{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-186a.035","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 186A.035","heading":"Motor vehicle registration by birth month of owner -- Alternative","body":"schedule for certain vehicles -- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship for\nmotor vehicle or manufactured home jointly owned by married couple --\nClerk's fee -- Renewal of registration.\n(1) (a) Except for vehicles described in paragraph (b) of this subsection, all motor\nvehicles, including motorcycles, with a gross vehicular weight of ten thousand\n(10,000) pounds or less, first registered, or for which the registratio n is\nrenewed, shall be placed in a system of year-round registration based upon the\nbirth date of the owner, in order to distribute the work of registering motor\nvehicles as uniformly as practicable throughout the twelve (12) months of the\nyear.\n(b) Owners of the following motor vehicles may elect to register these vehicles on\nan annual registration schedule of April 1 to March 31:\n1. Farm vehicles registered under KRS 186.050(4); or\n2. Motor vehicles with a gross vehicular weight of ten thousand (10,000)\npounds or less that are owned by a business.\n(2) (a) If the owner of a motor vehicle is other than an individual, the month in which\nthe owning entity came into being shall be used for purposes of this section.\n(b) Except for motor vehicles jointly owned un der paragraph (c) of this\nsubsection, if a motor vehicle is jointly owned:\n1. One (1) of the owners, who is a resident of Kentucky, shall be identified\nas the designated owner;\n2. The designated owner shall indicate to the county clerk his or her birth\ndate to be used for purposes of this section; and\n3. If the circumstances of ownership change and the designated owner is\nno longer an owner of the motor vehicle or no longer a resident of\nKentucky, another owner may title the motor vehicle in his or her name\nif that owner is a resident of Kentucky. If none of th e remaining owners\nare a resident of Kentucky, one (1) of the owners shall title the vehicle\nin that owner's state of residence.\n(c) If a motor vehicle or manufactured home is jointly owned by a married\ncouple, the ownership shall exist as a joint tenancy with right of survivorship,\nunless the registration expressly states to the contrary and gives an alternative\nspecific status. One (1) of the owners shall indicate to the county clerk his or\nher birth date to be used for purposes of this section. Upon the death of one\n(1) of the spouses, the jointly -owned vehicle or manufactured home shall\ntransfer to the surviving spouse free from payment of a title application fee.\nThe surviving spouse shall include a copy of the death certificate with the\napplication for a new title. If the surviving spouse wishes to obtain a printed\ncopy of the title, the owner shall apply to the county clerk and pay the fee for\na printed title in KRS 186A.130.\n(d) A certificate of title:\n1. May bear the connector \"AND\" to designate join t ownership. If the\n\"AND\" connector is used, the signatures of all owners shall be required\nto transfer the certificate of title;\n2. May bear the connector \"OR\" to designate joint ownership. If the \"OR\"\nconnector is used, the signature of only one (1) owne r shall be required\nto transfer the certificate of title; and\n3. Shall not bear the connector \"AND/OR\" to designate joint ownership. If\na title produced prior to June 27, 2025, bears the connector \"AND/OR,\"\nthe cabinet and the county clerk shall follow the  procedures in\nsubparagraph 1. of this paragraph in transferring the certificate of title,\nunless directed otherwise by a court.\n(3) The certificate of registration and license plate issued for a motor vehicle first\nregistered, renewed, or titled in this s tate shall be valid until the expiration date on\nthe registration receipt, unless revoked in accordance with KRS 186A.040 or\ncanceled by the cabinet in accordance with KRS Chapter 186 or this chapter. Any\ntransaction relating to registration or registratio n renewal which would cause an\nunexpired Kentucky motor vehicle license plate to be surrendered shall have that\nunexpired fee prorated or credited against any additional fee required by a\nsubsequent registration.\n(4) Except for vehicles registered under subsection (1)(b) of this section, KRS 186.041,\n186.042, and 186.162 that have a specified, universal expiration date, after a motor\nvehicle has been initially placed in the system of year -round registration, the owner\nshall renew the registration annually d uring the owner's birth month, either by\nmaking application to the county clerk or on the cabinet's website, and paying the\nfee required for twelve (12) consecutive months of registration, which shall take\neffect on the first day of the month succeeding th e owner's birth month and shall\nexpire on the last day of the owner's next birth month. The county clerk shall collect\nthe fees set forth in KRS 186.040(1) and (6) for each renewal.\n(5) At least forty-five (45) days prior to the expiration of the registrat ion of any motor\nvehicle previously registered in the Commonwealth as provided by subsection (1)\nof this section, the owner of the vehicle shall be notified on the same notice\nrequired by KRS 134.805(5) of the date of expiration. Nonreceipt of the notice\nrequired by this subsection shall not constitute a defense to any registration -related\noffense.\n(6) Any owner who fails to renew the registration of a motor vehicle during the month\nin which the previous registration expired shall, if he or she applies for renewal of\nthe registration in some later month, pay the same fees that would have been\nrequired if the registration had been renewed in the month which the previous\nregistration expired, and, if applicable, the reinstatement fee for a cancelled\nregistration required under KRS 186.040.\n(7) Fees which must be prorated in carrying out the intent of this section shall be\nprorated on the basis of twelfths of the annual registration fee. Any vehicle or\nmanufactured home which is registered at any time during a month shall pay the fee\nrequired for that whole month plus any additional months of registration purchased\nconsistent with the intent of the section.\n(8) The county clerk shall ensure that the certificate of registration issued to an owner\ndisplays the mont h and year in which the registration period begins and the month\nand year of its expiration, and shall issue to the owner a decal or decals\ncorresponding to the month and year of expiration shown in the certificate of\nregistration which shall be placed upo n the corresponding license plate by the\nowner in the manner required by administrative regulations of the Department of\nVehicle Regulation.","path":["KRS Chapter 186A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57811","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:39Z","sha256":"207a17426c69b38ce24e5257d3783e46f2c9f3539455dabf5be73c96e5021ff8","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-186a.030","next":"us-ky/krs-186a.037"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}