Massage Therapy 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 Board of Licensure for Massage Therapy — Massage Therapist License

   Massage therapists in Kentucky are licensed by the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Massage Therapy, (502) 782-8808, under KRS 309.350 to 309.364. An applicant must show completion of at least 600 classroom hours at a board-approved massage therapy program and pass a board-approved examination — the MBLEx or another FSMTB exam, an NCBTMB entry-level exam, an exam from an NCCA-approved certifying agency, an NBCA entry-level exam, or the Ohio or New York state licensing exam. Licences renew biennially, and a licence expired 91 days or more must be reinstated rather than renewed. Non-medical massage services are also subject to Kentucky's 6% sales tax under KRS 139.200(2)(an).

   Official government source

   $200 initial licence and $200 biennial renewal. Late renewal is $225 within 60 days of expiry or $250 from 61 to 90 days; reinstatement adds $100 to $300 depending on how long the licence has lapsed, and no reinstatement is possible after five years. Inactive status is $50 to issue and $50 a year·Not published by the board

   $200 initial licence and $200 biennial renewal. Late renewal is $225 within 60 days of expiry or $250 from 61 to 90 days; reinstatement adds $100 to $300 depending on how long the licence has lapsed, and no reinstatement is possible after five years. Inactive status is $50 to issue and $50 a year

   Not published by the board

2. 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

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 Zoning Approval and Certificate of Occupancy

   A commercial space used as a massage therapy practice must be cleared for that occupancy before opening. The City of Bowling Green Building Division in Neighborhood and Community Services issues building and electrical permits and handles change-of-occupancy approvals, plan review and inspections (707 E. Main Ave., (270) 393-3615, [email protected]) — not the City's Finance Department, which handles business registration and occupational tax. Whether the address is zoned for a personal service business is determined under the joint zoning ordinance administered by the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County (warrenpc.org), the joint planning agency for Bowling Green and Warren County. A massage facility in Bowling Green also needs the City's separate massage facility regulatory license from the Office of Occupational License.

   Official government source

   The City Building Division does not publish an occupancy fee schedule online. The Planning Commission's published fee schedule lists a Conditional Use Permit or Variance at $330 and a Land Use Certificate at $50·Not published by the City Building Division

   The City Building Division does not publish an occupancy fee schedule online. The Planning Commission's published fee schedule lists a Conditional Use Permit or Variance at $330 and a Land Use Certificate at $50

   Not published by the City Building Division

Official Sources

• Kentucky Board of Licensure for Massage Therapy — Massage Therapist License
• City of Bowling Green Finance Department

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