check-in and accept written liability for room costs, charges, and damages.
Parking is sized by bedroom count. The zoning parking schedule at § 1006.D requires one space per one-bedroom unit, two spaces per three-bedroom unit, and half a space for each additional bedroom. That is a practical ceiling on how many cars a large group can bring.
Two definitions are also worth knowing. Section 203 defines a Visitor Accommodation as any stay under 90 continuous days, which is what makes a booking a short-term rental in the first place. And § 1808, adopted December 2024, established a Short-Term Rental Conversion Overlay Zone between Kings Highway and the Atlantic Ocean that restricts converting visitor accommodations to long-term rentals. Neither sets a headcount, but both shape how properties in Horry County's coastal core operate.
If you are weighing a Myrtle Beach stay against the rules, our team at Carolina Crafted Getaways can walk you through what a specific property allows. For the broader regulatory picture, see our overview of short-term rental rules in Myrtle Beach.
A Note on Addresses Outside City Limits
Many properties carry a Myrtle Beach mailing address while sitting outside the municipal boundary. Everything above applies within city limits only. If your rental is in unincorporated Horry County, North Myrtle Beach, or Surfside Beach, a different set of local rules governs. Confirm the jurisdiction before assuming any of these provisions apply, and consult with a licensed professional or the relevant municipality for your specific situation.
Occupancy questions come up constantly when buyers start evaluating a coastal property for rental use, and the answer shapes floor plan decisions long before a listing goes live. If you are thinking through how bedroom count, parking, and capacity affect what a Grand Strand home can do, we are glad to talk it through — reach out to our team and we will help you sort out what applies to the property you have in mind.
