Kentucky
No Kentucky statute on service deposits was found, and the courts start on the shop’s side. In Patel v. Tuttle Properties, a real-estate deposit case, the Supreme Court of Kentucky said courts favor agreed damages and set one aside when it was grossly out of proportion to the loss a breach might cause, judged when the agreement was made, or so unreasonably large against the anticipated damages or the actual loss that it is a penalty. A deposit sized to what a no-show costs is on firm ground. Patel also turned on wording: an unclear clause sent it back for trial, so a policy that says plainly what happens to the deposit on a no-show and on a timely cancellation avoids that ambiguity.
Does a non-refundable deposit hold up in Kentucky?
In Patel v. Tuttle Properties, where a buyer’s $125,000 earnest money, a deposit toward the purchase, was kept after the sale fell through, the Supreme Court of Kentucky said courts favor agreed damages and enforce them unless the proof clearly shows the amount was grossly disproportionate, judged by the circumstances when the agreement was signed. A court decides whether the deposit, in light of the anticipated damages or the actual loss the breach caused, was reasonable or so large that public policy treats it as a penalty. The Court reversed a judgment that had let the seller keep the deposit, because the clause was ambiguous and no court below had decided that question.
“Courts should, and do, enforce the agreement unless the proof clearly shows that according to the circumstances existing at the time of the execution the amount was grossly disproportionate to the damage which might flow from a breach.” Patel v. Tuttle Properties, LLC, 392 S.W.3d 384 (Ky. 2013)
Showing your refund policy
No general refund-policy disclosure statute was found. The section titles of Kentucky’s consumer protection chapter, KRS Chapter 367, were searched for “refund,” “cancel,” “deposit,” “restock” and “return policy”; its refund rules are for particular businesses. The closest, KRS 367.401, wants a buying club’s contract to promise a full refund on goods not delivered within 6 weeks; it covers goods, not a deposit for a service.
Body-art rules and money
Nothing about deposits, refunds, cancellations or client prices in 902 KAR 45:065 (tattooing) or 902 KAR 45:070 (body piercing and ear piercing), both in the versions effective January 18, 2024. Every fee in them is a registration, inspection or late fee, and the client record the tattoo rule requires, kept 2 years, holds no payment record.
Read: 902 KAR 45:065, Tattooing · 902 KAR 45:070, Body piercing and ear piercing
This page summarizes public law in plain language, with the source each point comes from, read at the source on 2026-09-23. It is not legal advice.