Wedding Planner Permit Requirements in Bowling Green, KY

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees, operate as an LLC/corporation, or file certain business tax returns. Free from the IRS. Sole proprietors with no employees may use their SSN instead.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

1. Kentucky Department of Revenue Tax Registration (Kentucky Has No Statewide Business License)

   Kentucky issues no general state business license. The Kentucky Business One Stop portal states plainly that Kentucky does not have a statewide business license that applies to all businesses; instead certain business types need a specific license or permit from the Commonwealth, and more than one may apply. What every business does face is tax registration and, in nearly every city and county, a local occupational license. With the Department of Revenue, a business completes the Kentucky Tax Registration Application through One Stop and opens only the accounts its activity actually triggers — sales and use tax under KRS 139.240 if it makes retail sales of tangible personal property, digital property, or any service enumerated in KRS 139.200(2); employer withholding if it has employees; corporation income and limited liability entity tax accounts if it is an entity; and specialty accounts for tobacco, motor fuels, bank franchise, insurance premiums, dealer loaner or rental vehicles, alcohol, and pass-through entities. A pressure washing business should check KRS 139.200(2)(h), which taxes janitorial services including residential and commercial cleaning and carpet, upholstery and window cleaning, and (g), which taxes landscaping services; a wedding planner is squarely within (aj), social event planning and coordination services, and (ai), rental of space for weddings, banquets, parties and other short-term social events. Separately, most businesses register with the Secretary of State, and the Department of Revenue expressly does not administer local occupational, net profits or gross receipts taxes — those go to the city or county, which in Louisville means the Louisville Metro Revenue Commission, in Lexington the LFUCG Division of Revenue, and in Bowling Green the city's Business License office.

   Official government source

   No fee for Department of Revenue tax registration — neither KRS 139.240 nor KRS 139.250 prescribes a charge for the sales and use tax permit, and the One Stop tax registration application carries no cost. Local occupational license fees are separate and are set by each city and county·Not published by the Department of Revenue. Registration is filed electronically through the Kentucky Business One Stop and KRS 139.240(4) waives a written signature for electronic registrants; KRS 139.240(1) requires the permit application to be on file before engaging in business as a retailer

   No fee for Department of Revenue tax registration — neither KRS 139.240 nor KRS 139.250 prescribes a charge for the sales and use tax permit, and the One Stop tax registration application carries no cost. Local occupational license fees are separate and are set by each city and county

   Not published by the Department of Revenue. Registration is filed electronically through the Kentucky Business One Stop and KRS 139.240(4) waives a written signature for electronic registrants; KRS 139.240(1) requires the permit application to be on file before engaging in business as a retailer

2. Business Insurance for a Kentucky Wedding Planner — What Is Actually Required

   No Kentucky statute or regulation requires a wedding or event planner to carry general liability insurance, and the Commonwealth sets no minimum limit. When a venue conditions access on a certificate of insurance naming it as additional insured, that requirement and its limit come from the venue's own contract, not from Kentucky law, and it varies venue by venue — some publish their own figure, and a planner should read the specific venue agreement rather than assume a market standard. Louisville Metro, for example, sets $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate from an AM Best A-VI or better carrier for permitted special events on Metro property, which is a municipal permit condition rather than a statewide rule. What Kentucky does compel is workers' compensation: KRS 342.630(1) makes any person other than one engaged solely in agriculture with one or more employees in this state mandatorily subject to KRS Chapter 342, so an assistant or day-of coordinator on payroll triggers coverage, and KRS 342.340(1) requires the planner either to insure with an authorized carrier or to qualify as a self-insurer, with evidence of coverage filed with the Department of Workers' Claims within ten days of policy issuance. A solo planner with no employees is not an employer and needs no policy, and is not covered unless he or she elects in. If the planner drives to venues on business, KRS 304.39-110(1) requires split limits of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury plus $25,000 for property damage, or a single limit of at least $60,000, plus basic reparation benefits under KRS 304.39-020(2). Planners should also note the tax exposure that often surprises them: KRS 139.200(2)(aj) makes social event planning and coordination services subject to the 6% sales tax, and (ai) taxes rental of space for weddings, banquets, parties and other short-term social events.

   Official government source

   No government fee and no state-set premium — general liability and workers' compensation are private-market products priced on payroll, revenue and loss history. The fixed Kentucky numbers are penalties for going uninsured on workers' compensation: KRS 342.990(7)(c) a civil fine of $100 to $1,000 per offense with each employee and each day a separate offense, and KRS 342.990(9)(a) a criminal fine of $100 to $1,000 or 30 to 180 days, or both·Workers' compensation must be in force before the first employee works, with the carrier filing evidence of coverage within ten days under KRS 342.340(2). A venue's certificate of insurance deadline is set in that venue's contract; for a Louisville Metro special event permit the insurance is filed with the permit application

   No government fee and no state-set premium — general liability and workers' compensation are private-market products priced on payroll, revenue and loss history. The fixed Kentucky numbers are penalties for going uninsured on workers' compensation: KRS 342.990(7)(c) a civil fine of $100 to $1,000 per offense with each employee and each day a separate offense, and KRS 342.990(9)(a) a criminal fine of $100 to $1,000 or 30 to 180 days, or both

   Workers' compensation must be in force before the first employee works, with the carrier filing evidence of coverage within ten days under KRS 342.340(2). A venue's certificate of insurance deadline is set in that venue's contract; for a Louisville Metro special event permit the insurance is filed with the permit application

1. Bowling Green Business License

   All businesses operating in Bowling Green (sole proprietors, LLCs, corporations) must register with the City's Office of Occupational License (Finance Department) before conducting business. Local businesses pay a one-time $50 registration fee (a $275 cash bond may also be required); there is no flat annual renewal fee. 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 and periodic Employee Withholding Tax Returns if they have employees.

   Official government source

   $50 one-time registration fee (plus possible $275 cash bond); ongoing 2% Occupational License Tax on net profits·Processing time not published by the city; registration is an administrative filing

   $50 one-time registration fee (plus possible $275 cash bond); ongoing 2% Occupational License Tax on net profits

   Processing time not published by the city; registration is an administrative filing

2. DBA (Certificate of Assumed Name) Registration

   If a wedding planning business operates under a trade name (e.g. "Perfect Day Events" rather than the owner's legal name), KRS 365.015 requires a certificate of assumed name before it transacts business under that name. A sole proprietor files the certificate with the county clerk of the county where the principal place of business is located — the Warren County Clerk for a Bowling Green business. A corporation, LLC, limited partnership, or business trust instead delivers the certificate to the Kentucky Secretary of State for filing, then records a file-stamped copy with the county clerk of the county holding its registered agent or principal office. A separate certificate is required for each assumed name.

   Official government source

   Sole proprietor: the county clerk's recording fee set by KRS 64.012 — $33 for a certificate of five pages or fewer. Entity: $20 to the Secretary of State plus the county clerk's recording fee for the file-stamped copy·Effective on the date it is filed; the certificate runs five years and may be renewed within the six months before it expires

   Sole proprietor: the county clerk's recording fee set by KRS 64.012 — $33 for a certificate of five pages or fewer. Entity: $20 to the Secretary of State plus the county clerk's recording fee for the file-stamped copy

   Effective on the date it is filed; the certificate runs five years and may be renewed within the six months before it expires

Official Sources

• City of Bowling Green — Business Licensing
• Kentucky Secretary of State
• IRS — Apply for EIN

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