An operator's license shall not be granted to:
(1) Any person who is not a resident of Kentucky;
(2) Any person under the age of sixteen (16);
(3) Any person under the age of eighteen (18) who holds a valid Kentucky instruction
permit issued pursuant to KRS 186.450, but who has not graduated from high
school or who is not enrolled and successfully participating in school or who is not
being schooled at home, except those persons who satisfy the District Court of
appropriate venue pursuant to KRS 159.051(3) that revocation of their license
would create an undue hardship. Persons under the age of eighteen (18) shall
present proof of complying with the requirements of KRS 159.051;
(4) Any person whose operator's license has been suspended, during the period of
suspension, subject to the limitations of KRS 186.442;
(5) Any person whose operator's license has been revoked, nor to any nonresident
whose privilege of exemption under KRS 186.430 has been refused or discontinued,
until the expiration of the period for which the license was revoked, or for which the
privilege was refused or discontinued;
(6) Any applicant adjudged incompetent by judicial decree;
(7) Any person who in the opinion of the Department of Kentucky State Police, after
examination, is unable to exercise reasonable and ordinary control over a motor
vehicle upon the highways;
(8) Any person who is unable to understand highway warnings or direction signs in the
English language;
(9) Any person required by KRS 186.480 to take an examination who has not
successfully passed the examination;
(10) Any person required by KRS Chapter 187 to deposit proof of financial
responsibility, who has not deposited that proof;
(11) Any person who has not filed a correct and complete application attested to in the
presence of a person authorized to administer oaths;
(12) Any person who cannot meet the requirements set forth in KRS 186.411(1) or (3);
or
(13) Any person whose operator's license has been suspended or revoked under the
provisions of KRS Chapter 186, 187, or 189A who has not paid the reinstatement
fee required under KRS 186.531.
Effective: March 27, 2020
History: Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 51, sec. 13, effective March 27, 2020. --
Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 100, sec. 24, effective January 1, 2019. -- Amended
2007 Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 193, effective June 26, 2007. -- Amended 2003 Ky. Acts
ch. 189, sec. 2, effective June 24, 2003. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 264, sec. 6,
effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 442, sec. 5, effective July 15,
1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 198, sec. 4, effective October 1, 1996; and ch.
341, sec. 10, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 267, sec. 1,
effective July 15, 1994; ch. 416, sec. 7, effective July 15, 1994; and ch. 455, sec. 3,
effective July 15, 1994. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 63, sec. 1, effective July 13,
1990; and ch. 234, sec. 2, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch.
123, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 88, sec. 1,
effective July 15, 1980. -- Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 92, sec. 8, effective June 17,
1978. -- Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 306, sec. 2. -- Amended 1966 Ky. Acts ch. 78,
sec. 1; and ch. 255, sec. 170. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective
October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 2739m-37.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/94). This section was amended by 1994
Ky. Acts chs. 267, 416, and 455. Where these Acts are not in conflict, they have been
codified together. Where a conflict exists, Acts ch. 416, which was last enacted by
the General Assembly, prevails under KRS 446.250.
Notes of Decisions
Transp. Cabinet v. Feige, 889 S.W.2d 52 (Ky. Ct. App. 1994).
· cites it 7× “According to the Court, “an individual who moves to Kentucky cannot successfully avoid the provisions of [KRS 186.440(3)] by the simple expedient of changing his residence.”
Commonwealth v. Howard, 969 S.W.2d 700 (Ky. 1998).
“See KRS 186.440 et seq. Approximately 43 states, as well as the District of Columbia, have zero tolerance laws for drivers under the age of twenty-one.”
Vaughn v. Commonwealth, Transp. Cabinet, Div. of Driver's Licensing, 870 S.W.2d 231 (Ky. Ct. App. 1993).
· cites it 7× “KRS 186.440, in pertinent part, provides as follows: An operator’s license shall not be granted to: [[Image here]] (4) Any person whose operator’s license has been revoked, nor to any nonresident whose privilege of exemption under KRS 186.”
Estes v. Gibson, 257 S.W.2d 604 (Ky. Ct. App. 1953).
· cites it 2× “470 qualify the right of a minor under eighteen years of age to have an operator's license, and KRS 186.440(4) denies such license to "An habitual drunkard or drug addict.”
Commonwealth Transp. Cabinet v. Hobson, 870 S.W.2d 228 (Ky. Ct. App. 1993).
· cites it 5× “KRS 186.440, in pertinent part, provides as follows: An operator’s license shall not be granted to: [[Image here]] (4) Any person whose operator’s license has been revoked, nor to any nonresident whose privilege of exemption under KRS 186.”
Scott v. Massachusetts Bonding & Ins. Co., 273 S.W.2d 350 (Ky. Ct. App. 1954).
“KRS 186.440(1). This fact alone would raise a question as to whether the boy could be held an additional insured within the terms of the omnibus clause of the policy.”
Cruse v. Commonwealth, 712 S.W.2d 356 (Ky. Ct. App. 1986).
“he requirement of obtaining a driver’s license and in so doing, it had denied such a document to those under a specific age, insane, or mentally retarded individuals, those affected with physical or mental disabilities impairing their ability to control a vehicle, those with…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 186.440(1) — 1 case
Scott v. Massachusetts Bonding & Ins. Co., 273 S.W.2d 350 (Ky. Ct. App. 1954).
“KRS 186.440(1). This fact alone would raise a question as to whether the boy could be held an additional insured within the terms of the omnibus clause of the policy.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 186.440(3) — 1 case
Transp. Cabinet v. Feige, 889 S.W.2d 52 (Ky. Ct. App. 1994).
“According to the Court, “an individual who moves to Kentucky cannot successfully avoid the provisions of [KRS 186.440(3)] by the simple expedient of changing his residence.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 186.440(4) — 6 cases
Estes v. Gibson, 257 S.W.2d 604 (Ky. Ct. App. 1953).
“470 qualify the right of a minor under eighteen years of age to have an operator's license, and KRS 186.440(4) denies such license to "An habitual drunkard or drug addict.”
Vaughn v. Commonwealth, Transp. Cabinet, Div. of Driver's Licensing, 870 S.W.2d 231 (Ky. Ct. App. 1993).
“KRS 186.440, in pertinent part, provides as follows: An operator’s license shall not be granted to: [[Image here]] (4) Any person whose operator’s license has been revoked, nor to any nonresident whose privilege of exemption under KRS 186.”
Transp. Cabinet v. Feige, 889 S.W.2d 52 (Ky. Ct. App. 1994).
“According to the Court, “an individual who moves to Kentucky cannot successfully avoid the provisions of [KRS 186.440(3)] by the simple expedient of changing his residence.”
Commonwealth Transp. Cabinet v. Hobson, 870 S.W.2d 228 (Ky. Ct. App. 1993).
“KRS 186.440, in pertinent part, provides as follows: An operator’s license shall not be granted to: [[Image here]] (4) Any person whose operator’s license has been revoked, nor to any nonresident whose privilege of exemption under KRS 186.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 186.440(5) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.