Real Estate Agent 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 Real Estate Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance

   Kentucky requires every active real estate licensee to carry Errors and Omissions insurance as a condition of holding an active license. Minimum coverage is $100,000 per occurrence with a $1,000,000 annual aggregate ($2,000,000 for firms with 41 or more affiliated licensees) and a deductible no greater than $2,500. Coverage may be purchased through KREC's group program administered by Rice Insurance Services Company (RISC) or from a qualifying private carrier.

   Official government source

   Premium varies by carrier and is not published by KREC; a $10 processing fee applies when updating insurance information with the Commission·Coverage must be in force before the license can be issued or activated

   Premium varies by carrier and is not published by KREC; a $10 processing fee applies when updating insurance information with the Commission

   Coverage must be in force before the license can be issued or activated

1. Kentucky Real Estate Commission — Sales Associate or Broker License

   Real estate agents in Kentucky are licensed by the Kentucky Real Estate Commission, (502) 564-7760. A sales associate applicant must be at least 18 with a high school diploma or GED, complete Kentucky's 96-hour pre-license course or six academic credit hours of college real estate courses, pass a national criminal history check before sitting the exam, and pass the sales associate exam through PSI. Sales associates licensed after January 1, 2016 must also complete 48 hours of post-license education within their first two years of active licensure. A broker applicant must already hold a Kentucky sales associate license and have averaged at least 20 hours a week for the 24 months immediately before applying, complete 336 classroom hours (21 academic credit hours) of broker education including the 48-classroom-hour Brokerage Management course, pass a criminal history check, and pass the broker exam. Errors and omissions insurance is mandatory — KREC cancels licences for failure to maintain it. Every active licensee must also complete the Kentucky Core Course once every four years.

   Official government source

   Sales associate initial licence $130 active or $120 inactive; broker initial (upgrade) application $60; examination $100, paid to the testing vendor rather than KREC. Renewal, due March 31 of even-numbered years, is $130 active or $120 inactive, with a $200 late renewal fee and a $1,000 fee for late continuing education or Core Course·Not published by the Commission. Criminal background checks must be completed before the exam and are valid for 90 days

   Sales associate initial licence $130 active or $120 inactive; broker initial (upgrade) application $60; examination $100, paid to the testing vendor rather than KREC. Renewal, due March 31 of even-numbered years, is $130 active or $120 inactive, with a $200 late renewal fee and a $1,000 fee for late continuing education or Core Course

   Not published by the Commission. Criminal background checks must be completed before the exam and are valid for 90 days

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

Official Sources

• Kentucky Real Estate Commission — Salesperson or Broker License
• Louisville Metro Revenue Commission

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