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Kentucky · Snapshot 09/05/2026

KRS 236.110: Inspection of boilers and pressure vessels required -- Certificate of

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Where this section sits in the code
  1. KRS Chapter 236

inspection -- Periods of inspection -- Penalty for falsifying certificate of

inspection.

(1) Each boiler or pressure vessel used or proposed to be used within this state,

except boilers or pressure vessels exempt under KRS 236.060, shall be

thoroughly inspected as to their construction, installation, and condition as

follows:

(a) Power boilers shall receive a certificate of inspection annually which shall

be an internal inspection where construction permits; otherwise it shall be

as complete an inspection as possible. Such boilers shall also be

externally inspected while under pressure if possible;

(b) Low pressure steam or vapor heating boilers, hot water heating boilers,

and hot water supply boilers shall receive a certificate of inspection

biennially; said inspection shall include internal inspection where

construction permits. External inspections shall be required where

construction does not permit internal inspection;

(c) Pressure vessels shall be inspected at time of installation to ascertain

that they are in conformance with KRS 236.040. Subsequent

reinspections, if any, shall be set by administrative regulation of the

department;

(d) A grace period of two (2) months beyond the periods specified in

paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this subsection may elapse between

inspections;

(e) The department may at its discretion permit longer periods between

inspections;

(f) All new boiler or pressure vessel installations to be used within this state,

excepting boilers or pressure vessels exempted under KRS 236.060,

shall be inspected during the installation period to ascertain that all

pressure piping conforms to the requirements of KRS 236.040. A

certificate of inspection may not be issued on any new installation until

these requirements are fulfilled;

(g) It shall be the responsibility of the installing contractor to request the

above inspection by notifying the boiler inspection section that the

installation is ready for inspection. Notification shall be accomplished prior

to covering of any welded or mechanical joints on pressure piping or

valves by insulation, paint, or structural materials. The contractor shall

provide ready access for the inspector to all parts of the piping system;

(h) Inspection of pressure piping shall apply only to new boiler, pressure

vessel, or new pressure piping system installations, or reinstallations, or

installation of secondhand boilers (as defined under "Boiler Rules and

Regulations"). No annual or biennial reinspection shall be required once

the system has been approved;

(i) "Existing installations," as applied to inspection of piping systems is

defined as any boiler and piping system completed and approved for

operation prior to July 1, 1970, or pressure vessels and associated piping

systems completed and approved for operation prior to July 15, 1980.

These existing installations shall not be subject to the foregoing piping

inspection unless adjudged patently unsafe for operation by a boiler

inspector holding a commission issued by the National Board of Boiler

and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, or by an owner's piping inspector, when

authorized. If an existing installation is so adjudged, the owner or user

shall be granted full rights of appeal as set forth under KRS 236.150;

(j) If an existing installation undergoes extensive overhaul or more than fifty

(50) linear feet of pressure piping requires renewal or is added to the

existing system, the entire system of piping carrying pressure emanating

from the boilers shall be subject to inspection and shall be brought up to

standards required by KRS 236.040;

(k) The installing contractor of a piping system carrying pressure emanating

from a boiler or pressure vessel subject to inspection under provisions of

this chapter, shall pay to the department, upon completion of inspection,

fees in accordance with a schedule established by the department;

(l) Operation of a pressure piping system in conjunction with a boiler or

pressure vessel, either of which has not been inspected and approved as

set forth above, shall be subject to fines and penalties as set forth in KRS

236.990; and

(m) For any boiler or pressure vessel used by a utility to generate power, and

operating under a certificate issued pursuant to KRS 278.020, if the boiler

or pressure vessel is inspected by a special boiler inspector pursuant to

this section, the inspection interval shall be extended to eighteen (18)

months.

(2) The inspections required in this section shall be made by a boiler inspector or

by a special boiler inspector, except that all new installations shall be inspected

by a boiler inspector employed by the department. However, an owner's piping

inspector may inspect new, repaired, and replaced ASME standard process

piping.

(3) If at any time a hydrostatic, pneumatic, or any other nondestructive test shall

be deemed necessary for ascertaining acceptability of a boiler, pressure

vessel, or associated piping, the same shall be made by the contractor or

owner-user, whoever is responsible for the condition, and be witnessed by a

boiler inspector, special boiler inspector, or owner's piping inspector in

authorized locations.

(4) All boilers to be installed in this state after July 1, 1970, and all pressure

vessels installed in this state after July 15, 1980, shall be inspected during

construction as required by the applicable rules and regulations of the

department by a boiler inspector authorized to inspect boilers and pressure

vessels in this state, or, if constructed outside of the state, by an inspector

holding a commission from the national board as an inspector of boilers and

pressure vessels.

(5) No person shall willfully falsify any statement designed to secure the issuance,

renewal or reinstatement of a certificate of inspection. Violation of this

subsection shall subject such a person to the penalties stated in KRS 236.990.

Collected 2026-09-05T20:52:50Z. Source file · JSON

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