Branson STR rules

Docks, the lake and short-term rental guests

The Corps of Engineers controls the Table Rock Lake shoreline, including the strip in front of private lots. A September 2026 Corps policy says rental guests may use a permitted private dock. The district’s 2020 shoreline plan reads stricter, so check before you put the dock in your listing.

Last checked . This is general info, not legal or tax advice, and rules change. Check with the Table Rock Lake Project Office (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) before you rely on it.

Can my rental guests use my dock?

Under the newest Corps policy, yes. A memo from Corps headquarters dated Sept. 4, 2026 says that when a home is lawfully rented as a short-term rental, its permitted private dock or slip is an “accessory amenity” to the house. The memo treats the house rental as the commercial transaction. Guests using the dock during their stay isn’t prohibited commercial activity under 36 CFR 327.30, and it doesn’t change the residential character of the permit (Corps STR dock policy). The Table Rock Lake shoreline page posts it as the “2026 - Short Term Rental Policy” (Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management).

The memo’s enclosure gives examples on each side of the line (Corps STR dock policy, Enclosure 1). It allows:

It prohibits:

Everything stays subject to the permit’s conditions. The federal rule behind those conditions still says permitted facilities won’t be “leased, rented, sub-let or provided to others” for monetary gain (36 CFR 327.30). In practice, list the dock as part of the house and don’t charge for it separately.

The 2020 shoreline plan says otherwise

The Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management Plan from 2020 bans commercial use of a slip, and its list includes “use of a slip included in a residential or commercial rental agreement.” A first offense brings a citation and a warning letter. A second can get the slip or dock barricaded for up to two years, and a third can lead to a recommendation that the permit be revoked (2020 SMP, p. 34). The plan also says boats moored at a private dock must be registered to the dock’s owner (2020 SMP, p. 13).

The 2026 memo tells every district to bring its shoreline enforcement in line with the new policy, and to review open enforcement actions and revise or drop the ones that conflict with it (Corps STR dock policy).

Unconfirmed: whether Little Rock District has updated the plan, and how it now treats guest boats that aren’t registered to the dock owner. Call the Duty Ranger at (417) 213-4794 before you advertise dock use or let guests tie up their own boat. The Project Office is at 4600 State Highway 165 in Branson, (417) 213-4810 (Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management).

Getting or changing a dock permit

Owning land near the lake doesn’t give you any exclusive right to the water or the public shoreline. You need a permit from the Project Office before you build a boat mooring facility, change government land or cut vegetation on the shore (Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management). The rest of the rules:

Dock requests on Lake Taneycomo don’t use the online form. Call (417) 213-4796 (permit request forms).

Buying or selling a house with a dock

The dock permit doesn’t come with the deed. Federal rules say shoreline use permits are non-transferable and become void when the permitted facility is sold, or when the permittee and spouse have both died (36 CFR 327.30(g)). For a single-owner dock, the buyer sends the Corps a signed application, a bill of sale or other proof of the transfer, and the permit fee (2020 SMP, p. 14).

Check for a flowage easement too. On many lots the Corps holds the right to flood private land above the boundary line, generally up to elevation 936 feet. Structures for people to live in, permanent or temporary, aren’t allowed there, and neither are septic systems or attached decks, and any construction in the easement needs Corps approval first (Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management). If the property runs on septic, the septic page covers permits and the Stone County transfer certificate.

Boater ID for guests who drive a boat

Missouri requires a boating safety identification card, carried on the boat, for anyone born after Jan. 1, 1984 and before Jan. 1, 2006 who operates a vessel on the state’s lakes. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2006 needs one on any state waters. You qualify by passing a NASBLA-approved course certified by the Water Patrol or the Water Patrol’s equivalency exam, or by holding a Coast Guard master’s, mate’s or operator’s license. The card is good for life (RSMo §306.127).

Some people are exempt. Nonresidents with a valid card from another state’s NASBLA-approved course don’t need a Missouri card, and neither does anyone who already passed a NASBLA-approved course. Current members of the armed forces, the reserves or the Missouri National Guard are exempt too, along with their spouses (RSMo §306.127.5). The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Water Patrol Division keeps the list of certified courses (Water Patrol). It’s worth putting this in your house manual if the rental comes with a boat.

If you rent boats to guests

The same law lets a person or company that rents vessels issue a temporary boating safety card good for up to seven days. The renter shows a valid driver’s license and signs an affidavit saying they’ve read the Highway Patrol’s boating handbook. The fee is $9, each person gets only one, and the business has to submit the card information electronically through the Highway Patrol’s system. This part of the law expires Dec. 31, 2032 (RSMo §306.127.8).

Unconfirmed: whether Missouri requires a separate license to rent boats or personal watercraft to guests. We didn’t find one in the sources on this page. The Corps memo does prohibit business transactions from a private dock (Corps STR dock policy), so ask the Project Office at (417) 213-4794 before you rent out a boat kept at your dock, and ask the Water Patrol Division about operator rules.

Local help

We don’t list dock builders yet. For the house side of a lake rental, the directory has handyman services, turnover cleaners and septic and plumbing companies around Table Rock Lake.

Other pages in this guide

Sources

These are government pages and code sections unless the line says otherwise. We read each one on October 20, 2026.

  1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District, Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management. https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/Table-Rock-Lake/Shoreline-Management/. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
  2. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters, Policy Clarification for Permitted Private Docks Associated with Short-Term Rental Properties (memo dated Sept. 4, 2026), PDF. https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Portals/50/docs/home/assets/Shoreline%20Management%20Private%20Docks%20Associated%20with%20Short%20Term%20Rentals%20Policy%20-%20Signed%20%202026.pdf. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
  3. 36 CFR 327.30, Shoreline Management on Civil Works Projects (eCFR). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-36/chapter-III/part-327/section-327.30. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
  4. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2020 Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management Plan, PDF. https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Portals/50/docs/tablerocklake/Shoreline/trl-smp-2020/2020-Table-Rock-Lake-SMP.pdf. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
  5. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Table Rock Lake Shoreline Permit Request Forms. https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/Table-Rock-Lake/Shoreline-Management/Shoreline-Permit-Request-Forms/. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
  6. Revised Statutes of Missouri §306.127 (boating safety identification card). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=306.127. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
  7. Missouri State Highway Patrol, Water Patrol Division, Programs and Services. https://www.mshp.dps.mo.gov/MSHPWeb/WaterPatrol/programsAndServices.html. Checked Oct 20, 2026.

Last checked October 20, 2026. Spot something out of date? Give us a holler and we’ll fix it.