CHAPTER 155
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1
CHAPTER 155
( HB 498 )
AN ACT relating to the issuance of a personalized license plate.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
ď˘Section 1. KRS 186.174 is amended to read as follows:
(1) For purposes of this section, "personalized license plate" means a license plate manufactured by the cabinet
upon an applicant's request with specific[issued with personal] letters or numbers or combinations of letters
and numbers significant to the applicant[ and it also means a license plate that is issued under this section and
has been combined with a special license plate].
(2) Any owner or lessee of a motor vehicle that is required to be registered under the provisions of KRS
186.050(1), (3)(a), or (4)(a), or any owner or lessee of a motorcycle required to be registered under the
provisions of KRS 186.050(2) may obtain a personalized license plate by submitting an application through a
Web site designated by the cabinet.[applying for a personalized license plate in the office of the county clerk
and upon] The cabinet shall produce the requested license plate upon approval and receipt of the[payment
of the] fee required in subsection (4) of this section for a special license plate, or the fee required in KRS
186.162 for a standard issue license plate.[ A person initially applying for a personalized license plate shall
submit the application and appropriate SF fee in person to the county clerk, but may submit the annual
application to renew the personalized license plate and entire fee required in KRS 186.162 by mail to the
county clerk.]
(3) Personalized license plates shall expire on the last day of the birth month of the person to whom the license
plate is registered[applicant].
(4) (a) A personalized license plate shall be replaced on the same schedule as regular issue license plates
unless it is damaged or unreadable.[ A county clerk shall immediately forward the application and the
fee required in KRS 186.162 for a personalized license plate to the Transportation Cabinet. The initial
fee for a personalized license plate that has been combined with special license plate shall be as
established in KRS 186.162(3).]
(b) A standard issued license plate may be personalized for a forty-three dollar ($43) fee as provided in
KRS 186.162(2)(m), in addition to all other fees established in this section and in KRS 186.050.
(c) Any special license plate may be combined with a personalized license plate for a twenty-five dollar
($25) state fee in addition to all other fees for the particular special license plate established in this
section and in KRS 186.164. The twenty-five dollar ($25) fee required under this subsection shall be
divided between the cabinet and the county clerk of the county where the applicant resides with the
cabinet receiving twenty dollars ($20) and the county clerk receiving five dollars ($5).
(5) (a) A personalized plate shall not be issued that would conflict with or duplicate any current issued license
plate[the alphabetical-numerical system used for regular license plates or any other license plates issued
in the Commonwealth, and shall not contain a combination of more than six (6) letters of the alphabet
and Arabic numerals, including spaces].
(b) A personalized plate shall not be issued if the cabinet determines[ the request fails to comply with the
following conditions]:
1. The message to be placed on the license plate, if created, discriminates[shall not discriminate]
against a[any] race, color, religion, sex, or national origin[, and shall not be construed, as
determined by the cabinet, as an attempt to victimize or intimidate any person due to the person's
race, color, religion, sex, or national origin];
2. [The plate shall not represent a political party and shall not have been created primarily to
promote a specific political belief;
3. The plate shall not have as its primary purpose the promotion of any specific faith, religion, or
antireligion; ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2
4. ]The plate message is the[shall not be the] name of a trademarked or copyrighted[special]
product or brand name[, and shall not be construed, as determined by the cabinet, as promoting a
product or brand name]; or[and]
3.[5.] The plate's lettering or message[ to be placed on the license plate, if created, shall not be] is
obscene or profane, as determined by the cabinet.
(c) [The owner or lessee shall submit an application and fee to renew a personalized license plate pursuant
to the provisions of this section. ]Once an applicant obtains a personalized plate, he or she will have
first priority on that plate for each of the following years that he or she makes timely renewal
payments[and proper application].
Signed by Governor April 8, 2022.