Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney
News & articles
51 plain-language guides to Kentucky law, on the questions residents ask most. They are general information, not legal advice.
Crime and public safety
Burglary and theft during the holidays
How Kentucky law treats burglary, theft and package theft, with practical steps to protect your home and deliveries over the holidays.
Carrying a concealed deadly weapon
Who may carry a concealed firearm or other deadly weapon in Kentucky without a license, who may not, where carrying is restricted, and the offense.
Classes of crime in Kentucky
How Kentucky sorts offenses into violations, misdemeanors and felonies, and the penalty range the law sets for each class.
Criminal littering
What counts as criminal littering in Kentucky, including litter from vehicles and unsecured loads, the penalties, open dumping and how to report.
Elder abuse
How Kentucky law defines abuse, neglect and exploitation of vulnerable adults, who must report it, how to report, and the criminal penalties.
Electronic communication crimes
Kentucky crimes committed by phone, text, email and social media, including harassment, stalking, threats and image abuse, and how to report them.
Fake IDs
The Kentucky offenses for using a false or borrowed ID to buy alcohol, for making or altering IDs, and the effect on a driver’s license.
Fireworks
Which consumer fireworks are legal in Kentucky, the age and 200-foot rules, the role of local ordinances, and the penalties for violations.
Perjury
What counts as perjury and false swearing in Kentucky, what makes a statement material, the penalties, and when a retraction is a defense.
Political signs
Kentucky law on taking or damaging campaign signs, and the rules for signs on private property, at polling places and on public right of way.
Courts and legal process
Courtroom etiquette
Practical guidance for a day in a Kentucky courthouse: arriving, security, dress, phones, addressing the judge, children and interpreters.
Expungement of charges and convictions
Which Kentucky records can be expunged, the waiting periods, the certification of eligibility, where to file, the fees, and what expungement does.
Jury duty
Who gets summoned for jury duty in Kentucky, who qualifies, how long service lasts, what it pays, and what happens if you ignore a summons.
Kentucky’s court system
How Kentucky’s four levels of court work, what each one hears, and how a case moves from one level to the next.
Driving and traffic
Accessible parking
Who may use an accessible parking space in Kentucky, how to get a placard or plate, and the $250 fine for parking illegally or misusing a placard.
Bicycling regulations
Where bicycles may ride in Kentucky, the passing distance drivers must leave, and the rules on lights, equipment, helmets and electric bicycles.
Distracted driving and texting
Kentucky’s ban on texting while driving, the stricter rule for drivers under 18, the fines and points, and how distraction affects fault in a crash.
Drinking and driving
Kentucky’s DUI law: the legal limits, drug impairment, breath and blood tests, penalties by offense, ignition interlock and when DUI is a felony.
Emergency vehicles and the move over law
How Kentucky drivers must yield to approaching emergency vehicles, move over or slow down for stopped vehicles, and the penalties for failing to do so.
Funeral processions
The right of way Kentucky law gives a funeral procession, what drivers in and around a procession must do, and the penalty for interfering with one.
Kentucky driver’s licenses
How Kentucky’s graduated licensing works, where licenses are issued, REAL ID, renewals, and the penalties for driving without a valid license.
Kentucky vehicle registration
Who must register a vehicle in Kentucky, where and when to do it, what to bring, how title transfers work, and the penalties for not complying.
Motorcycle regulations
Kentucky’s rules for motorcycle licenses and permits, helmets and eye protection, passengers, required equipment, lane use and insurance.
Open alcoholic beverage containers
Kentucky’s rules on open alcohol containers in vehicles, the exceptions, and the related offenses of drinking and being intoxicated in public.
Pedestrians
Kentucky’s rules for crossing and walking along roads, the duty of care drivers owe people on foot, and the right of way of blind pedestrians.
Road rage
The traffic and criminal charges that aggressive driving can bring in Kentucky, which has no single road rage offense, and how to respond safely.
Roundabouts and traffic circles
How to enter and drive through a roundabout in Kentucky, including yielding, lane choice, signals, pedestrians, cyclists, trucks and emergency vehicles.
School buses and bus stop safety
When Kentucky drivers must stop for a school bus, the penalties and camera enforcement for passing one, and how children can stay safe at the bus stop.
Winter driving
The Kentucky traffic laws that matter most on snow and ice, state safety guidance, local snow emergency rules and what to do after a winter crash.
Family and personal affairs
Children left in cars
Kentucky criminal law on leaving a young child in a vehicle, the protection for people who break in to rescue a child, and basic safety steps.
Compulsory school attendance
The ages Kentucky requires school attendance, what truancy means, what schools and courts can do, parent penalties and homeschool notice.
Dying without a will in Kentucky
Who inherits when a Kentucky resident dies without a will, the surviving spouse’s rights, property outside probate, and small estate options.
Power of attorney
What a power of attorney does in Kentucky, how to sign one, the agent’s duties, how it ends, and why health care decisions need a separate document.
The No Pass, No Drive law
How dropping out, unexcused absences or failing grades can cost a Kentucky student under 18 a permit or license, and how to get it back.
Underage drinking and what parents are responsible for
Kentucky law on alcohol and people under 21, the narrow parent exception, adults who supply alcohol, civil liability and license consequences.
Voting in Kentucky
Who can register to vote in Kentucky, the photo ID rule, early and absentee voting, polling hours, and restoring voting rights after a felony.
Home, property and neighbors
Abandoned vehicles
When a vehicle counts as abandoned in Kentucky, who can have it towed, the notice owners get, towing liens and sales, and how to report one.
Landlords and tenants
How Kentucky law treats deposits, repairs, landlord entry and eviction, and why the rules depend on where the rental is located.
Liability to trespassers
What a Kentucky property owner owes to trespassers, guests and customers, the special rule for children, and the limits on using force.
Pets, dogs and their owners
Kentucky rules on rabies shots, licensing and leash laws, an owner’s liability for dog bites, vicious dogs and animal cruelty offenses.
Septic systems
Permits, installers, upkeep and enforcement for on-site sewage systems in Kentucky, and what buyers and sellers should check.
Snow and ice: a property owner’s liability
When a Kentucky property owner can be held responsible for a fall on snow or ice, and how court decisions have changed the old rule.
Swimming pools
What Kentucky law expects of home pool owners on barriers, child trespassers and guests, plus how public pools are regulated.
Timber cutting damages
Kentucky’s triple damages rule for cutting another person’s timber, how written notice limits it, when it is a crime, and steps before a harvest.
Trees and bushes on a property line
What a neighbor may trim, when an owner is liable for a fallen tree, and the damages for cutting down someone else’s tree in Kentucky.
Consumer and money
Caution in charitable giving
How to check a charity before giving, Kentucky’s rules for paid fundraisers, warning signs of a fake charity, and the basics of tax deductions.
Credit card scams
Common card fraud methods, federal limits on what a cardholder can lose, what to do right away, and the Kentucky crimes and reporting options.
Minimum wage and overtime
The minimum wage in Kentucky, rules for tipped workers, when overtime is owed, who is exempt, the seventh-day rule, and how to file a wage claim.
Personal injury protection (no-fault) insurance
How Kentucky’s no-fault auto insurance works: what basic benefits pay, who is covered, limits on lawsuits, rejecting no-fault, and key deadlines.
Outdoors and recreation
Golfer liability
When a golfer or a golf course may be legally responsible in Kentucky for injuries or damage caused by a golf ball or a golf cart.
Hunting laws
An overview of Kentucky hunting rules: licenses, hunter education, landowner permission, deer checking, hunter orange and penalties.