7 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the annual report, certificate of assumed name (dba), employer identification number (ein), tax registration: sales and use tax permit, employer withholding, limited liability entity tax, occupational license tax registration (city and county) and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 1 more.
How to open a business in Kentucky
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page.
What licenses do you need to open a business in Kentucky? 7, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in Kentucky takes. A license specific to your kind of business comes from the agency that regulates it; if one of the twenty named businesses is close to yours, its page lists those too.
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 4Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 7 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
Set up the business0 of 3
File online through Kentucky Business One Stop or on the Secretary of State’s form. The articles name a registered agent with a Kentucky street address. A report not filed by June 30 puts the LLC in bad standing; filed by August 31 it returns to good standing without penalty, and the fee is waived for a veteran-owned business.
- Fee
- Premium only
- Renewal
- Premium only
- Official page
- sos.ky.gov
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Before the first hireOpens after step 3
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the businesses already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a business at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The business check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State fee schedule and articles of organization form (KLC); Kentucky Business One Stop annual report page; KRS 365.015; Secretary of State fee schedule; IRS EIN page; Kentucky Business One Stop registration pages; Department of Revenue corporation income and limited liability entity tax pages; KRS 141.0401; Louisville Metro Revenue Commission registration and OL-3 instructions (LMCO 110.07); city and county occupational license ordinances; Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction building code pages; Louisville Metro change of use permit page; local zoning ordinances; Office of Unemployment Insurance 2026 employer guide (taxable wage base and new employer rate); Education and Labor Cabinet workers’ compensation employer FAQ; KRS 342.630. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.