Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 523
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 523.020 (2026)

Perjury in the first degree

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) A person is guilty of perjury in the first degree when he or she makes a material false statement, which he or she does not believe: (a) In any official proceeding under an oath required or authorized by law; (b) In a subscribed written instrument for which an oath is required or authorized by law, with the intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of his or her official functions when such person is subscribing a warrant accusing his or her spouse of an offense under KRS Chapter 510; or (c) In an application for a warrant under KRS 455.180. (2) Perjury in the first degree is a Class D felony. Effective: June 29, 2021 History: Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 202, sec. 4, effective June 29, 2021. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 486, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1986. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 191, effective January 1, 1975.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: Cook v. Commonwealth, 129 S.W.3d 351 (Ky. 2004).
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Cook v. Commonwealth, 129 S.W.3d 351 (Ky. 2004). · cites it 2× “KRS 523.020(1). There is no proof that Stack did not believe what he was saying during the suppression hearing or at trial was true.”
Holbrooks v. Commonwealth, 85 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2002). · cites it 5× “INTRODUCTION This Court accepted discretionary review of a Court of Appeals opinion affirming a Letcher Circuit Court judgment that sentenced Appellant to a five (5) year term of imprisonment following his conviction for FirsU-Degree Perjury (KRS 523.020). At a previous trial…”
Hillard v. Commonwealth, 158 S.W.3d 758 (Ky. 2005). · cites it 2× “KRS 523.020. The elements of second-degree perjury were not present because the statements were not made in a "subscribed instrument.”
Brown v. Commonwealth, 226 S.W.3d 74 (Ky. 2007). · cites it 2× “" KRS 523.020(1). "A person is guilty of an offense committed by another person when, with the intention of promoting or facilitating the commission of the offense, he .”
Johnson v. Commonwealth, 292 S.W.3d 889 (Ky. 2009). “” KRS 523.020. Because he can identify no instance of perjury, he cannot show that the prosecution knew of the statements’ falsity and failed to correct the testimony.”
Commonwealth v. Spaulding, 991 S.W.2d 651 (Ky. 1999). “On July 23, 1995, Garner pled guilty to first-degree perjury in violation of KRS 523.020. Specifically, he was adjudged guilty of the following charge contained in the indictment: That on or about the 23rd day of July, 1991, in Jefferson County, Kentucky, the above named…”
Wilson v. Commonwealth, 601 S.W.2d 280 (Ky. 1980). “KRS 523.020, KRS 523.030, KRS 523.-040 — filing missing person’s reports, Class D felony, Class A misdemeanor, Class B misdemeanor, respectively, but that she is not guilty of murder.”
Commonwealth v. Stallard, 958 S.W.2d 21 (Ky. 1997). · cites it 3× “In the case at bar (hereinafter “Stallard IF’), the Letcher County indictment against Stallard charges a violation of KRS 523.020 (Peijury in the First Degree) because she “made material false statements, which she did not believe, when she gave testimony [to the Letcher County…”
Brown v. Commonwealth, 914 S.W.2d 355 (Ky. Ct. App. 1996). “1412), first degree perjury (KRS 523.020), and carrying a concealed weapon (KRS 527.”
Tonya Dale Ray v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 4× “Moreover, the Kentucky Supreme Court has noted that: [t]he Commentary to KRS 523.020 explains that the drafters of the Kentucky Penal Code intended a broad construction of “material” .”
Lexington-Fayette Urban Cnty. Gov't v. Fraternal Order of Police, Bluegrass Lodge 4 (Ky. 2025). · cites it 3× “Further, SB 4 also amended KRS 523.020 (relating to perjury in procuring a warrant not requiring notice) and created a new rule of evidence, KRE 410A, making inadmissible the fruits of a search under a warrant that does not comply with KRS 455.”
Alvarado, 26 I. & N. Dec. 895 (2016). “§ 710-1060 (West 1996); Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 523.020 (West 1996) (criminalizing perjury in the first degree); Me.”
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— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 523.020(1) — 4 cases
Cook v. Commonwealth, 129 S.W.3d 351 (Ky. 2004). “KRS 523.020(1). There is no proof that Stack did not believe what he was saying during the suppression hearing or at trial was true.”
Brown v. Commonwealth, 226 S.W.3d 74 (Ky. 2007). “" KRS 523.020(1). "A person is guilty of an offense committed by another person when, with the intention of promoting or facilitating the commission of the offense, he .”
Holbrooks v. Commonwealth, 85 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2002). “INTRODUCTION This Court accepted discretionary review of a Court of Appeals opinion affirming a Letcher Circuit Court judgment that sentenced Appellant to a five (5) year term of imprisonment following his conviction for FirsU-Degree Perjury (KRS 523.020). At a previous trial…”
Tonya Dale Ray v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2021). “Moreover, the Kentucky Supreme Court has noted that: [t]he Commentary to KRS 523.020 explains that the drafters of the Kentucky Penal Code intended a broad construction of “material” .”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 523.020(1)(c) — 1 case
Lexington-Fayette Urban Cnty. Gov't v. Fraternal Order of Police, Bluegrass Lodge 4 (Ky. 2025). “Further, SB 4 also amended KRS 523.020 (relating to perjury in procuring a warrant not requiring notice) and created a new rule of evidence, KRE 410A, making inadmissible the fruits of a search under a warrant that does not comply with KRS 455.”
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