(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) or (6) of this section, a person over the age of sixteen (16) who is a United States citizen and who is not a resident of Kentucky may drive in Kentucky for a period of time not to exceed one (1) year from the date the person enters Kentucky if:
(a) The person possesses a valid license issued by the person’s home state;

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 186.430

  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Domestic: when applied to a corporation, partnership, business trust, or limited liability company, means all those incorporated or formed by authority of this state. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Instruction permit: includes both motor vehicle instruction permits and motorcycle instruction permits. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Moped: means either a motorized bicycle whose frame design may include one (1) or more horizontal crossbars supporting a fuel tank so long as it also has pedals, or a motorized bicycle with a step-through type frame which may or may not have pedals rated no more than two (2) brake horsepower, a cylinder capacity not exceeding fifty (50) cubic centimeters, an automatic transmission not requiring clutching or shifting by the operator after the drive system is engaged, and capable of a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Motor vehicle: means in KRS §. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Motorcycle: means any motor driven vehicle that has a maximum speed that exceeds fifty (50) miles per hour, has a seat or saddle for the use of the operator, and is designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground, including vehicles on which the operator and passengers ride in an enclosed cab. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Operator: means any person in actual control of a motor vehicle upon a highway. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Resident: means any person who has established Kentucky as his or her state of domicile. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • vehicle: means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, except electric low-speed scooters, devices moved by human and animal power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, or which derives its power from overhead wires. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Year: means calendar year. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

(b) The person has the license in his or her immediate possession at all times when operating a vehicle on the highways; and
(c) The person’s home state accords similar privileges to licensed residents of
Kentucky.
(2) A person who is a United States citizen but who is not a resident of Kentucky who is enrolled as a full-time or part-time student at a university, college, or technical college located in Kentucky may drive in Kentucky on a valid license issued by the person’s state of domicile, and shall not be required to obtain a Kentucky operator‘s license under this chapter if the person has a student identification card from a university, college, or technical college located in Kentucky in his or her immediate possession at all times when driving in Kentucky.
(3) A person over the age of sixteen (16) who is not a United States citizen and who is legally visiting this country for less than one (1) year may drive in Kentucky on a valid domestic license issued by the person’s country of domicile and shall not be required to obtain a Kentucky driver’s license.
(4) A person over the age of sixteen (16) who is not a United States citizen, who has not been granted status as a permanent resident of the United States, but is a resident of Kentucky, shall be issued a Kentucky operator’s license if the person complies with the requirements of KRS § 186.4121. The cabinet may at any time refuse or discontinue the exemptions authorized in this section for any grounds and may deny, cancel, suspend, or revoke an instruction permit or operator’s license issued under this chapter.
(5) A person whose operator’s license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or moped in this state has been denied, withdrawn, canceled, suspended, or revoked as provided in KRS § 186.400 to KRS § 186.640 shall not operate a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or moped in this state under a license, permit, or registration certificate issued by any other jurisdiction during the period of denial, withdrawal, cancellation, suspension, or revocation.
(6) The following persons may drive in Kentucky on a valid operator’s license issued by the person’s state or United States territory of domicile and shall not be required to obtain a Kentucky operator’s license under this chapter if the person is:
(a) A member of the Armed Forces of the United States stationed in Kentucky who maintains a home of record for military purposes outside of Kentucky;
(b) The member’s spouse; or
(c) The member’s child or stepchild who is sixteen (16) years of age or older and a dependent or under guardianship of the member.
Effective: June 29, 2021
History: Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 65, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2021. — Amended
2017 Ky. Acts ch. 100, sec. 15, effective January 1, 2019. — Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 264, sec. 5, effective July 15, 2002. — Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 198, sec. 6, effective October 1, 1996. — Amended 1946 Ky. Acts ch. 127, sec. 2. — Recodified
1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 2739m-
36.

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