Classic Car Dealers in Kentucky

In Kentucky the county clerk takes the title application, and the usage tax is collected there at 6% of the price, so the plate and tax choices matter more than anything else on a classic. A car that qualifies for historic plates is taxed on a fixed $100 value, while the same car on regular plates is taxed on what you paid.

Titling the car

The Transportation Cabinet says a sold vehicle must be transferred to the new owner within 15 days, and state law gives a buyer 15 days to apply for registration. The seller signs the assignment on the back of the Kentucky title, signatures are notarized, and you take the title, proof of Kentucky insurance issued within the last 45 days, your ID, the usage tax and fees to your county clerk. The title fee is $9 at the county offices that publish it, and the title comes by mail from Frankfort in roughly four to six weeks. Speed titles, which are mailed the next business day, are not available for classic vehicles. If you do not file, the seller can file an affidavit of incomplete transfer that restricts registration of the car.

A licensed dealer delivers the assigned title to you, or with your consent takes it to the clerk, and must see proof of insurance before handing over the car. If the dealer has not received a clear title from the prior owner it must hold the paperwork until it does.

Cars from another state

A vehicle brought into Kentucky must pass a sheriff's inspection in the county where you will file before the clerk will accept the application. For a vehicle 25 years or older that meets the historic definition, the inspection is limited to verifying the VIN against the documents. The fee is $15 for an individual. Bring the other state's title (or its registration or bill of sale if that state does not issue titles), form TC 96-182 and proof of insurance. A nonresident who buys a Kentucky car can get a $5 transit tag valid 15 days from the Transportation Cabinet in Frankfort.

Kentucky has a classic motor vehicle project title for cars at least 25 years old that are not roadworthy and either have never been titled in Kentucky or come with a regular, unbranded out-of-state title. The title says "not for road use" and needs only a VIN check by the sheriff. After restoration you return for a full sheriff's inspection and receive a regular title. Kentucky pages do not describe a bonded title for a car with no title, so a missing title should be sorted out with the county clerk before you pay.

Historic and vintage plates

• Historic plates are for vehicles 25 years or older used primarily for shows, parades, tours and other special uses, not general transportation. The fee is $56 for the pair, plus any county charges, and the registration does not need annual renewal. If the car is sold, the registration and plates are transferred to the new owner for $3.
• Vintage plates: a 25-year-old car on regular registration may display an authentic Kentucky plate that is 25 years or older, or a reproduction, as long as the current plate and registration receipt stay in the car.
• Historic vehicles carry their property tax due date in December rather than the owner's birth month.

Emissions and inspections

Kentucky has no vehicle emissions test in force. The Jefferson County and Northern Kentucky programs were moved out of the active state plan in 2005, so no county tests and no age exemption is needed. There is no annual safety inspection to register a car; the sheriff's inspection applies when a vehicle is first titled after coming into Kentucky.

Usage tax

• Kentucky charges a 6% motor vehicle usage tax on the retail price, collected by the clerk, with no local add-on. On a used car, private or dealer, the price is what you paid, shown on an affidavit that the buyer and seller each have notarized. The taxable price cannot be below half of the book trade-in value, less the trade-in value of any car you give in trade.
• A motor vehicle you trade in at the time of purchase lowers the taxable price.
• A vehicle registered with historic plates has a fixed retail price of $100, so the usage tax is the $6 minimum.
• Transfers between spouses, parent and child, stepparent and stepchild, and grandparent and grandchild are exempt. A gift to anyone else is taxed on the book trade-in value.
• If you buy out of state and title the car in Kentucky, tax you paid to the other state is credited when that state gives Kentucky a similar credit. A new resident's used car is taxed on its book trade-in value, or $100 if it is too old to appear in the guide.

Dealers, private sellers and salvage titles

Selling cars as a business in Kentucky requires a dealer license from the Motor Vehicle Commission. Kentucky law lets a seller exclude implied warranties with words such as "as is," and the lemon law covers only new vehicles, so a used classic usually cannot be returned. An individual or dealer must still give a written, signed disclosure of damage over $2,000 that happened on their watch. A salvage vehicle is one where repair cost exceeds 75% of retail value, and a rebuilt car carries a "rebuilt vehicle" brand on every later title. The seller must disclose a brand before the sale and the sale is voidable by the buyer for 45 days after the title issues if no acknowledgment is signed, but that disclosure rule does not apply to vehicles more than 10 model years old. Plates require liability insurance of at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage.

Sources: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (DRIVE titling, license plates, rebuilt titles, mandatory insurance pages), Kentucky Department of Revenue (motor vehicle usage tax clerk manual and FAQ), Kentucky Revised Statutes (chapters 77, 138, 186, 186A, 190, 355, 367), the U.S. EPA Federal Register notices on Kentucky inspection programs and county clerk title offices (LaRue and Bullitt). Rules and fees change; confirm with your county clerk before you buy.