Event Planning Permit Requirements in Louisville, 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. Louisville Metro Revenue Commission — Occupational License Tax Registration

   Event planning businesses in Louisville Metro register with the Louisville Metro Revenue Commission. 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. Note that social event planning and coordination services are also subject to Kentucky's 6% state sales tax under KRS 139.200(2)(aj).

   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. Louisville Metro Special Event Permit (Office of Special Events or Parks and Recreation)

   Louisville runs two separate special event permits. The Louisville Metro Office of Special Events, part of Emergency Services at 410 S. Fifth Street Suite 323, handles events on Metro public property and streets, and any event needing two or more city services such as solid waste, EMS, electrical service or no-parking signage; it applies LMCO Chapter 100 on parades and public assemblies and takes applications through the Accela business portal, with the processing fee due at submission. Events held inside a Louisville park go instead to the Louisville Parks and Recreation reservations office, which charges its own permit fee on top of any shelter rental. Beyond fees, the organizer is billed 100 percent of the cost of city services used, and an outstanding balance from a past event blocks a new application. Most events must supply a certificate of insurance, a security plan reviewed by LMPD, an emergency action plan, a site map and a maintenance-of-traffic plan; Public Works reviews traffic control, and a state road needs a separate closing permit from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. General liability must be at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate from a carrier rated AM Best A-VI or better, naming Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government as an additional insured. Fireworks, filming, food and alcohol sales, metered-space bagging and large tents each need their own additional permits.

   Official government source

   Office of Special Events non-refundable processing fee: $40 for a small event under 500 attendees, $75 for a large event over 500, $25 for a parade, $40 for filming, $175 for fireworks or pyrotechnics — plus 100 percent of the cost of city services used, discounted 25 percent for a 501(c)(3) in good standing. An event in a park pays Parks and Recreation instead: $150 for a private function permit or $250 as the starting special event fee, plus shelter rental·Office of Special Events: apply at least 60 days before a small event under 500 attendees and 90 days before a large event over 500; late applications may not be approved. Parks: apply at least 30 days ahead, with insurance, signed permit and payment also due 30 days before

   Office of Special Events non-refundable processing fee: $40 for a small event under 500 attendees, $75 for a large event over 500, $25 for a parade, $40 for filming, $175 for fireworks or pyrotechnics — plus 100 percent of the cost of city services used, discounted 25 percent for a 501(c)(3) in good standing. An event in a park pays Parks and Recreation instead: $150 for a private function permit or $250 as the starting special event fee, plus shelter rental

   Office of Special Events: apply at least 60 days before a small event under 500 attendees and 90 days before a large event over 500; late applications may not be approved. Parks: apply at least 30 days ahead, with insurance, signed permit and payment also due 30 days before

3. Louisville Metro Temporary Activity Permit (Land Development Code 4.3.7)

   There is no separate Jefferson County permit. The unincorporated areas of Jefferson County are part of the Louisville Metro planning unit, and the Louisville/Jefferson County Land Development Code governs the whole county, so a large outdoor event on private property is handled by the same Metro Temporary Activity Permit. Under LDC 4.3.7 the Planning Director or a designee may permit temporary activities in any zoning or form district — the code names temporary carnivals and fairs, temporary parking lots, circuses, rodeos, haunted houses and show houses. Standards: no event may exceed 10 days in a residential zoning district or 30 days in a non-residential district, and no more than two events may be held on the same property in a calendar year; no permanent changes to the site; temporary fencing to keep parking off adjacent properties and environmentally sensitive areas; no activity within a required stream or wetland buffer; any pavement or gravel removed and the ground reseeded within two weeks; vehicle ingress and egress approved by the Director of Works; and in a residential district no activity within 200 feet of a dwelling without the owner's written consent. Small incorporated cities inside the county may apply their own version of the code. Events on Metro public property go through the Office of Special Events instead.

   Official government source

   $25 Temporary Activity Permit fee on the Louisville Metro Planning Commission fee schedule·Not published by the Office of Planning; the permit is issued administratively by the Planning Director or a designee rather than through a hearing

   $25 Temporary Activity Permit fee on the Louisville Metro Planning Commission fee schedule

   Not published by the Office of Planning; the permit is issued administratively by the Planning Director or a designee rather than through a hearing

Official Sources

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

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