Kentucky · Handbook chapter 2 · 4 min read

Kentucky license renewal and updates, new residents, suspensions, the point system, State Traffic School, vehicle registration, minimum insurance and the Medical Review Board.

Why this chapter matters

Questions about records and paperwork are easy marks if you know the numbers: 10 days, 30 days, 15 days, 12 points, 7 points, two years, $25,000 and 90 days.

Renewing and updating your license

• Under 21, your license expires 90 days after your 21st birthday.
• From 21, it expires 31 days after your birthday and can be renewed up to six months early.
• A license is valid for four or eight years.
• No testing is needed if your credential has been expired less than 5 years. After more than 5 years, you start over as a new driver.
• If you change your address or name, get a duplicate license within 10 days. You can be cited for not doing so.

Moving to Kentucky

• New residents must get a Kentucky license within 30 days.
• A license that is valid, or expired less than one year, transfers without tests.
• Expired more than one year: bring a certified driver history record or clearance letter and take the written and eye exams.
• College students at a Kentucky school may keep driving on a valid out-of-state license if they are U.S. citizens and carry their student ID.
• Kentucky residents in the military whose license expired while away can renew within 90 days of returning without written or road tests.

Losing your license

Your license can be suspended or revoked for, among other things:

• DUI, or refusing a chemical test.
• Three reckless driving convictions within 12 months.
• Driving without insurance, without a license, or against license restrictions.
• Leaving the scene of a crash, fleeing police, or a felony or manslaughter involving a vehicle.
• Not paying a crash judgment within 60 days, child support, or a citation.
• Using a license to try to buy alcohol fraudulently.

If you are under 18 and the parent who signed your application withdraws, your license is canceled until another adult signs or you turn 18.

The point system

• Points expire two years after the conviction, but the conviction stays on your record for five years.
• At 12 points within two years (7 points if under 18), the Transportation Cabinet holds a hearing and may suspend you.
• If you skip the hearing: six months suspension for the first time, one year for the second, two years after that.
• Instead of suspension, you may be put on probation and sent to State Traffic School. You cannot get probation again for two years.

State Traffic School

Available online, in person or in a virtual classroom, but only by court referral, only for minor violations, only once every 12 months, and not for unlicensed or out-of-state drivers. Ignoring the referral leads to suspension.

Registration and insurance

• Register a vehicle you buy or bring into Kentucky within 15 days, with the county clerk.
• You are notified at least 45 days before registration expires, but there is no grace period.
• Minimum liability insurance: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage, or a $60,000 single limit.
• Keep written proof of insurance in the vehicle, on paper or on a phone or other device.
• Driving uninsured is a crime: registration revoked, a $500 to $1,000 fine, up to 90 days in jail, or both.

Medical Review Board

The board advises on drivers whose physical or mental condition may affect their driving.

• You must be free of seizures, blackouts or loss of consciousness for 90 days to get or keep a license.
• Vision rules: at least 20/60 in one eye, and a field of vision of 35 degrees to each side and 25 degrees up and down.
• Drivers can be reported by physicians, judges and some officials, or by an affidavit from at least two citizens.