Insurance Agent 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 Department of Insurance — Business Entity Producer (Agency) License

   If an insurance agency operates as a business entity — LLC, corporation or partnership — rather than through individual producers only, the entity itself must hold a separate business entity producer licence from the Kentucky Department of Insurance, Division of Licensing, in addition to each individual agent's licence. The entity also needs an appointment with each insurer it represents. Business entity renewals are due by March 31 in odd years if the initial licence was issued in an odd year and in even years if it was issued in an even year; an agent with one or more active appointments renews at no fee.

   Official government source

   $100 for a resident business entity licence plus $100 for each additional line of authority, or $120 plus $120 per line of authority for a non-resident business entity. Appointment per insurer is $100 resident or $120 non-resident. The examination fee for individual producers is $50 per attempt·Not published by the Department of Insurance; most fees are paid online through the KY eServices account

   $100 for a resident business entity licence plus $100 for each additional line of authority, or $120 plus $120 per line of authority for a non-resident business entity. Appointment per insurer is $100 resident or $120 non-resident. The examination fee for individual producers is $50 per attempt

   Not published by the Department of Insurance; most fees are paid online through the KY eServices account

1. Kentucky Department of Insurance — Resident Individual Insurance Agent (Producer) License

   This is a statewide license from the Kentucky Department of Insurance, Division of Licensing, not a Lexington or Fayette County requirement — Lexington adds only its own LFUCG occupational license on top. An applicant must satisfy all statutory and regulatory pre-licensing course of study requirements and all statutory and regulatory examination requirements, then apply either electronically through the National Insurance Producer Registry portal or on paper to the Division of Licensing. Kentucky's background check is a criminal record check requested from the Administrative Office of the Courts through the AOCFastCheck portal, not an FBI fingerprint card. The license is issued by class, and a separate fee applies for each line of authority added, so an agent writing both life and health and property and casualty pays more than one writing a single line. A license alone does not let an agent write business: an appointment must be filed by each insurer the agent represents, at a per-insurer fee. Renewal for an individual is due by the end of the birth month, in odd years if born in an odd year and even years if born in an even year, and an agent holding one or more active appointments renews at no charge because the appointment renewals carry the cost instead. Appointment renewals are due by March 31, in odd years for life and health insurers and even years for all other insurers, with a renewal penalty applied April 1 through June 30. Spouses of active-duty military stationed in Kentucky are eligible for a waiver or refund of licensing fees under KRS 12.357.

   Official government source

   Per the Department of Insurance Division of Licensing fee summary: resident individual agent license $40 for the license class, plus an additional $40 for each line of authority; examination fee $50 per exam, retake, or failure to appear for a scheduled exam, with property and casualty charged as one combined $50 exam when taken at the same time; resident individual appointment $40 per insurer, with one fee covering life, variable life, variable annuities and health together, one fee covering property and casualty together, and a separate fee for each other line of authority; certification or clearance letter $5. License renewal for an agent with one or more active appointments is $0. Pre-licensing course tuition is charged by the private course provider and the Administrative Office of the Courts charges its own fee for the AOCFastCheck record check·Not published by the Department of Insurance. The sequence is pre-licensing course, then the exam at a scheduled Kentucky test site, then the AOCFastCheck criminal record check, then the NIPR or paper application; each insurer's appointment is filed separately after the license issues

   Per the Department of Insurance Division of Licensing fee summary: resident individual agent license $40 for the license class, plus an additional $40 for each line of authority; examination fee $50 per exam, retake, or failure to appear for a scheduled exam, with property and casualty charged as one combined $50 exam when taken at the same time; resident individual appointment $40 per insurer, with one fee covering life, variable life, variable annuities and health together, one fee covering property and casualty together, and a separate fee for each other line of authority; certification or clearance letter $5. License renewal for an agent with one or more active appointments is $0. Pre-licensing course tuition is charged by the private course provider and the Administrative Office of the Courts charges its own fee for the AOCFastCheck record check

   Not published by the Department of Insurance. The sequence is pre-licensing course, then the exam at a scheduled Kentucky test site, then the AOCFastCheck criminal record check, then the NIPR or paper application; each insurer's appointment is filed separately after the license issues

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

Official Sources

• Kentucky Department of Insurance — Insurance Producer License
• Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government — Revenue Division

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