A short-term rental permit application is rarely a single photo. The packet usually asks for several photos at once: the front of the property, each bedroom, the parking area, and the emergency exit route, all combined into one file the permit office can file away. iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, and many permit portals only accept a PDF packet — so a perfectly good set of photos can be refused with a vague "invalid file type" message right when you are trying to finish the application.
- Keep the HEIC originals
Do not overwrite your originals. Convert copies for the application packet and keep the HEIC masters, in case the permit office later asks for a clearer photo of a room or the parking area.
- Do not just rename files to .pdf
Renaming changes the extension, not the contents. The files will still be HEIC data, and the portal will still reject them.
- Convert the copies into one PDF for the application
If you need a PDF packet quickly, you can convert HEIC photos to PDF for short-term rental permit applications entirely in the browser: the conversion happens on your own device, nothing is uploaded, and no account is needed. Put the photos in the order the application asks for them, then check the PDF preview before submitting — confirm every room is the right way up and nothing is cut off at the page edge.
That is the whole fix: one converted PDF packet, uploaded as the permit office asks, and the application goes through. If the portal also has a file-size limit, convert a second, smaller copy rather than dropping a required photo from the packet.
Disclosure: I'm the developer of FileOnTap.
