Event Planning Permit Requirements in Lexington, KY

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if operating as a business entity (LLC or corporation) or if you have employees. Free from the IRS. You will need an EIN to open a business bank account and sign vendor contracts professionally.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Kentucky Business Registration

   Event planning businesses organized as an LLC, corporation, or limited partnership register with the Kentucky Secretary of State. Under KRS 365.015(3), an assumed name (DBA) certificate for an individual sole proprietor is filed with the county clerk where the person maintains their principal place of business; for a corporation, LLC, LP, or general partnership the certificate goes to the Secretary of State and a filed copy is then recorded with the county clerk for the registered agent's or principal office's county. An LLC provides personal liability protection, which matters when coordinating large events.

   Official government source

   $40 Articles of Organization (LLC) or $40 Articles of Incorporation plus organization tax based on authorized shares (corporation); assumed name certificate $20 to the Secretary of State for entities, plus a county clerk fee set by KRS 64.012 ($46 in Jefferson County)·Entity filings are not given a published processing time; an assumed name certificate is effective on the date it is filed and lasts five years

   $40 Articles of Organization (LLC) or $40 Articles of Incorporation plus organization tax based on authorized shares (corporation); assumed name certificate $20 to the Secretary of State for entities, plus a county clerk fee set by KRS 64.012 ($46 in Jefferson County)

   Entity filings are not given a published processing time; an assumed name certificate is effective on the date it is filed and lasts five years

2. Kentucky Sales and Use Tax Permit — Event Planning Services Are Taxable

   Event planning is not an untaxed professional service in Kentucky. KRS 139.200(2)(aj) lists social event planning and coordination services among the services on which the 6% sales tax is imposed, added by 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 212 sec. 3 effective January 1, 2023, so a planner's coordination and management fee is itself taxable gross receipts, not just any decorations or supplies resold to the client. Neighboring paragraphs catch more of the same work: KRS 139.200(2)(ai) taxes the rental of space for meetings, conventions, short-term business uses, entertainment events, weddings, banquets, parties and other short-term social events, and (q) taxes photography and photofinishing services. KRS 139.200(1)(a) separately taxes retail sales of tangible personal property, which covers decorations, favors, floral arrangements and printed materials sold to the client. KRS 139.240(1) requires every person engaged in or desiring to engage in business as a retailer or seller in Kentucky to file a permit application with the Department of Revenue for each place of business, and KRS 139.250 requires the permit to be conspicuously displayed at that place, and makes it nonassignable and valid only for the person named. The rate is a flat 6% of gross receipts and there are no local sales and use taxes anywhere in Kentucky, so no city or county add-on applies in Louisville, Lexington or Bowling Green. A planner acting as a disclosed agent who merely passes through a vendor's charge is in a different position than one billing the client for the item, so the contract structure matters.

   Official government source

   No fee. Neither KRS 139.240 nor KRS 139.250 prescribes any charge for the retailer's or seller's permit — the Department of Revenue issues the account on the Kentucky Business One Stop registration at no cost. The tax itself is 6% of gross receipts with no local add-on·Not published by the Department of Revenue. KRS 139.240(1) requires the application to be on file for anyone presently engaged in or desiring to engage in business as a retailer, so register before the first taxable sale; registration is filed electronically through the Kentucky Business One Stop and KRS 139.240(4) waives a written signature for electronic registrants

   No fee. Neither KRS 139.240 nor KRS 139.250 prescribes any charge for the retailer's or seller's permit — the Department of Revenue issues the account on the Kentucky Business One Stop registration at no cost. The tax itself is 6% of gross receipts with no local add-on

   Not published by the Department of Revenue. KRS 139.240(1) requires the application to be on file for anyone presently engaged in or desiring to engage in business as a retailer, so register before the first taxable sale; registration is filed electronically through the Kentucky Business One Stop and KRS 139.240(4) waives a written signature for electronic registrants

1. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government — Occupational License

   Event planning businesses operating in Fayette County must apply for and obtain an initial occupational license from the LFUCG Revenue Department before starting. LFUCG issues no flat-fee general business license: the occupational license fee is 2.25% of an individual's compensation and a business's net profits, reported on an annual Net Profits License Fee Return, with quarterly employer withholding returns (monthly if quarterly withholding exceeds $300). A planner working from home is also subject to the LFUCG Zoning Ordinance's home occupation rules.

   Official government source

   $100 initial license fee and a $100 annual minimum license fee, plus the 2.25% occupational license fee on net profits and payroll·Not published by the LFUCG Revenue Department; the license must be obtained before starting business

   $100 initial license fee and a $100 annual minimum license fee, plus the 2.25% occupational license fee on net profits and payroll

   Not published by the LFUCG Revenue Department; the license must be obtained before starting business

2. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government — Special Events Permit

   Events on public property in Lexington-Fayette County — parks, streets, plazas and other public venues — require a Special Events Permit. Event producers first review the city's Special Events Planning Guide, then submit the Special Events Permit Application, the application fee and the other required documents at least 12 weeks before the event; the application is routed through city departments for approval and cost estimates, so the total cost also includes department service charges and a deposit quoted during review. An event planner may submit on a client's behalf. Fee and deposit payments are made at (859) 280-8300 or in person at 218 E. Main St. Events on private property that draw 500 or more guests, use a public road for a run or walk, or sell alcohol must instead file a Private Property Event Notification at least eight weeks in advance.

   Official government source

   $50 application fee, plus city department cost estimates and a deposit quoted during the review·Submit at least 12 weeks before the event for public property; at least eight weeks for a Private Property Event Notification

   $50 application fee, plus city department cost estimates and a deposit quoted during the review

   Submit at least 12 weeks before the event for public property; at least eight weeks for a Private Property Event Notification

3. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government — Special Events Permit (there is no separate Fayette County permit)

   Lexington and Fayette County are a single consolidated government, so there is no separate county temporary use or special event permit for land "outside city limits" — the whole county is LFUCG. Events on public property anywhere in Fayette County use the LFUCG Special Events Permit: review the Special Events Planning Guide, then submit the application, fee and required documents at least 12 weeks before the event. Events on private property must file a Private Property Event Notification at least eight weeks in advance if they draw 500 or more guests, use a public road for a run or walk, or sell alcohol.

   Official government source

   $50 Special Events Permit application fee, plus city department cost estimates and a deposit quoted during review. There is no separate county permit fee·At least 12 weeks before the event for public property; at least eight weeks for a Private Property Event Notification

   $50 Special Events Permit application fee, plus city department cost estimates and a deposit quoted during review. There is no separate county permit fee

   At least 12 weeks before the event for public property; at least eight weeks for a Private Property Event Notification

Official Sources

• Lexington Business Licensing
• Kentucky Secretary of State — Business Registration
• IRS EIN Application

Related Guides