Food Truck Permit Requirements in Lexington, 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. Lexington-Fayette County Health Department — Mobile Food Unit Permit

   Food trucks operating in Lexington must be permitted by the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department's Environmental Health office, which handles food truck permits, food handler and food manager certifications, plumbing plan review, and restaurant, grocery and catering openings. The unit is inspected before the permit is issued, and the registration renews annually; a per-event mobile unit registration is also offered. Lexington and Fayette County are a consolidated government, so there is no separate "City of Lexington Environmental Health" office. Contact the department at (859) 231-9791.

   Official government source

   Set by the department's published Local Fee Schedule, which lists mobile unit registration on a yearly basis and on a per-event basis separately from food service establishment permits; confirm the current amount with Environmental Health·Not published by the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department

   Set by the department's published Local Fee Schedule, which lists mobile unit registration on a yearly basis and on a per-event basis separately from food service establishment permits; confirm the current amount with Environmental Health

   Not published by the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department

2. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government — Division of Revenue — Occupational License

   Every business entity operating in Fayette County must apply for and obtain an initial occupational license from the LFUCG Revenue Department before starting business. The occupational license fee is a flat 2.25% of an individual's compensation and a business's net profits — there is no fee tier by business type — reported on an annual Net Profits License Fee Return. Employers file an Employer's Return of License Fee Withheld quarterly, or monthly when quarterly withholding exceeds $300, plus an annual Reconciliation of License Fee Withheld.

   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

3. Commissary Agreement

   The Kentucky retail food code, enforced in Lexington by the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, requires a mobile food unit to operate from an approved commissary — a permitted commercial kitchen used for food preparation, storage, water and waste servicing, and cleaning. A signed commissary agreement is submitted with the mobile food unit application to the department's Environmental Health office, which handles temporary and mobile food service permitting.

   Official government source

   No government fee for the agreement itself; commissary rental is a private arrangement whose rate varies. LFCHD charges $100 for yearly mobile unit registration or $25 per event·Must be in place before the health department will issue the mobile food unit permit

   No government fee for the agreement itself; commissary rental is a private arrangement whose rate varies. LFCHD charges $100 for yearly mobile unit registration or $25 per event

   Must be in place before the health department will issue the mobile food unit permit

Official Sources

• Lexington / Fayette County Health Department
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Permit

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