Business Licensing & Operations in Kentucky (2026)

In unincorporated Franklin County, Kentucky, no one can establish, operate or maintain an adult entertainment…

In unincorporated Oldham County, Kentucky, no alcohol licensee may offer nudity or adult entertainment on licensed…

Boone County requires a sexually oriented business license and a separate employee license before anyone may operate or…

In the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Chapter 24 requires anyone operating a sexually explicit entertainment…

Campbell County requires a business privilege license before anyone can operate a sexually oriented business or service…

Daviess County requires a County Clerk license, renewed annually, for any adult entertainment establishment and its…

In unincorporated Jessamine County, Kentucky, Chapter 112 of the Fiscal Court's code regulates eight classes of…

Kenton County requires a business privilege license before anyone may operate a sexually oriented business or service…

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government requires every adult cabaret, adult dancing establishment, or sexual…

Louisville Metro requires adult entertainment establishments to hold a $1,000 annual Director-issued license and keeps…

In unincorporated McCracken County, Kentucky, adult entertainment establishments are confined to the C (Commercial)…

In the City of Owensboro, an adult entertainment establishment can locate only in a B-2, B-3, B-4, or B-5 zone, and…

Campbell County Code of Ordinances § 117.04(E)(4) makes it unlawful anywhere in the county, except inside Newport, to…

Kenton County does not license massage parlors: § 113.15(E)(4) of the county code flatly prohibits any massage parlor…

Operating a Massage Facility in Bowling Green requires an annual license from the Department of Finance, plus zoning…

In unincorporated McCracken County, Kentucky, no one may operate a massage establishment without a county business…

Massage facilities in Louisville Metro must hold an annual $200 Department license, and every massage therapist needs a…

Louisville Metro allows tattoo, body art, and piercing parlors by right in C-2 Commercial zoning and above, but not in…

Kentucky regulates retail sales of vapor products through state licensing, age verification, and tax requirements…

Selling vapes or e-cigarettes in Louisville Metro requires an annual retailer license from the Health Department, and…

Lexington-Fayette's indoor smoking ordinance carves out a narrow exception for dedicated vape shops: a 'retail…

Campbell County requires every pawn shop, jewelry store, exchange, or other used-property dealer to hold a Business or…

Secondhand, junk and used auto parts dealers in Lexington-Fayette must register every seller, hold purchased goods ten…

Secondhand dealers operating in Louisville Metro must hold a license from the Department of Specialty Permits and…

Merchants buying or selling precious metals, jewels and gems in unincorporated Oldham County must hold a $50 annual…

Boone County requires anyone buying, selling or trading second-hand or antique jewelry, coins, watches, diamonds…

Bowling Green Code Sec. 9-1.07 requires every secondhand or antique dealer in precious metals, jewelry, coins and…

Daviess County requires every dealer in secondhand jewelry, coins, precious metals, and similar items to keep a daily…

In unincorporated Jessamine County, Kentucky, Chapter 113 of the Fiscal Court's code governs any business making…

Kenton County requires anyone buying used or pawned goods to hold a business regulatory license under the county's…

Anyone buying or selling scrap metal, secondhand goods, or precious metals in unincorporated McCracken County must keep…

Owensboro requires anyone buying, selling, or trading secondhand jewelry, coins, precious metals, or similar items to…

Pawnbrokers in Lexington-Fayette must hold a $250 annual special fee license, file a daily report with the Division of…

Chapter 114 of the Franklin County Code, adopted by the Fiscal Court in 1981, covers pawnbrokers in unincorporated…

Louisville Metro requires every pawnbroker to hold a license from the Department of Specialty Permits and Licenses…

Every pawnbroker operating in unincorporated McCracken County, Kentucky must hold a county license, post a $1,000…

Owensboro licenses pawnbrokers under Municipal Code Article VI. Every licensee must post a $1,000 bond approved by the…

In unincorporated Franklin County, Kentucky, automobile and small engine repair is prohibited as a home occupation…

Home-based auto detailing is allowed in Campbell County as a general home-based business under § 154.046(C)(3)(b)…

Louisville Metro lets residents fix their own vehicles at home, but working on someone else's car for pay or repairing…

In unincorporated Jessamine County, Kentucky, § 92.36(E)(1) and (J) limit night-time repairing, rebuilding, modifying…

Lexington-Fayette's private impound (non-consent) tow ordinance caps what a wrecker company can charge to release your…

Oldham County's Wrecker Rotation Ordinance limits police-requested incident tows to six approved companies on a…

The City of Owensboro's Wrecker Service Ordinance, Municipal Code Ch. 27 Art. II, has the police department run a…

Boone County doesn't license towing companies, but County Code § 71.15 sets the rules a towing service must follow when…

In the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky, private tow operators cannot boot, tow or remove a vehicle from a private…

Daviess County runs non-consent, accident-scene towing through Sheriff-administered wrecker, body-shop, and storage…

Private tow operators in Louisville Metro must be licensed, cap fees by vehicle weight class, post lot signage, and get…