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Step-by-step guide · checked against state sources
How to start a nonprofit in Kentucky
Updated October 2026
Kentucky charges eight dollars to incorporate, which is almost certainly the lowest in the country, then charges nearly twice that for the annual report. Here is the whole path, checked against state sources.
File Form NAI, Articles of Incorporation for a Non-profit Corporation, with the Secretary of State for $8. Charity registration with the Attorney General is free. A new organization files a notice of intent to solicit and the Unified Registration Statement; after that you mail a copy of your Form 990 each year you solicit. Annual report to the Secretary of State by June 30 every year, $15. Sales tax purchase exemption is Form 51A125.
How to start a nonprofit in Kentucky, step by step
Name your Kentucky nonprofit
Kentucky does require a corporate designator: the name must end with corporation, company or limited, or the abbreviation Corp., Inc., Co. or Ltd. 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.
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.
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 can be filed online through the Secretary of State's FastTrack system, or by mail or in person.
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.
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.
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.
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. If you cannot use the EZ, you file the full Form 1023, $600. For most groups, this is the step that makes donations tax-deductible. Some groups can be tax-exempt without applying, such as churches, some very small charities, and local chapters covered by their national group's IRS group exemption. 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.
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.
Register to fundraise
Register with the Attorney General's office before soliciting, and note that there is 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.
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: the first report is due between 1 January and 30 June of the year after you incorporate, then by 30 June every year after that. 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
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.
Charity registration is a 990 in an envelope
There is no fee to pay, and after your first filing the yearly registration is a copy of your Form 990. The Attorney General does not accept electronic submission: registration goes in as PDFs on a CD or thumb drive, physically mailed.
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.
The Ember tool for thisEmber Spark
Ember Spark walks you from idea to real nonprofit, one step at a time, free. In an Ember account, it also drafts your bylaws, conflict-of-interest policy and Form 1023 narrative for you to finish, and links you to your state's filing office. Unlimited users on every tier.
Sources: Kentucky SOS fee schedule; Kentucky SOS annual reports; Kentucky AG charity registration; Kentucky Form 51A125. Read 1 September 2026.