Starting a handyman business in Kentucky
Kentucky has no state handyman license, so you can start this week. The catch is the line between handyman work and the licensed trades. Cross it on one job and you've got a real problem.
The rules where you work $17
A first 30 days checklist, everyday forms, licenses, workers’ comp and taxes for Kentucky, with a yearly calendar. Instant PDF download.
Buy the packet: $17Digital product, all sales final. Informational only, not legal, financial, tax or business advice.
No state license. The line is what matters.
Kentucky doesn't license handyman work at the state level. That doesn't mean anything goes. The state licenses plumbing, HVAC and electrical, and those laws reach a lot of the small jobs people call a handyman for:
- Plumbing: nobody works the trade without a master or journeyman license.
- Electrical: unlicensed work is allowed only under direct, on-site supervision of a licensed electrician.
- HVAC: the state licenses master contractors and journeymen.
Where a faucet swap or a light fixture falls is not something to guess at. Call the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction before you take that kind of work, or sub it to someone who holds the license.
Then check locally. Louisville Metro and Lexington-Fayette run their own contractor licensing or registration, and most cities and counties want a business or occupational license. Call before you bid there, not after you win.
Source: KRS 318.030, plumbing license · KRS 227A.020, unlicensed electrical work · Kentucky DHBC
Older homes: the lead rule
If you paint, sand, cut or tear out painted surfaces in a home built before 1978, the EPA's lead-safe rule (RRP) applies. The business needs EPA firm certification, and someone on the job needs to be a certified renovator from an accredited class. Kentucky's lead program says RRP is administered by the federal EPA, so you apply there.
Most handyman jobs are in older houses. Get this done before your first paint job, not after a customer asks.
Source: EPA, Renovation, Repair and Painting program · Kentucky environmental lead program
The handyman package: what to have before your first job
- Your floor rate and a minimum chargeSmall jobs eat drive time. Know what your day has to bring in, and set a minimum so a 20-minute job still pays for the trip. Work out your floor rate.
- General liability insuranceProperty managers and homeowners will ask for a certificate. Have one before they ask.
- Your local licenseWhere you live, and every city or county you work in.
- A written agreement on every jobScope, price, deposit and payment terms, signed before you start. If you knock on the door and they sign at their home, Kentucky lets them cancel until midnight of the third business day (KRS 367.420). It doesn't apply when they called you first. The Kentucky packet has the notice wording.
- Know the linePlumbing, HVAC and electrical are licensed. Keep a sub for each one and send that work to them.
- Lead-safe certificationBefore your first paint job in a pre-1978 house.
- A certificate from every helper and subOne employee and comp is mandatory. An uninsured sub's injury can land on your policy.
- A way to get paid the same daySend the invoice from the driveway. Command Center does this, with card payments and a customer portal.
What it takes to open the doors
Put in what each of these will really cost you. Leave out what you already own. The total tells you how many days of work it takes to pay for the start, at your floor rate.
Work out your floor rate and it loads here.
When you’re ready to run work, consider Command Center
Every price you send starts from your floor rate. Proposals, change orders, invoices and receipts go out on your own letterhead, the customer signs and pays online, and every job closes out showing what it actually made.
Education, not legal or tax advice. Rules change. Confirm anything here with the agency or a licensed pro in Kentucky before you rely on it. Last checked November 2026.