HVAC Contractor 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. EPA Clean Air Act Section 608 Technician Certification (Refrigerant Handling)

   Section 608 of the Clean Air Act prohibits the intentional venting of ozone-depleting refrigerants and their substitutes during the maintenance, service, repair or disposal of appliances, and requires certification of the individuals doing that work. A person must be certified to perform any activity that could release refrigerant, including attaching or detaching gauges, adding or removing refrigerant, or otherwise breaking into the appliance; an apprentice working under the direct supervision of a certified technician is exempt. There are four credentials: Type I for servicing small appliances; Type II for servicing or disposing of high-pressure and very-high-pressure appliances, which excludes small appliances and motor vehicle air conditioners; Type III for servicing or disposing of low-pressure appliances; and Universal for servicing all types of equipment. Motor vehicle air conditioning is handled under Section 609 instead, so an HVAC contractor who also services car air conditioners needs that separate credential. The test must be administered by an EPA-approved certifying organization, and a core test taken open-book cannot count toward Universal certification, which requires a proctored core exam. EPA does not issue certification cards; the approved program does. Section 608 credentials do not expire. The certification also controls purchasing: EPA's sales restriction allows only certified technicians to buy ozone-depleting refrigerants and their non-ozone-depleting substitutes, with employers of certified technicians able to purchase on written verification of employment, and wholesalers required to keep invoices showing purchaser name, sale date and quantity. Kentucky adds nothing to this — it is a federal requirement that runs alongside the state HVAC contractor and journeyman licensing administered under 815 KAR 8:010.

   Official government source

   No government fee. EPA charges nothing for Section 608 certification, sets no exam price, and does not administer the test; the cost is whatever the EPA-approved certifying organization charges for its own proctored or open-book exam, and it differs by program. There is no renewal cost because the credential does not expire·No processing period — certification is granted by the approved certifying organization on passing its test, and the credential is permanent. The only sequencing constraint is that Universal certification requires the core exam to have been taken proctored rather than open-book

   No government fee. EPA charges nothing for Section 608 certification, sets no exam price, and does not administer the test; the cost is whatever the EPA-approved certifying organization charges for its own proctored or open-book exam, and it differs by program. There is no renewal cost because the credential does not expire

   No processing period — certification is granted by the approved certifying organization on passing its test, and the credential is permanent. The only sequencing constraint is that Universal certification requires the core exam to have been taken proctored rather than open-book

1. Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — HVAC Contractor License

   HVAC contractors in Kentucky must be licensed by the Division of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning within the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, a requirement in force since July 1995 under KRS 198B.650-198B.689. A master HVAC contractor license requires passing the state examination; employees performing HVAC work need a journeyman HVAC mechanic license. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is separately required to handle refrigerants.

   Official government source

   Master HVAC contractor: $150 examination fee plus $250 for a twelve-month license ($250 annual renewal). Journeyman HVAC mechanic: $50 examination fee plus $50 for a twelve-month license·Not published by the Division of HVAC

   Master HVAC contractor: $150 examination fee plus $250 for a twelve-month license ($250 annual renewal). Journeyman HVAC mechanic: $50 examination fee plus $50 for a twelve-month license

   Not published by the Division of HVAC

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

3. Louisville Metro Office of Construction Review — HVAC / Mechanical Permit (per project)

   Louisville issues its own HVAC and mechanical permits through the Office of Construction Review, a division of Codes and Regulations, rather than through the state Division of HVAC. A permit is required for each new or replacement system, and each permit includes three inspections; the permit holder is responsible for requesting them. The installing contractor must supply the complete installation value, including labour and materials, for commercial work.

   Official government source

   One- and two-family and multi-family dwellings: $105 for the first system plus $50 for each additional system. Commercial and non-residential: by installation value, from $125 at $2,000 or less to $3,965 at $1,500,001 to $1,600,000. Refrigeration $40 per compressor, manufactured fireplaces $50 per unit, range hoods $75 per unit. Additional inspections $50 each·Not published by the Office of Construction Review; an expired permit can be reactivated within 180 days for $35

   One- and two-family and multi-family dwellings: $105 for the first system plus $50 for each additional system. Commercial and non-residential: by installation value, from $125 at $2,000 or less to $3,965 at $1,500,001 to $1,600,000. Refrigeration $40 per compressor, manufactured fireplaces $50 per unit, range hoods $75 per unit. Additional inspections $50 each

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

Official Sources

• Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — HVAC Contractor License
• Louisville Metro Revenue Commission
• EPA Section 608 Certification

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