Catering Business Permit Requirements in Louisville, 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. Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness — Food Service Establishment Permit

   A catering business operating out of Louisville needs a food service establishment permit from Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness, whose Public Health Protection and Food Safety program handles food permits, plan review, and inspections. The operation must work from a permitted commercial kitchen and pass plan review and an on-site inspection, and a certified food manager is required.

   Official government source

   Under the department's Public Health Protection and Food Safety fee schedule: an $80 local food service establishment fee, plus the state schedule's food service permit fee based on seating — $0 with no seats, $75 for 1 to 25 seats, up to $215 for 201 or more — and an additional $135 where catering is included·Not published by the department; the permit follows plan review and an on-site inspection

   Under the department's Public Health Protection and Food Safety fee schedule: an $80 local food service establishment fee, plus the state schedule's food service permit fee based on seating — $0 with no seats, $75 for 1 to 25 seats, up to $215 for 201 or more — and an additional $135 where catering is included

   Not published by the department; the permit follows plan review and an on-site inspection

2. Louisville Metro Revenue Commission — Occupational License Tax Registration

   Louisville Metro does not issue a general local business license. The Louisville Metro Revenue Commission states that to start a new business "there is no local business license required"; instead a new business must register with the Revenue Commission, the Jefferson County Clerk's Office, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Registration with the Revenue Commission opens an occupational license tax account. The tax is on net profits (and on employee wages, withheld quarterly on Form W-1), reported annually on Form OL-3, due the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the taxpayer's fiscal year. There is no flat annual license fee. The claim's Develop Louisville URL is the wrong agency; the Revenue Commission administers this registration.

   Official government source

   No local business license fee. Occupational license tax of 2.2% (resident rate) or 1.45% (non-resident rate) on net profits and on wages; minimum $25 penalty for filing late·Not published by the Revenue Commission; registration is completed online. The annual OL-3 return is due the 15th day of the 4th month after the fiscal year ends

   No local business license fee. Occupational license tax of 2.2% (resident rate) or 1.45% (non-resident rate) on net profits and on wages; minimum $25 penalty for filing late

   Not published by the Revenue Commission; registration is completed online. The annual OL-3 return is due the 15th day of the 4th month after the fiscal year ends

Official Sources

• Jefferson County Health Department
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Permit

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