Fitness Studio 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 Attorney General — Health Spa Registration and Surety Bond (KRS 367.900 to 367.930)

   Kentucky's Health Spa Act reaches most fitness studios. KRS 367.900(1) defines a health spa as any for-profit establishment providing as one of its primary purposes services or facilities purporting to improve physical condition or appearance through sports activities, fitness training, exercise or body building, and expressly includes establishments offering access to gymnasiums, swimming pools, tracks, ball courts, weight lifting equipment, exercise equipment or facilities, saunas, steambaths or whirlpools; nonprofits under 26 U.S.C. 509(a) and establishments limited primarily to diet counseling and special dietary foods are excluded. KRS 367.905(1) requires anyone intending to open or operate a health spa to file a registration statement with the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection before selling any memberships, and to provide a surety bond meeting KRS 367.906 before the first sale. The registration statement must disclose the spa's name and address, the officers, directors and stockholders of the spa and any parent corporation, type of facilities, approximate square footage, whether a shower area is provided, employees and their qualifications, the membership plans offered and their cost, and any completed or pending litigation against the spa or its officers or directors in the last three years. KRS 367.906(3) sets the bond by the number of unexpired contracts, and KRS 367.906(4) exempts a spa only if no initiation or similar nonrecurring fee is charged at or near the start of the term or renewal and no member is ever charged for facilities or services more than thirty-one days in advance. KRS 367.905(3) requires prepaid contract funds to be held in escrow until the spa has been open thirty days, and KRS 367.905(6) treats each separate location as a separate health spa needing its own registration statement and bond even under common ownership. KRS 367.910 and 367.911 govern the written contract and its term, and KRS 367.913 gives members cancellation rights.

   Official government source

   $100 initial registration fee with the registration statement (KRS 367.905(1)(a)) and a $50 annual registration fee with a new registration statement filed on or before July 1 each year after opening (KRS 367.905(2)). Surety bond in favor of the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection under KRS 367.906(3): $10,000 for 150 or fewer unexpired contracts, $25,000 for 151 to 300, and $50,000 for 301 or more; the bond premium is set by the surety. Each separate location pays its own fee and posts its own bond·The registration statement and fee must be filed and the bond provided before any membership is sold in Kentucky — there is no published processing time. Renewal is due on or before July 1 annually. A spa that must file or increase a bond because of a membership or plan change must notify the Office of Consumer Protection in writing at least thirty days before the change

   $100 initial registration fee with the registration statement (KRS 367.905(1)(a)) and a $50 annual registration fee with a new registration statement filed on or before July 1 each year after opening (KRS 367.905(2)). Surety bond in favor of the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection under KRS 367.906(3): $10,000 for 150 or fewer unexpired contracts, $25,000 for 151 to 300, and $50,000 for 301 or more; the bond premium is set by the surety. Each separate location pays its own fee and posts its own bond

   The registration statement and fee must be filed and the bond provided before any membership is sold in Kentucky — there is no published processing time. Renewal is due on or before July 1 annually. A spa that must file or increase a bond because of a membership or plan change must notify the Office of Consumer Protection in writing at least thirty days before the change

1. 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

2. Bowling Green Certificate of Occupancy — Assembly / Fitness Use

   A fitness studio in a commercial space needs a certificate of occupancy confirming the space is approved for assembly or fitness use, with adequate means of egress, ventilation, and an appropriate occupant load under the Kentucky Building Code. It is issued by the City of Bowling Green Building Division within Neighborhood and Community Services, which handles building permits, plan review, inspections, and changes of occupancy. Zoning compatibility is administered separately by the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County.

   Official government source

   The Building Division does not publish a permit fee schedule online; the City-County Planning Commission charges $50 for a Land Use Certificate and $330 for a Conditional Use Permit where one is required·Not published by the City of Bowling Green Building Division

   The Building Division does not publish a permit fee schedule online; the City-County Planning Commission charges $50 for a Land Use Certificate and $330 for a Conditional Use Permit where one is required

   Not published by the City of Bowling Green Building Division

3. City of Bowling Green Building Permit (for tenant improvements)

   Building out or renovating a studio space — installing showers, locker rooms, or floor systems — requires a building permit from the City of Bowling Green Building Division within Neighborhood and Community Services, which issues building and electrical permits for remodeling, additions, alterations, and changes of occupancy. Plans are reviewed by the division and may need to be sealed by a licensed architect or engineer. Progress and final inspections are required.

   Official government source

   The Building Division's permit fee schedule is not published online; fees are set by the city's adopted schedule and are typically based on construction value·Not published by the City of Bowling Green Building Division

   The Building Division's permit fee schedule is not published online; fees are set by the city's adopted schedule and are typically based on construction value

   Not published by the City of Bowling Green Building Division

Official Sources

• City of Bowling Green Finance Department
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Permit

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