{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-186a.115","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 186A.115","heading":"Inspection of motor vehicles and documents by certified inspector -- Fee","body":"for certification of inspection -- Special inspectors -- Reciprocity between\ncounties -- Modifications of military surplus vehicles -- Administrative\nregulations -- Exceptions -- Inspection of historic vehicles.\n(1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the owner of every vehicle\nbrought into this state and required to be titled in this state shall, before\nsubmitting his or her application for title to th e county clerk, have the vehicle\ntogether with his or her application for title and its supporting documents\ninspected by a certified inspector in the county in which the application for\ntitle is to be submitted to the county clerk.\n(b) An owner of a milit ary surplus vehicle seeking title in this state shall, before\nsubmitting his or her application for title to the county clerk, have the vehicle\ntogether with his or her application for title and its supporting documents\ninspected by a certified inspector i n the county in which the application for\ntitle is to be submitted to the county clerk.\n(c) An owner of a street -legal special purpose vehicle, as defined in KRS\n186.077, seeking to register under KRS 186.020 shall, before submitting his\nor her application for title to the county clerk, have the special purpose vehicle\ninspected by a certified inspector. There shall be a twenty-five dollar ($25) fee\nfor the certification of a special purpose vehicle, payable to the sheriff's\noffice.\n(2) For inspections under this section:\n(a) The certified inspector shall be certified through the Department of Vehicle\nRegulation following requirements set forth by the department by regulation\nand shall be designated by the county sheriff if the inspector is a current\nmember of his or her office or a special inspector appointed pursuant to KRS\n70.030. The certified inspector will be held responsible for all certifications\nrequired pursuant to this chapter and will be liable for any and all penalties\nprescribed in this chapter, and shall be available during regular office hours at\nany and all offices and branches that issue applications for titles;\n(b) There shall be a fee for this certification, payable to the sheriff's office, and\nthe fee shall be retained by the sheriff's off ice for official expenses of the\noffice upon completion of certification, in the amount of:\n1. Thirty dollars ($30) for a motor vehicle dealer that qualifies to have an\nemployee appointed as a special inspector under paragraph (d) of this\nsubsection;\n2. Fifteen dollars ($15) for a motor vehicle dealer that does not qualify to\nhave an employee appointed as a special inspector under paragraph (d)\nof this subsection; or\n3. Fifteen dollars ($15) for an individual person;\n(c) There shall be an additional fee of twenty dollars ($20) per trip when it\nbecomes necessary for the certified inspector to travel to the site of the vehicle\nrather than bringing the vehicle to the sheriff's inspection area;\n(d) A sheriff may appoint up to two (2) employees of a motor vehicle dealer that\nis licensed under KRS Chapter 190 and doing business in the sheriff's county\nas special inspectors if the motor vehicle dealer is:\n1. A new motor vehicle dealer; or\n2. A used motor vehicle dealer that has sold an average of one hundred\n(100) or more motor vehicles per month in the preceding twelve (12)\nmonths;\n(e) A special inspector appointed under paragraph (d) of this subsection is only\nauthorized to per form motor vehicle inspections and complete certified\ninspection forms under this section for vehicles purchased by that dealership\nfor resale and shall have his or her special inspector status revoked if he or she\nis no longer an active employee of that dealership; and\n(f) An inspection conducted in one (1) county within the Commonwealth of\nKentucky under this subsection, and the fees paid for that inspection under\nthis subsection, shall be honored by the certified inspector, sheriff, and county\nclerk in a ll other counties within this state. A second inspection shall not be\nrequired and additional fees shall not be required.\n(3) The Transportation Cabinet may require that modifications be made to a military\nsurplus vehicle. Any modifications required by the  cabinet under this section shall\nbe made to the military surplus vehicle prior to its inspection.\n(4) The Transportation Cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations pursuant to\nKRS Chapter 13A to implement the provisions of subsections (1)(b) and (3) of this\nsection, including but not limited to vehicle modification requirements and the\ncreation of a separate electronic inspection form. The Transportation Cabinet shall\nnote that military vehicles were originally manufactured under the federally\nmandated requirements set forth in 49 C.F.R. sec. 571.7 and shall only require these\nvehicles to meet applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards.\n(5) The following vehicles are excluded from the requirement of inspection by a\ncertified inspector prior to titling in this state:\n(a) New motor vehicles sold by a dealer licensed in this state;\n(b) Vehicles required to be registered in this state by reason of lack of a\nreciprocity agreement with another state and for which a nonnegotiable\nregistration document is to be issued;\n(c) Motor vehicles operated by a motor carrier under a nonnegotiable certificate\nor permit issued by the Department of Vehicle Regulation;\n(d) Motor vehicles owned by servicemen or servicewomen who are residents of\nKentucky stationed outside of Kentucky may be inspected by the post provost\nor similar officer of the camp, post, or station. The post provost or similar\nofficer shall submit an affidavit stating the name of the owner, the\nidentification or serial number, the make, body style,  current license or title\nnumber, if any, and state in which currently registered or titled, if any, of the\nmotor vehicle;\n(e) Motor vehicles purchased in another state by persons who are residents of\nKentucky but are temporarily residing out of state for at least thirty (30) days,\nbut not longer than nine (9) months, may after the purchase of the vehicle be\ninspected by the state police, a local law enforcement agency, or the vehicle\ninspection program of another state. If an inspector in another state exa mines\na vehicle under this paragraph, the purchaser may request the inspector to\ncomplete an affidavit stating the name of the owner, the vehicle identification\nnumber, the vehicle make and body style, the current state of registration, if\nany, and the current vehicle license or title number, if any. The Transportation\nCabinet shall create an affidavit form containing at a minimum this\ninformation and shall post the form on the cabinet's internet website. A person\nusing an inspector in another state under t his paragraph shall comply with all\nrequirements of that state's inspection program, including payment of fees\ncharged in that state. A person registering a motor vehicle for the first time in\nKentucky under this paragraph shall transmit the application fo r registration,\nall supporting documentation, and payment for registration and usage tax to\nthe county clerk of the county in which the person resides, and upon receipt of\nthe appropriate documentation, the county clerk shall register the vehicle; and\n(f) Motor vehicles no longer located in Kentucky but which require inspection in\norder to issue a corrected Kentucky title due to error in vehicle identification\nor serial number may be inspected by an inspector authorized to inspect\nvehicle identification or serial number by the laws of the state or foreign\ncountry where application for a new title has been submitted.\n(6) When presented to a certified inspector for inspection and to a county clerk for\nprocessing, the owner's application for a first certificate  of registration or title in his\nor her name shall be accompanied by a current operator's license from Kentucky or\nanother state and one (1) of the following documents as applicable:\n(a) If the vehicle is a new vehicle not previously registered in this sta te, the\nproperly assigned manufacturer's statement of origin for the vehicle for which\nregistration or title is sought;\n(b) If the vehicle was last registered in this state, and is a vehicle for which a title\nis not required in this state, a certificate of  registration, or if the vehicle is one\nfor which a certificate of title is required in this state, a properly assigned\ncertificate of title;\n(c) If the vehicle was last previously titled in another state, a properly assigned\ncertificate of title;\n(d) If the application refers to a vehicle previously registered in another country,\nthe documents of that country establishing ownership of the vehicle;\n(e) If the application refers to a vehicle last previously registered in another\ncountry by a person on active  duty in the Armed Forces of the United States,\nthe county clerk may accept on behalf of the Department of Vehicle\nRegulation evidence of ownership provided the applicant by the United States\nDepartment of Defense; and\n(f) Except as provided in KRS 186A.07 2(2)(c) governing custom -built\nmotorcycles, if the application relates to a vehicle which has been specially\nconstructed or reconstructed, that fact shall be stated in the application, and\nthe application shall be accompanied by the documents specified by\nadministrative regulations of the Department of Vehicle Regulation.\n(7) When requested to inspect a vehicle pursuant to this section, the certified inspector\nshall personally and physically inspect the vehicle, when registration or title is\nsought in this state, on the following points:\n(a) He or she shall compare the vehicle identification number as appearing on\nboth the vehicle identification number plate, and the federal safety standards\nlabel of the vehicle which is sought to be registered or titled, wi th the\ncorresponding number inscribed on the application, and its supporting\ndocumentation, and ensure that the vehicle identification number appearing at\neach described location appears legitimate and that they are consistent with\neach other;\n(b) He or sh e shall examine the primary odometer of the vehicle and\nelectronically record the reading in the space provided in the inspection\nsection of the application;\n(c) After exercising due diligence in inspecting the vehicle and its supporting\ndocumentation, and  finding that they appear to be in order, the certified\ninspector shall execute the electronic certificate of inspection according to its\nterms by electronically inputting in the spaces provided his or her first name,\nmiddle initial, and last name, certifi ed inspector number, his or her title; the\nname of the county in which he or she serves; and the telephone number\nincluding the telephone area code of his or her agency, and enter the month,\nday, and year in which his or her inspection was made, certifying  under\npenalty of forgery in the second degree the character, accuracy, and date of\nhis or her inspection; and\n(d) A certified inspector number shall not be subject to an open records request\nunder KRS 61.870 to 61.884 unless otherwise required by a court order.\n(8) The certified inspector shall refrain from executing the certificate of inspection if:\n(a) He or she has  not personally and physically inspected the vehicle in\naccordance with this section;\n(b) He or she has reason to believe that the vehicle displays an unlawfully altered\nvehicle identification number;\n(c) The application and any of its copies are illegible  or otherwise improperly\nexecuted, or contain information reasonably believed to be inaccurate or\nfraudulent;\n(d) The documentation required in support of any application is not present, or\nnot consistent with the vehicle and the owner's application or app ears\nfraudulent; or\n(e) He or she has probable cause to believe the vehicle is stolen.\n(9) (a) Inspections on motor vehicles that meet the definition of a \"historic vehicle\"\nunder KRS 186.043(2) and are brought into this state shall be limited to\nverification of the vehicle identification number with supporting\ndocumentation for purposes of titling.\n(b) Inspections on motor vehicles that meet the definition of a classic motor\nvehicle project as set forth in KRS 186A.510 shall be limited to verification of\nthe vehicle identification number with supporting documentation for purposes\nof issuing a classic motor vehicle project certificate of title under KRS\n186A.535(1).\n(10) The electronic certificate of inspection shall not be handled by any person or\npersons o ther than those designated individuals within the offices of the sheriff,\ncounty clerk, or other state office.\n(11) The Transportation Cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations pursuant to\nKRS Chapter 13A to implement the provisions of this secti on, including but not\nlimited to special inspectors classified as dealer inspectors only and the creation of\nan electronic certified vehicle inspection form and receipt.","path":["KRS Chapter 186A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56308","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:39Z","sha256":"2b6438fb6456441c0141b1ba4aec94bc9e27470dc31f516494ab4e503a865a16","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-186a.110","next":"us-ky/krs-186a.120"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}