{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-500.090","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 500.090","heading":"Forfeiture.","body":"(1) Except as provided in KRS 500.092, all property which is subject to forfeiture\nunder any section of the Kentucky Penal Code shall be disposed of in accordance\nwith this section.\n(a) Property other than firearms which is forfeited under any section of this code\nmay, upon order of the trial court, be destroyed by the sheriff of the county in\nwhich the conviction was obtained.\n(b) Property other than firearms which is forfeited under any section of this code\nmay, upon order of the trial court, be sold at publi c auction. The expenses of\nkeeping and selling such property and the amount of all valid recorded liens\nthat are established by intervention as being bona fide shall be paid out of the\nproceeds of the sale. The balance shall be paid to:\n1. The state, if th e property was seized by an agency of the state or peace\nofficer thereof;\n2. The county, if the property was seized by the sheriff or an agency or\npeace officer of the county;\n3. The Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, if the property was\nseized by a peace officer of the Department of Fish and Wildlife or was\nseized by any other officer for violation of KRS Chapter 150;\n4. The city, if the property was seized by the city or by an agency or peace\nofficer thereof and the property was delivered to the city property clerk;\n5. The city (ninety percent (90%) of the proceeds) and the sheriff (ten\npercent (10%) of the proceeds), if the property was seized by the city or\nby an agency or peace officer thereof and the property was delivered to\nthe sheriff or the county police; or\n6. The state, if the property was seized by any combination of agencies\nlisted above.\n(c) Subject to the duty to return confiscated firearms and ammunition to innocent\nowners pursuant to this section, all firearms and ammunition confisca ted by a\nstate or local law enforcement agency, all firearms ordered forfeited by a\ncourt, and all abandoned firearms and ammunition coming into the custody of\na state or local law enforcement agency and not retained for official use shall\nbe transferred t o the Department of Kentucky State Police for disposition as\nprovided by KRS 16.220. The transfer shall occur not more than ninety (90)\ndays after the abandonment of the firearm or ammunition to the law\nenforcement agency or not more than ninety (90) days after its confiscation,\nunless a court requires the firearm or ammunition for use as evidence, in\nwhich case it shall be transferred to the Department of Kentucky State Police\nnot more than ninety (90) days following the order of forfeiture by the court or\nafter the court returns the firearm or ammunition from use as evidence. Prior\nto the sale of any firearm or ammunition, the law enforcement agency shall\nmake a bona fide attempt to determine if the firearm or ammunition to be sold\nhas been stolen or other wise unlawfully obtained from an innocent owner and\nreturn the firearm and ammunition to its lawful innocent owner, unless that\nperson is ineligible to purchase a firearm under federal law. This subsection\nrelating to auction of firearms and ammunition sha ll not apply to firearms and\nammunition auctioned by the Department of Fish and Wildlife that may be\nsold to individual purchasers residing in Kentucky who are eligible under\nfederal law to purchase firearms and ammunition of the type auctioned.\n(d) If property which is forfeited under any section of this code is determined by\nthe trial court to be worthless, encumbered with liens in excess of its value, or\notherwise a burdensome asset, the court may abandon any interest in such\nproperty. Property which is abandoned pursuant to this section shall be\nreturned to the lawful claimant upon payment of expenses for keeping the\nproperty.\n(e) Property which is forfeited under any section of this code may, upon order of\nthe trial court, be retained for official use i n the following manner. Property\nwhich has been seized by an agency of the state may be retained for official\nstate use. Property which has been seized by an agency of county, city, or\nurban-county government may be retained for official use by the governm ent\nwhose agency seized the property or for official state use. Property seized by\nany other unit of government may be retained only for official state use. The\nexpenses for keeping and transferring such property shall be paid by the unit\nof government by which the property is retained.\n(2) Money which has been obtained or conferred in violation of any section of this code\nshall, upon conviction, be forfeited for the use of the state. This subsection shall not\napply when, during the course of the proceeding in which the conviction is\nobtained, the person from whom said money was unlawfully acquired is identified.\n(3) Property forfeited under any section of this code shall be disposed of in accordance\nwith this section only after being advertised pursuant to KRS Chapter 424. This\nsubsection sha ll not apply to property which is designed and suitable only for\ncriminal use or to money forfeited under subsection (2) of this section.\n(4) The trial court shall remit the forfeiture of property when the lawful claimant:\n(a) Asserts his or her claim befo re disposition of the property pursuant to this\nsection;\n(b) Establishes his or her legal interest in the property; and\n(c) Establishes that the unlawful use of the property was without his or her\nknowledge and consent. This subsection shall not apply to a  lienholder of\nrecord when the trial court elects to dispose of the property pursuant to\nsubsection (1)(b) of this section.\n(5) For purposes of this section, \"lawful claimant\" means owner or lienholder of record.\n(6) Before property which has had its ident ity obscured in violation of KRS 514.120\nmay be sold or retained for official use as provided in this section, the court shall\ncause a serial or other identifying number to be placed thereon, and a record of the\nnumber assigned shall be placed in the court  order authorizing the sale or retention\nof the property. This number shall be assigned, whenever applicable, in consultation\nwith the Department of Kentucky State Police and any other state or federal\nregulatory agency. The purchaser of the property shall  be given a document stating\nthat the property had been forfeited pursuant to law and that a number, shown on\nthe document, has been assigned which shall be deemed as compliance of the owner\nwith KRS 514.120. When property is returned to an owner pursuant to this section\nand its identity has been obscured by another person in violation of KRS 514.120,\nthe court shall provide a document to the owner relieving him or her of liability for\nits continued possession. This document shall serve as evidence of compl iance with\nKRS 514.120 by the owner or any person to whom he or she lawfully disposes of\nthe property. This section shall not apply to any person after property has been sold\nor returned in compliance with this section who violates the provisions of KRS\n514.120 with respect to that property.\n(7) Before forfeiture of any property under this section, it shall be the duty of the trial\ncourt to determine if a lawful owner or claimant to the property has been identified\nor is identifiable. If a lawful owner or claimant has been identified or is identifiable,\nthe court shall notify the owner or claimant that the property is being held and\nspecify a reasonable period of time during which the claim may be made or may, in\nlieu thereof, order the return of the propert y to the lawful owner or claimant. If the\nlawful owner or claimant does not assert his or her claim to the property after\nnotification or if he or she renounces his or her claim to the property, the property\nshall be disposed of as provided in this section . It shall be the duty of all peace\nofficers and other public officers or officials having knowledge of the lawful owner\nor claimant of property subject to forfeiture to report the same to the trial court\nbefore the act of forfeiture occurs.","path":["KRS Chapter 500"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=19643","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:59Z","sha256":"8c534354118f5964106980704bedb185f4b21ddafa71b6b6a8aa4dcff375839f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-500.080","next":"us-ky/krs-500.092"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}