{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-454.210","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 454.210","heading":"Personal jurisdiction of courts over nonresident -- Service of process -- Fee","body":"-- Venue.\n(1) As used in this section, \"person\" includes an individual, his or her executor,\nadministrator, or other personal representative, or a corporation, pa rtnership,\nassociation, or any other legal or commercial entity, who is a nonresident of this\nCommonwealth.\n(2) A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person who is a party to a civil\naction on any basis consistent with the Constitution of Kentu cky and the\nConstitution of the United States, including but not limited to the person's:\n(a) Transacting any business in this Commonwealth;\n(b) Contracting to supply services or goods in this Commonwealth;\n(c) Causing tortious injury by an act or omission in this Commonwealth;\n(d) Causing tortious injury in this Commonwealth by an act or omission,\nincluding but not limited to designing, manufacturing, or marketing products,\nincluding product components, outside this Commonwealth, which are used\nor consumed in this Commonwealth or regularly available for purchase in this\nCommonwealth if he or she does or solicits business, or engages in any other\ncourse of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or\nconsumed or services rendered in this Commonwealth;\n(e) Causing injury in this Commonwealth to any person by breach of warranty\nexpressly or impliedly made in the sale of goods outside this Commonwealth\nwhen the seller knew such person would use, consume, or be affected by, the\ngoods in this Commonw ealth, if he or she also does or solicits business, or\nengages in any other course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from\ngoods used or consumed or services rendered in this Commonwealth;\n(f) Having an interest in, using, or possessing real proper ty in this\nCommonwealth, providing the claim arises from the interest in, use of, or\npossession of the real property, provided, however, that such in personam\njurisdiction shall not be imposed on a nonresident who did not himself or\nherself voluntarily ins titute the relationship, and did not knowingly perform,\nor fail to perform, the act or acts upon which jurisdiction is predicated;\n(g) Contracting to insure any person, property, or risk located within this\nCommonwealth at the time of contracting;\n(h) Committing sexual intercourse in this state which intercourse causes the birth\nof a child when:\n1. The father or mother or both are domiciled in this state;\n2. There is a repeated pattern of intercourse between the father and mother\nin this state; or\n3. Said intercourse is a tort or a crime in this state; or\n(i) Making a telephone solicitation, as defined in KRS 367.46951, or a charitable\nsolicitation as defined in KRS 367.650 via telecommunication, into the\nCommonwealth.\n(3) (a) When personal jurisdiction is authorized by this section, service of process\nmay be made:\n1. In any manner authorized by the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure;\n2. On such person, or any a gent of such person, in any county in this\nCommonwealth, where he or she may be found; or\n3. On the Secretary of State who, for this purpose, shall be deemed to be\nthe statutory agent of such person.\n(b) The clerk of the court in which the action is brough t shall issue a summons\nagainst the defendant named in the complaint. The clerk shall execute the\nsummons either by:\n1. Sending by certified mail two (2) true copies to the Secretary of State\nand shall also mail with the summons two (2) attested copies of\nplaintiff's complaint; or\n2. Transmitting an electronically attested copy of the complaint and\nsummons to the Secretary of State via the Kentucky Court of Justice\nelectronic filing system.\n(c) The Secretary of State shall, within seven (7) days of receipt thereof in his or\nher office, mail a copy of the summons and complaint to the defendant at the\naddress given in the complaint. The letter shall be posted by certified mail,\nreturn receipt requested, and shall bear the return address of the Secretary of\nState. The clerk shall make the usual return to the court, and in addition the\nSecretary of State shall make a return to the court showing that the acts\ncontemplated by this statute have been performed, and shall attach to his or\nher return the registry recei pt, if any. Summons shall be deemed to be served\non the return of the Secretary of State and the action shall proceed as provided\nin the Rules of Civil Procedure.\n(d) The clerk mailing the summons to the Secretary of State shall mail to him or\nher, at the same time, a fee of ten dollars ($10), which shall be taxed as costs\nin the action. The fee for a summons transmitted electronically pursuant to\nthis subsection shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State on a periodic\nbasis.\n(4) When the exercise of pe rsonal jurisdiction is authorized by this section, any action\nor suit may be brought in the county wherein the plaintiff resides or where the cause\nof action or any part thereof arose.\n(5) A court of this Commonwealth may exercise jurisdiction on any other  basis\nauthorized in the Kentucky Revised Statutes or by the Rules of Civil Procedure,\nnotwithstanding this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 454"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=55339","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:58Z","sha256":"56942f44daf738178db866d6a0b66963356f40d3214f029837a3d455dae0dcc9","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-454.190","next":"us-ky/krs-454.220"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}