Handyman 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 Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — Contractor Registration

   Kentucky has no statewide general or residential contractor license or registration. The Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction licenses only specific trades — electrical, plumbing, HVAC, boiler and elevator — so a handyman performing that trade work must hold the corresponding state trade license. Check the city or county for any local contractor registration and for building permit requirements.

   Official government source

   None — Kentucky has no state general contractor registration·Not applicable — no state registration exists

   None — Kentucky has no state general contractor registration

   Not applicable — no state registration exists

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 — Contractor's License and Building Permit

   Regulated handyman work in Louisville — structural alterations, electrical, HVAC and plumbing — requires permits from the Louisville Metro Office of Construction Review, a division of Codes & Regulations, which enforces the Kentucky Building Code adopted by LMCO 150.001. To pull those permits a contractor must first hold a Louisville Metro contractor's license, which requires a certificate of liability insurance (or a notarized no-employee affidavit) and an occupational license number from the Revenue Commission of Jefferson County; residential building licenses also require 6 continuing education credit hours before renewal. Trade work still requires the matching state credential: electrical and plumbing licensing through the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, and a Kentucky Master HVAC Contractor license behind the Metro HVAC license. Plumbing permits are issued by the state, not by Metro.

   Official government source

   Contractor's license $125/year for Building Type A (multiple permits, Jan 1–Dec 31) or $50 for Building Type B (one permit per year); HVAC contractor license $200/year. Building permit fees under LMCO 150.096: $50 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated cost for partial alterations, never less than $75; HVAC $105 for the first system in a one- or two-family dwelling plus $50 per additional system; electrical repairs or added wiring $75 if the work costs $750 or less, $100 if over·Not published by Construction Review; licenses and permits are applied for through its online business portal

   Contractor's license $125/year for Building Type A (multiple permits, Jan 1–Dec 31) or $50 for Building Type B (one permit per year); HVAC contractor license $200/year. Building permit fees under LMCO 150.096: $50 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated cost for partial alterations, never less than $75; HVAC $105 for the first system in a one- or two-family dwelling plus $50 per additional system; electrical repairs or added wiring $75 if the work costs $750 or less, $100 if over

   Not published by Construction Review; licenses and permits are applied for through its online business portal

Official Sources

• Louisville Metro Revenue Commission
• Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — Contractor Registration

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