{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-186.020","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 186.020","heading":"Registration requirement -- Application for registration -- Application and","body":"other documents to be sent to Transportation Cabinet -- Renewal by mail --\nExtension of renewal period for military personnel stationed outside United\nStates -- Exceptions.                  (Effective until January 1, 2027)\n(1) Before the owner of a motor vehicle, or street -legal special purpose vehicle as\ndefined in KRS 186.077, may operate it or permit its operation upon a highway, the\nowner shall apply for registration in accordance with administrative regulations\npromulgated by the cabinet, except that a person who purchases a motor vehicle, or\nbrings a motor vehicle into the Commonwealth from another state shall make\napplication for registration within fifteen (15) day s. The bill of sale or assigned title\nmust be in the motor vehicle during this fifteen (15) day period. If the owner of a\nmotor vehicle is an individual and resides in the Commonwealth, the motor vehicle\nshall be registered with the county clerk of the cou nty in which he or she resides. If\nthe owner of a motor vehicle does not reside in the Commonwealth, the motor\nvehicle shall be registered with the county clerk of the county in which the motor\nvehicle is principally operated. If the owner of a motor vehic le is other than an\nindividual and resides in the Commonwealth, the motor vehicle shall be registered\nwith the county clerk of either county. The application when presented to the\ncounty clerk for registration shall be accompanied by:\n(a) A bill of sale and a manufacturer's certificate of origin if the application is for\nthe registration of a new motor vehicle;\n(b) The owner's registration receipt, if the motor vehicle was last registered in this\nstate;\n(c) A bill of sale and the previous registration recei pt, if last registered in another\nstate where the law of that state does not require the owner of a motor vehicle\nto obtain a certificate of title or ownership;\n(d) A certificate of title, if last registered in another state where the law of that\nstate requires the owner of a motor vehicle to obtain a certificate of title or\nownership;\n(e) An affidavit from an officer of a local government saying that the motor\nvehicle has been abandoned and that the provisions of KRS 82.630 have been\ncomplied with, for loc al governments which elect to use the provisions of\nKRS 82.600 to 82.640;\n(f) The application from a person who has brought a motor vehicle into the\nCommonwealth from another state shall be accompanied by proof that the\nmotor vehicle is insured in compliance with KRS 304.39-080; and\n(g) Proof of insurance in compliance with KRS 186.077 if the application is for\nthe registration of a street-legal special purpose vehicle.\n(2) After that, except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, the owner of any\nmotor vehicle registered under KRS 186.050(1) or (2) shall register his or her motor\nvehicle on or before the date on which his or her certificate of registration expires.\nIf, before operating the motor vehicle in this state, the owner registers it at some\nlater date and pays the fee for the full year, he or she will be deemed to have\ncomplied with the law. Insofar as the owner is concerned, registration with the clerk\nshall be deemed to be registration with the cabinet.\n(3) After that, the owner of any comm ercial vehicle registered under KRS 186.050(3)\nto (14) shall register the commercial vehicle on or before April 1 of each year. If,\nbefore operating a commercial vehicle in this state, the owner registers it at some\nlater date and pays the required fee, he or she will be deemed to have complied with\nthe law. Insofar as the owner is concerned, registration with the clerk shall be\ndeemed to be registration with the cabinet, except the owner of any commercial\nmotor vehicle to be registered pursuant to the Inte rnational Registration Plan under\nKRS 186.050(13) shall register the commercial motor vehicles on or before the last\nday of the month of registration established pursuant to KRS 186.051(3).\n(4) The application and documents presented for registration, including the sheriff's\ncertificate of inspection, shall, along with the Transportation Cabinet copy of the\ncertificate of title or registration, be sent to the Transportation Cabinet by the clerk.\n(5) At least forty -five (45) days prior to the expiration of registration of any motor\nvehicle previously registered in the Commonwealth as provided by KRS 186A.035,\nthe owner of the vehicle shall be notified on the same notice required by KRS\n134.805(5) o f the date of expiration. In addition, the department shall provide\nappropriate forms and information to permit renewal of motor vehicle registration\nto be completed by mail. Any registration renewal by mail shall require payment of\nan additional two dolla r ($2) fee which shall be received by the county clerk.\nNonreceipt of the notice under this subsection shall not constitute a defense to any\nregistration related offense.\n(6) (a) If an individual has been serving in the United States military stationed or\nassigned to a base or other location outside the boundaries of the United\nStates, he or she shall renew the registration on the vehicle within thirty (30)\ndays of his or her return if:\n1. The motor vehicle has been stored on a military base during the time  of\ndeployment and has not been operated on the public highways during\nthat time; and\n2. The vehicle's registration expired during the individual's absence.\n(b) An individual who meets the criteria in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall\nnot be convicted or cited for driving a vehicle with expired registration within\nthirty (30) days after the individual's return to the Commonwealth if the\nindividual can provide proof of meeting the eligibility criteria under paragraph\n(a) of this subsection.\n(c) When an individual presents evidence of meeting the criteria under paragraph\n(a) of this subsection when applying to renew the registration on the motor\nvehicle, the county clerk shall, when applicable, treat the registration as a\nprorated renewal under KRS 186.05 1, and charge the individual a registration\nfee only for the number of months of the registration year the vehicle will be\nused on the public highways.\n(7) The provisions of this section shall not apply to vehicles or manufactured homes for\nwhich permanent registration has been obtained pursuant to KRS 186A.127.\nEffective: July 15, 2026","path":["KRS Chapter 186"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57804","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:36Z","sha256":"8be2ee6c58c4dd03f268aa24aed0230a5db656aa4ddcb0eb87d11e17a42aabdf","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-186.018","next":"us-ky/krs-186.021"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}