How to start a nonprofit in Kentucky

How to start a nonprofit in Kentucky, step by step

1. Name your Kentucky nonprofit

   Kentucky does require a corporate designator: the name must contain corporation, incorporated, the abbreviation Inc., or the abbreviation Co. It must also be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records. There is an application for use of an indistinguishable name at $20 if you need it.

2. Choose your first board of directors

   Plan on at least three people who are not related to each other. Some states allow fewer on paper, but three unrelated directors is what the IRS application works best with, and what funders expect. Pick people who will actually show up.

3. File your Articles of Incorporation (Form NAI)

   File Form NAI with the Secretary of State for $8. Kentucky's organization tax does not reach you: it applies only to corporations with capital stock divided into shares. Articles are filed by mail or in person; the online services page covers annual reports, assumed name renewals and registered agent changes, not formation.

4. Name your registered agent

   Kentucky requires a registered agent, continuously maintained, who is a Kentucky resident individual, a Kentucky entity, or a foreign entity authorized in Kentucky. The registered office must be the street address in Kentucky where the agent is located.

5. Adopt bylaws and hold your first board meeting

   Bylaws are your internal rulebook: how directors are chosen, how votes work, what officers you have. At the first meeting the board adopts them, elects officers, and approves opening a bank account. Keep minutes; they are your first governance record.

6. Get your free EIN

   It is free from the IRS; any site charging for an EIN is reselling a free thing. Apply online if your responsible party has an SSN or ITIN and your principal place of business is in the US. It takes minutes. Three limits to know: one EIN per responsible party per day, the tool is not open around the clock, and it times out after 15 minutes with nothing saved. Without an SSN or ITIN you file Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead, which takes weeks. You need the EIN for the bank account and every filing after this.

7. Apply for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS

   Two forms, two fees. The short Form 1023-EZ has a $275 user fee, but you may use it only if you clear the whole Eligibility Worksheet. That means three things. Gross receipts did not exceed $50,000 in any of the past three years. They are not projected to exceed $50,000 in any of the next three years. And total assets are $250,000 or less. Churches, schools, hospitals and a few other types cannot use it at all. Everyone else files the full Form 1023, $600. This is the step that makes donations tax-deductible. The IRS currently issues 80 percent of 1023-EZ decisions within about 22 days and 80 percent of full 1023 decisions within about 191 days. It publishes current figures on its status page. Fees read 1 September 2026.

8. Handle Kentucky taxes

   Income tax is automatic: entities exempt under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code are exempt from Kentucky corporation income tax, and you do not send your Form 990 to the Department of Revenue. Sales tax needs two separate things. Form 51A125 applies for a purchase exemption covering what you buy, and once issued you present Form 51A126 to vendors. Separately, since 26 March 2019, sales of admissions and tangible property at nonprofit fundraising events are exempt, though that does not cover a nonprofit-run thrift store or bookstore.

9. Register to fundraise

   Register with the Attorney General's office before soliciting, and note that there is no registration form and no fee. You file a copy of your most recent federal Form 990, including a 990-N postcard, each year in which you solicit in Kentucky, at the same time you file it with the IRS. New organizations file a notice of intent to solicit, which expires on 31 December of the year it is filed, and submit the determination letter, articles, bylaws and the multistate Unified Registration Statement. Exemptions are categorical rather than size-based: member solicitations, religious purposes, educational institutions soliciting their own community, and campus student or parent-teacher groups.

10. Stay in good standing

    File the annual report with the Secretary of State by 30 June every year, $15. It is a fixed statewide deadline, not your anniversary, so an organization formed in May has a report due six weeks later. Not filing leads to administrative dissolution, and reinstatement costs a $100 penalty plus a letter of good standing from the Department of Revenue.

Kentucky-specific things to know

1. The annual report costs nearly twice the incorporation

   $8 to form, $15 a year to stay. Kentucky charges a for-profit $40 to incorporate, so nonprofits get a genuine break at the door and pay the same as everyone else afterward.

2. Charity registration is a 990 in an envelope

   There is no form to find and no fee to pay. The Attorney General does not accept electronic submission: registration goes in as PDFs on a CD or thumb drive, physically mailed.

3. No dollar threshold for charity registration

   Kentucky's exemptions are categorical, not size-based. A tiny secular charity soliciting the public still files; a large church soliciting for religious purposes does not.

General information for people starting a nonprofit in Kentucky, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and fees are updated; confirm specifics with the Kentucky offices named on this page, the IRS, or a qualified professional before you file.

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Sources: Kentucky SOS fee schedule; Kentucky SOS annual reports; Kentucky AG charity registration; Kentucky Form 51A125. Read 1 September 2026.