Catering Business Permit Requirements in Bowling Green, KY

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC or corporation. Free from the IRS.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Kentucky Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Permit (Retailer's or Seller's Permit)

   KRS 139.200 imposes a 6% tax on the gross receipts of all retailers from retail sales of tangible personal property and of digital property, and from the furnishing of the services enumerated in subsection (2). That enumerated list is long and catches many service businesses that assume they are untaxed: landscaping services including lawn care and maintenance, tree trimming, landscape design and installation, and snow plowing or removal (paragraph (g)); janitorial services including residential and commercial cleaning and carpet, upholstery and window cleaning (h); small animal veterinary services (i); pet care services including grooming, boarding, pet sitting and obedience training (j); non-coin-operated laundry and dry cleaning (l); indoor skin tanning (n); non-medical diet and weight reducing (o); extended warranty services (p); photography and photofinishing (q); telemarketing (r); lobbying (t); executive employee recruitment (u); website design and development (v) and website hosting (w); bodyguard services (z); security system monitoring (aa); private investigation (ab); process serving (ac); repossession (ad); personal background checks (ae); parking and valet (af); rental of space for meetings, conventions, weddings, banquets, parties and other short-term social events (ai); social event planning and coordination (aj); leisure, recreational and athletic instructional services (ak); recreational camp tuition (al); personal fitness training (am); massage except when medically necessary (an); cosmetic surgery (ao); body modification including tattooing, piercing, scarification and branding (ap); non-medical laboratory testing (aq); interior decorating and design (ar); household moving (as); specialized design (at); lapidary (au); labor to repair or maintain commercial refrigeration equipment where no property is sold (av); labor to repair or alter apparel, footwear, watches or jewelry where no property is sold (aw); prewritten computer software access services (ax); and data brokering services (ay), the last effective August 1, 2026. KRS 139.240(1) requires every person presently engaged in or desiring to engage in business as a retailer or seller in Kentucky to file a permit application for each place of business, and KRS 139.250 requires the department to issue a separate permit per location, makes it nonassignable, limits it to the person named, and requires it to be conspicuously displayed. There are no local sales and use taxes in Kentucky, so the rate is 6% statewide.

   Official government source

   No fee. Neither KRS 139.240 nor KRS 139.250 prescribes a charge for the retailer's or seller's permit, and the Department of Revenue issues the account at no cost through the Kentucky Business One Stop registration·Not published by the Department of Revenue. KRS 139.240(1) requires the application to be on file before engaging in business as a retailer, and KRS 139.240(4) waives the written signature for electronic registrants, so file through the Kentucky Business One Stop before the first taxable sale

   No fee. Neither KRS 139.240 nor KRS 139.250 prescribes a charge for the retailer's or seller's permit, and the Department of Revenue issues the account at no cost through the Kentucky Business One Stop registration

   Not published by the Department of Revenue. KRS 139.240(1) requires the application to be on file before engaging in business as a retailer, and KRS 139.240(4) waives the written signature for electronic registrants, so file through the Kentucky Business One Stop before the first taxable sale

2. Kentucky Food Code — Certified Food Protection Manager

   Kentucky's food code, 902 KAR 45:005, adopts the 2013 FDA Food Code for all food service establishments and retail food stores. Under that code at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control food preparation and service must be a certified food protection manager. Kentucky replaces FDA Food Code subparagraph 2-102.11(B) so that certification counts if the person passed a test that is part of an accredited program — for example an ANSI-accredited course such as ServSafe — or a local health department class covering the food safety topics in 2-102.11(C). Local health departments run the retail food programme and issue the establishment permits, so confirm accepted courses with the health department in your county.

   Official government source

   Kentucky sets no fee for the certification. The cost is charged by the accredited course provider or by the local health department class, and varies by provider·Not set by regulation; course and examination length varies by provider

   Kentucky sets no fee for the certification. The cost is charged by the accredited course provider or by the local health department class, and varies by provider

   Not set by regulation; course and examination length varies by provider

1. Barren River District Health Department — Food Service Establishment Permit

   A catering business operating out of Bowling Green needs a food service establishment permit from the Barren River District Health Department, the local health authority for Warren County. Apply on form DFS-200; the operation must work from a permitted commercial kitchen and pass an on-site inspection before the permit is issued. Temporary events are permitted separately on form DFS-202, and the department offers a food manager certification class.

   Official government source

   The department does not publish its establishment permit fee schedule online; its food manager certification class is $80·Not published; the permit is issued after the on-site inspection is passed

   The department does not publish its establishment permit fee schedule online; its food manager certification class is $80

   Not published; the permit is issued after the on-site inspection is passed

2. City of Bowling Green Finance Department — Business License

   Bowling Green requires all businesses operating within city limits to register with the Office of Occupational License (Finance Department) — a one-time $50 registration fee (a $275 cash bond may also apply), not an annually re-issued license. Businesses must also file and pay an Occupational License Tax of 2% of net profits (increased from 1.85% effective Jan. 1, 2024) via annual Net Profit Tax Returns, plus periodic Employee Withholding Tax Returns if they have employees.

   Official government source

   $50 one-time registration fee; ongoing 2% Occupational License Tax on net profits·Processing time not published by the city

   $50 one-time registration fee; ongoing 2% Occupational License Tax on net profits

   Processing time not published by the city

Official Sources

• Warren County Health Department
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Permit

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