Tattoo Parlor 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. Bloodborne Pathogen Training (per tattoo artist)

   Kentucky regulates body art statewide through 902 KAR 45:065, administered by local health departments. A tattoo artist may not tattoo without proof of completing bloodborne pathogen training — training meeting 29 C.F.R. 1910.1030 — and must keep that documentation at the studio. Proof of approved training is submitted with Form DFS-303, the Application for Certification or Registration, to the local health department in the district or county where the artist will work, along with the registration fee; the applicant must be at least 18. The registration is valid for one calendar year, expires December 31, and is non-transferable between people or between counties.

   Official government source

   The state sets no fee for the training itself, which is bought from a third-party provider; the tattoo artist registration it supports is $100 a year, with a $50 late fee if the renewal is not received by January 31·Course length is not set by regulation; the training must be completed before the artist tattoos, and the registration it supports expires every December 31

   The state sets no fee for the training itself, which is bought from a third-party provider; the tattoo artist registration it supports is $100 a year, with a $50 late fee if the renewal is not received by January 31

   Course length is not set by regulation; the training must be completed before the artist tattoos, and the registration it supports expires every December 31

1. Body Art Studio Certificate (local health department, 902 KAR 45:065)

   Tattoo and body art studios in Kentucky are certified under 902 KAR 45:065, a Cabinet for Health and Family Services regulation, by the local or district health department for the county where the studio sits — the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness in Louisville and Jefferson County. Each tattoo artist must be at least 18, register individually, and show proof of approved bloodborne pathogen training, with the documentation kept at the studio. Health departments inspect each studio at least twice a year.

   Official government source

   $400 studio certificate for one to four work stations, plus $50 for each additional station; $100 per tattoo artist registration; $100 late fee if renewal is not received by January 31·Certificates expire December 31 each year and must be renewed by January 31; issuance follows a health department inspection

   $400 studio certificate for one to four work stations, plus $50 for each additional station; $100 per tattoo artist registration; $100 late fee if renewal is not received by January 31

   Certificates expire December 31 each year and must be renewed by January 31; issuance follows a health department inspection

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 Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Body Art Establishment License
• Louisville Metro Revenue Commission

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