If you have become a Kentucky resident and you own a vehicle, the Transportation Cabinet says you must get insurance through a company authorized to do business in Kentucky, and you must title and register within 10 days of establishing residency. The same "New to Kentucky" page also says a person who brings a motor vehicle into Kentucky must apply for registration within 15 days in the county where they live. You may not operate the vehicle until the Kentucky insurance is in force. A driver license is a third clock: 30 days.
The liability minimums on that page are $25,000 for injury or damage for one person, $50,000 for all persons in an accident, and $25,000 for property damage, or a $60,000 single-limit policy. Proof of Kentucky insurance must have an issue date within 45 days, except that the registration page says the 45-day issue-date rule does not apply to military, commercial, or self-insured policies.
What has to happen, in order
- Get a Kentucky policy at those minimums before you drive the car. The page is explicit that operation waits on that insurance.
- Get a passed sheriff's inspection. Both the new-resident page and the titling page require it for a vehicle brought from another state.
- Convert the out-of-state title at the county clerk in the county where you live, or in the county where the vehicle is primarily operated. Use form TC 96-182 and the signed title. Signatures must be notarized. If the old state does not issue a title for that vehicle, bring the registration or the bill of sale instead.
- Register at that clerk's office. Bring a Kentucky photo ID, the original insurance proof, the sheriff's inspection, and payment for fees and applicable taxes.
A business licensed by the Secretary of State titles the vehicle with a federal employer identification number.
The sheriff's inspection and special vehicles
The out-of-state title list asks for proof the sheriff's inspection was passed. It does not itemize lights, brakes, or emissions on that list. A classic project vehicle, which is 25 years old or older and not roadworthy, also needs a sheriff's inspection for the VIN and the ownership papers, and it cannot carry a salvage, rebuilt, water-damage, or hail brand. A vehicle from a foreign country needs customs papers and a sheriff's inspection. Active military members are not required to have customs papers. If the foreign registration is not in English, the titling page requires a translation from the manufacturer or a certified translator.
Tax, fees, and tags
The clerk collects fees and applicable taxes. The new-resident page and the titling page do not state the usage-tax rate, and they do not state a credit for tax paid to another state. Ask the clerk. A speed title, mailed the next business day, costs $25 at the county clerk. You cannot file that speed title at the licensing division in Frankfort.
The transit tag described on the titling page is for someone who does not live in Kentucky and is buying a Kentucky vehicle to take elsewhere. New residents are not the applicants that sentence describes. Do not treat that tag as permission to drive a car you brought with you.
Military
Out-of-state insurance is acceptable for active duty if that person is listed on the title. The proof the new-resident page names is an active military ID, a letter from the provost marshal, and an LES pay stub. The page does not extend that exception to a civilian spouse or to a student.
A shipped car
You may not operate the vehicle until Kentucky insurance is in effect, and a sheriff's inspection is required before the clerk will title a car that came from another state. A car that arrives on a truck is in that position the day it is delivered. The 10-day residency clock and the 15-day "brought into Kentucky" clock both can start without you having driven across the state line. See car shipping in Kentucky and the cost calculator. Confirm with the county clerk which of the two deadlines that office will apply.