Dog Grooming Salon 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. No Kentucky Dog Groomer License — but Grooming Is a Taxable Service

   Kentucky licenses no dog or pet groomers. The Department of Professional Licensing administers twenty-five regulatory boards, covering professions from applied behavior analysis and chiropractic to massage therapy, private investigators, geologists and radon safety, and none of them regulates grooming; the Kentucky Business One Stop portal likewise states that Kentucky has no statewide business license applying to all businesses, and directs owners to its license database only for business types the Commonwealth specifically regulates. Certification from a private body such as the National Dog Groomers Association of America or International Professional Groomers is voluntary, is not recognized or required by any Kentucky agency, and confers no legal authority. What Kentucky does impose is tax and local licensing. KRS 139.200(2)(j) subjects pet care services, expressly including grooming and boarding services, pet sitting services and pet obedience training services, to the 6% sales tax, so a groomer must register for a sales and use tax permit under KRS 139.240 and collect tax on grooming fees; the flat 6% applies statewide because Kentucky has no local sales and use taxes. Retail sales of shampoos, brushes, collars and other products are separately taxable as tangible personal property under KRS 139.200(1)(a). A groomer must also hold the occupational license of the city or county where the shop operates, which the Department of Revenue does not administer, and a groomer who boards animals overnight crosses into local animal-services kennel licensing, which in Louisville is a Metro Animal Services boarding kennel or cattery license.

   Official government source

   No state license fee, because no Kentucky license exists. Private groomer certification is priced by the association offering it and is not a government charge. The sales and use tax permit itself carries no fee under KRS 139.240 and 139.250; the obligation it creates is collecting 6% on grooming receipts. Local occupational license fees are set by the city or county·Nothing to apply for at the state level. Register for the sales and use tax account through the Kentucky Business One Stop before the first taxable grooming sale, and obtain the local occupational license before opening

   No state license fee, because no Kentucky license exists. Private groomer certification is priced by the association offering it and is not a government charge. The sales and use tax permit itself carries no fee under KRS 139.240 and 139.250; the obligation it creates is collecting 6% on grooming receipts. Local occupational license fees are set by the city or county

   Nothing to apply for at the state level. Register for the sales and use tax account through the Kentucky Business One Stop before the first taxable grooming sale, and obtain the local occupational license before opening

1. 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

2. No Louisville Metro Animal Services License for Grooming Without Boarding

   Louisville Metro Animal Services licenses animal businesses under LMCO 91.023(B), a closed list of fifteen categories: Class A, B and C kennels or catteries, pet shops, livery, riding or boarding stables, animal welfare group shelters, animal-drawn vehicles, theatrical exhibitions, wildlife permits, animal dealers, circuses, boarding kennels or catteries, swine permits, and dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs. Grooming is not among them and the Chapter 91 fee schedule carries no grooming fee. The ordinance's definition of a boarding kennel affirmatively carves grooming out: a grooming shop is swept in only if it advertises boarding other than for grooming, so a salon that holds animals just for the length of a groom needs no license. What does govern the salon is zoning. The Land Development Code permits pet grooming, obedience training and related pet activities by right in the C-1, C-2, C-3, CM, EZ-1 and PEC districts, provided the operation is inside a soundproofed building, no animals are boarded, and there are no runs or pens outside. Adding overnight boarding or outdoor runs turns the salon into a commercial kennel, which needs a Conditional Use Permit under LDC 4.2.17 and a boarding kennel license from Animal Services.

   Official government source

   $0 for grooming without boarding, since no license category applies. If boarding is added, the annual boarding kennel or cattery license is $30 for up to 5 runs or cages, $60 for 6 to 25, $90 for 26 to 50, $120 for 51 to 75, $150 for 76 to 100 and $180 for 101 or more, with a $15 late fee once more than 30 days overdue·Not applicable unless boarding is offered; a license is issued only after the location is inspected and meets Chapter 91, and all licenses take effect July 1 and run one year

   $0 for grooming without boarding, since no license category applies. If boarding is added, the annual boarding kennel or cattery license is $30 for up to 5 runs or cages, $60 for 6 to 25, $90 for 26 to 50, $120 for 51 to 75, $150 for 76 to 100 and $180 for 101 or more, with a $15 late fee once more than 30 days overdue

   Not applicable unless boarding is offered; a license is issued only after the location is inspected and meets Chapter 91, and all licenses take effect July 1 and run one year

3. Louisville Metro Office of Construction Review — Certificate of Use and Occupancy

   A commercial grooming salon needs a Certificate of Use and Occupancy issued by the Office of Construction Review, a division of Louisville Metro Codes and Regulations, confirming the space is zoned for a pet services business and meets the building code for its occupancy classification. If the space is being altered or its Kentucky Building Code use group is changing, a building permit and inspections come first; the certificate is then issued after final inspection.

   Official government source

   $75 administrative fee for a Certificate of Use and Occupancy issued without an associated building permit; where a building permit is needed, mercantile and business occupancies are charged $.15 per square foot with a $75 minimum, or $50 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated cost for partial alterations·Not published by the Office of Construction Review

   $75 administrative fee for a Certificate of Use and Occupancy issued without an associated building permit; where a building permit is needed, mercantile and business occupancies are charged $.15 per square foot with a $75 minimum, or $50 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated cost for partial alterations

   Not published by the Office of Construction Review

Official Sources

• Louisville Metro Revenue Commission
• Jefferson County Animal Services

Related Guides