Fitness Studio 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 Attorney General — Health Spa Registration and Surety Bond (KRS 367.900 to 367.930)

   Kentucky's Health Spa Act reaches most fitness studios. KRS 367.900(1) defines a health spa as any for-profit establishment providing as one of its primary purposes services or facilities purporting to improve physical condition or appearance through sports activities, fitness training, exercise or body building, and expressly includes establishments offering access to gymnasiums, swimming pools, tracks, ball courts, weight lifting equipment, exercise equipment or facilities, saunas, steambaths or whirlpools; nonprofits under 26 U.S.C. 509(a) and establishments limited primarily to diet counseling and special dietary foods are excluded. KRS 367.905(1) requires anyone intending to open or operate a health spa to file a registration statement with the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection before selling any memberships, and to provide a surety bond meeting KRS 367.906 before the first sale. The registration statement must disclose the spa's name and address, the officers, directors and stockholders of the spa and any parent corporation, type of facilities, approximate square footage, whether a shower area is provided, employees and their qualifications, the membership plans offered and their cost, and any completed or pending litigation against the spa or its officers or directors in the last three years. KRS 367.906(3) sets the bond by the number of unexpired contracts, and KRS 367.906(4) exempts a spa only if no initiation or similar nonrecurring fee is charged at or near the start of the term or renewal and no member is ever charged for facilities or services more than thirty-one days in advance. KRS 367.905(3) requires prepaid contract funds to be held in escrow until the spa has been open thirty days, and KRS 367.905(6) treats each separate location as a separate health spa needing its own registration statement and bond even under common ownership. KRS 367.910 and 367.911 govern the written contract and its term, and KRS 367.913 gives members cancellation rights.

   Official government source

   $100 initial registration fee with the registration statement (KRS 367.905(1)(a)) and a $50 annual registration fee with a new registration statement filed on or before July 1 each year after opening (KRS 367.905(2)). Surety bond in favor of the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection under KRS 367.906(3): $10,000 for 150 or fewer unexpired contracts, $25,000 for 151 to 300, and $50,000 for 301 or more; the bond premium is set by the surety. Each separate location pays its own fee and posts its own bond·The registration statement and fee must be filed and the bond provided before any membership is sold in Kentucky — there is no published processing time. Renewal is due on or before July 1 annually. A spa that must file or increase a bond because of a membership or plan change must notify the Office of Consumer Protection in writing at least thirty days before the change

   $100 initial registration fee with the registration statement (KRS 367.905(1)(a)) and a $50 annual registration fee with a new registration statement filed on or before July 1 each year after opening (KRS 367.905(2)). Surety bond in favor of the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection under KRS 367.906(3): $10,000 for 150 or fewer unexpired contracts, $25,000 for 151 to 300, and $50,000 for 301 or more; the bond premium is set by the surety. Each separate location pays its own fee and posts its own bond

   The registration statement and fee must be filed and the bond provided before any membership is sold in Kentucky — there is no published processing time. Renewal is due on or before July 1 annually. A spa that must file or increase a bond because of a membership or plan change must notify the Office of Consumer Protection in writing at least thirty days before the change

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. Louisville Metro Construction Review — Certificate of Use and Occupancy (Assembly / Fitness Use)

   A fitness studio occupying commercial space in Louisville needs a Certificate of Use and Occupancy from the Louisville Metro Office of Construction Review, a division of Codes & Regulations. LMCO 150.001 adopts the Kentucky Building Code in full, and a building permit is required to construct, enlarge, remodel, or change the occupancy of a building, so converting a space to assembly or fitness use is permitted, inspected for exits, ventilation and occupant load, and only then certified. Zoning approval for the use is a separate review by the Louisville Metro Office of Planning under the Land Development Code.

   Official government source

   $75 administrative fee for a Certificate of Use and Occupancy issued without an associated building permit (LMCO 150.096). Where build-out is permitted, the building permit fee is $0.16 per square foot for Assembly occupancy or $0.15 for Business, minimum $75; partial alterations are $50 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated cost, plus a plan review fee of $30 or one-third the permit fee, whichever is higher·Not published by Construction Review; permits are applied for through its online business portal and the certificate issues after final inspection

   $75 administrative fee for a Certificate of Use and Occupancy issued without an associated building permit (LMCO 150.096). Where build-out is permitted, the building permit fee is $0.16 per square foot for Assembly occupancy or $0.15 for Business, minimum $75; partial alterations are $50 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated cost, plus a plan review fee of $30 or one-third the permit fee, whichever is higher

   Not published by Construction Review; permits are applied for through its online business portal and the certificate issues after final inspection

3. Louisville Metro Office of Construction Review — Building Permit

   Renovating or building out a studio space — installing showers, locker rooms, or floor systems — requires a building permit from the Office of Construction Review, a division of Louisville Metro Codes and Regulations. Plans for a commercial fit-out generally have to be prepared or sealed by a licensed architect or engineer, and the department will not issue a residential building permit while the applicant has unresolved building code violations. A Certificate of Use and Occupancy follows final inspection.

   Official government source

   Under LMCO 150.096 (revised February 2024): assembly occupancy $.16 per square foot, business $.15, with a $75 minimum permit fee; partial alterations are $50 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated cost; plan review without permit issuance is the greater of $30 or one third of the permit fee; starting work without a permit doubles the cost through an equal penalty fee·Not published by the Office of Construction Review; an expired permit can be reactivated within 180 days for $35

   Under LMCO 150.096 (revised February 2024): assembly occupancy $.16 per square foot, business $.15, with a $75 minimum permit fee; partial alterations are $50 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated cost; plan review without permit issuance is the greater of $30 or one third of the permit fee; starting work without a permit doubles the cost through an equal penalty fee

   Not published by the Office of Construction Review; an expired permit can be reactivated within 180 days for $35

Official Sources

• Louisville Metro Revenue Commission
• Kentucky Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Permit

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