{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-186.010","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 186.010","heading":"Definitions for chapter.","body":"As used in this chapter, unless otherwise indicated:\n(1) \"Cabinet,\" as used in KRS 186.400 to 186.640, means the Transportation Cabinet;\nexcept as specifically designated, \"cabinet,\" as used in KRS 186.020 to 186.270,\nmeans the Transportation Cabinet only with respect to motor vehicles, other than\ncommercial vehicles; \"cabinet,\" as used in KRS 186.020 to 186.270, means the\nDepartment of Vehicle Regulation when used with respect to commercial vehicles;\n(2) \"Highway\" means every way or place of whatever natur e when any part of it is\nopen to the use of the public, as a matter of right, license, or privilege, for the\npurpose of vehicular traffic;\n(3) \"Manufacturer\" means any person engaged in manufacturing motor vehicles who\nwill, under normal conditions during the year, manufacture or assemble at least ten\n(10) new motor vehicles;\n(4) \"Motor vehicle\" means in KRS 186.020 to 186.260, all vehicles, as defined in\nsubsection (8)(a) of this section, which are propelled otherwise than by muscular\npower. As used in KRS  186.400 to 186.640, it means all vehicles, as defined in\nsubsection (8)(b) of this section, which are self -propelled. \"Motor vehicle\" shall not\ninclude a moped as defined in this section, but for registration purposes shall\ninclude low-speed vehicles and military surplus vehicles as defined in this section\nand vehicles operating under KRS 189.283;\n(5) \"Moped\" means either a motorized bicycle whose frame design may include one (1)\nor more horizontal crossbars supporting a fuel tank so long as it also has pe dals, or\na motorized bicycle with a step -through type frame which may or may not have\npedals rated no more than two (2) brake horsepower, a cylinder capacity not\nexceeding fifty (50) cubic centimeters, an automatic transmission not requiring\nclutching or shifting by the operator after the drive system is engaged, and capable\nof a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour;\n(6) \"Operator\" means any person in actual control of a motor vehicle upon a highway;\n(7) (a) \"Owner\" means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle or a person who\npursuant to a bona fide sale has received physical possession of the vehicle\nsubject to any applicable security interest.\n(b) A vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease, with\nthe vendee or lessee entitled to possession of the vehicle, upon performance of\nthe contract terms, for a period of three hundred sixty -five (365) days or more\nand with the ri ght of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in\nthe agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the\nconditional vendee or lessee, or if a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to\npossession, the conditional vendee or lessee or m ortgagor shall be deemed the\nowner.\n(c) A licensed motor vehicle dealer who transfers physical possession of a motor\nvehicle to a purchaser pursuant to a bona fide sale, and complies with the\nrequirements of KRS 186A.220, shall not be deemed the owner of t hat motor\nvehicle solely due to an assignment to his dealership or a certificate of title in\nthe dealership's name. Rather, under these circumstances, ownership shall\ntransfer upon delivery of the vehicle to the purchaser, subject to any\napplicable security interest;\n(8) (a) \"Vehicle,\" as used in KRS 186.020 to 186.260, includes all agencies for the\ntransportation of persons or property over or upon the public highways of this\nCommonwealth and all vehicles passing over or upon said highways, except\nelectric low-speed scooters, road rollers, road graders, farm tractors, vehicles\non which power shovels are mounted, such other construction equipment\ncustomarily used only on the site of construction and which is not practical for\nthe transportation of persons or  property upon the highways, such vehicles as\ntravel exclusively upon rails, and such vehicles as are propelled by electric\npower obtained from overhead wires while being operated within any\nmunicipality or where said vehicles do not travel more than five (5) miles\nbeyond the city limit of any municipality.\n(b) As used in KRS 186.400 to 186.640, \"vehicle\" means every device in, upon,\nor by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a\npublic highway, except electric low -speed scooters, devices moved by human\nand animal power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, or which\nderives its power from overhead wires;\n(9) KRS 186.020 to 186.270 apply to motor vehicle licenses. KRS 186.400 to 186.640\napply to operator's licenses;\n(10) \"Dealer\" means any person engaging in the business of buying or selling motor\nvehicles;\n(11) \"Commercial vehicles\" means all motor vehicles that are required to be registered\nunder the terms of KRS 186.050, but not including vehicles primarily design ed for\ncarrying passengers and having provisions for not more than nine (9) passengers\n(including driver), motorcycles, sidecar attachments, pickup trucks and passenger\nvans which are not being used for commercial or business purposes, and motor\nvehicles registered under KRS 186.060;\n(12) \"Resident\" means any person who has established Kentucky as his or her state of\ndomicile. Proof of residency shall include but not be limited to a deed or property\ntax bill, utility agreement or utility bill, or rental housing agreement. The possession\nby an operator of a vehicle of a valid Kentucky operator's license shall be prima -\nfacie evidence that the operator is a resident of Kentucky;\n(13) \"Special status individual\" means:\n(a) \"Asylee\" means any person lawfully pres ent in the United States who\npossesses an I -94 card issued by the United States Department of Justice,\nImmigration and Naturalization Service, on which it states \"asylum status\ngranted indefinitely pursuant to Section 208 of the Immigration \u0026 Nationality\nAct\";\n(b) \"K-1 status\" means the status of any person lawfully present in the United\nStates who has been granted permission by the United States Department of\nJustice, Immigration and Naturalization Service to enter the United States for\nthe purpose of marr ying a United States citizen within ninety (90) days from\nthe date of that entry;\n(c) \"Refugee\" means any person lawfully present in the United States who\npossesses an I -94 card issued by the United States Department of Justice,\nImmigration and Naturalizat ion Service, on which it states \"admitted as a\nrefugee pursuant to Section 207 of the Immigration \u0026 Nationality Act\"; and\n(d) \"Paroled in the Public Interest\" means any person lawfully present in the\nUnited States who possesses an I -94 card issued by the U nited States\nDepartment of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, on which it\nstates \"paroled pursuant to Section 212 of the Immigration \u0026 Nationality Act\nfor an indefinite period of time\";\n(14) \"Instruction permit\" includes both motor vehicle instruction permits and motorcycle\ninstruction permits;\n(15) \"Motorcycle\" means any motor driven vehicle that has a maximum speed that\nexceeds fifty (50) miles per hour, has a seat or saddle for the use of the operator,\nand is designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the\nground, including vehicles on which the operator and passengers ride in an enclosed\ncab. Only for purposes of registration, \"motorcycle\" shall include a motor scooter,\nan alternative -speed motorcycle, and an autocy cle as defined in this section, but\nshall not include a tractor or a moped as defined in this section;\n(16) \"Low-speed vehicle\" means a motor vehicle that:\n(a) Is self -propelled using an electric motor, combustion -driven motor, or a\ncombination thereof;\n(b) Is four (4) wheeled; and\n(c) Is designed to operate at a speed not to exceed twenty-five (25) miles per hour\nas certified by the manufacturer;\n(17) \"Alternative-speed motorcycle\" means a motorcycle that:\n(a) Is self-propelled using an electric motor;\n(b) Is three (3) wheeled;\n(c) Has a fully enclosed cab and includes at least one (1) door for entry;\n(d) Is designed to operate at a speed not to exceed forty (40) miles per hour as\ncertified by the manufacturer; and\n(e) Is not an autocycle as defined in this section;\n(18) \"Multiple-vehicle driving range\" means an enclosed area that is not part of a\nhighway or otherwise open to the public on which a number of motor vehicles may\nbe used simultaneously to provide driver training under the supervision of one (1)\nor more driver training instructors;\n(19) \"Autocycle\" means any motor vehicle that:\n(a) Is equipped with a seat that does not require the operator to straddle or sit\nastride it;\n(b) Is designed to travel on three (3) wheels in contact with the ground;\n(c) Is designed to operate at a speed that exceeds forty (40) miles per hour as\ncertified by the manufacturer;\n(d) Allows the operator and passenger to ride either side-by-side or in tandem in a\nseating area that may be enclosed with a removable or fixed top;\n(e) Is equipped with a three (3) point safety belt system;\n(f) May be equipped with a manufacturer-installed air bags or a roll cage;\n(g) Is designed to be controlled with a steering wheel and pedals; and\n(h) Is not an alternative-speed motorcycle as defined in this section;\n(20) \"Military surplus vehicle\" means a multipurpose wheeled surplus  military vehicle\nthat:\n(a) Is not operated using continuous tracks;\n(b) Was originally manufactured for and sold directly to the Armed Forces of the\nUnited States; and\n(c) Was originally manufactured under the federally mandated requirements set\nforth in 49 C.F.R. sec. 571.7;\n(21) \"Livestock\" means cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, alpacas, llamas, buffaloes,\nand any other animals of the bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine, equine, or camelid\nspecies;\n(22) \"Identity document\" means an instruction permit, op erator's license, or personal\nidentification card issued under KRS 186.4102, 186.412, 186.4121, 186.4122, and\n186.4123 or a commercial driver's license issued under KRS Chapter 281A;\n(23) \"Travel ID,\" as it refers to an identity document, means a document that complies\nwith Pub. L. No. 109-13, Title II;\n(24) \"Motor scooter\" means a low-speed motorcycle that is:\n(a) Equipped with wheels greater than sixteen (16) inches in diameter;\n(b) Equipped with an engine greater than fifty (50) cubic centimeters;\n(c) Designed to operate at a speed not to exceed fifty (50) miles per hour;\n(d) Equipped with brake horsepower of two (2) or greater; and\n(e) Equipped with a step-through frame or a platform for the operator's feet;\n(25) \"Alternative technology,\" as used in KRS 186.400 to 186.640, means methods used\nby the cabinet to facilitate the issuance of operator's licenses and personal\nidentification cards outside of the normal in -person application at a cabinet office,\nincluding but not limited to a cabinet mobile unit or online services;\n(26) \"Electric motorcycle\" means the same as \"motorcycle\" or \"motor scooter\" as\ndefined in this section, that is powered by a:\n(a) Battery or equivalent energy storage device that can be charged with an\nelectric plug using an external electricity source; or\n(b) Combination of an internal combustion engine and electric motor;\n(27) \"Electric vehicle\" means any vehicle that has plug-in charging capability, regardless\nof whether the vehicle is powered by:\n(a) An electric motor only; or\n(b) A combination of an internal combustion engine and electric power; and\n(28) \"Manufactured home\" has the same meaning as in KRS 227.550.","path":["KRS Chapter 186"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57824","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:36Z","sha256":"afe3ef1e687c634a1d8bf6bfb33bae3c6df97d269a9c03cc5cabdbad5b1e117c","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-186.005","next":"us-ky/krs-186.014"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}