Kentucky lottery winners can remain anonymous for up to one year if their prize exceeds $1 million, under a 2025 law. For prizes at or below that amount, your name is subject to public records requests, and the practical workaround is claiming the ticket through a revocable living trust so the trust’s name, not yours, appears on the claim.
The $1 Million Rule Under House Bill 46
House Bill 46 passed the Kentucky House unanimously in 2025 and created an anonymity option for winners of prizes with an overall gross value exceeding $1 million. If you qualify and elect this option, the Kentucky Lottery Corporation cannot publish your name, address, or likeness for up to one year from the date you claim the prize. The only way that information gets released during that window is if you sign a waiver on a form the Corporation provides.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky HB 46 – An Act Relating to the Identification of Lottery Winners
The law amends Kentucky’s Open Records Act (KRS 61.878) to shield qualifying winners’ identifying information from public inspection during that year. Some details stay public even for qualifying winners, including the retail location where the winning ticket was sold. And once the one-year window closes, the information becomes subject to standard open records rules again.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky HB 46 – An Act Relating to the Identification of Lottery Winners
So the statutory shield is real but time-limited and prize-limited. It covers headlines in the immediate aftermath of a jackpot win, which is when privacy matters most, but it does not make you anonymous forever.
What Happens If Your Prize Is $1 Million or Less
Below the million-dollar threshold, the anonymity statute doesn’t apply. The Kentucky Lottery Corporation is classified as a public agency under KRS 61.870, so its records fall under the Kentucky Open Records Act.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky SB 55 – An Act Relating to the State Lottery Anyone can file a records request and obtain your name, city of residence, and prize amount.
The Kentucky Lottery may let you opt out of press releases or photo events, but that is separate from open records. Declining a photo op does not block a formal records request. For winners under the million-dollar line, a trust is the main privacy tool available.
Claiming Through a Revocable Living Trust
If you set up a revocable living trust before you claim, the trust’s name goes on the claim and the public sees that name instead of yours. This works for prizes of any size, and it adds a layer of privacy even for winners who also qualify for the statutory one-year shield.
Creating a revocable living trust is a routine job for an estate planning attorney. You pick a trust name (it does not have to include your personal name), appoint a trustee to manage the assets, and set out how the winnings will be distributed. The trust has to be fully executed and legally valid before you sign the back of the winning ticket or file a claim. Flat-fee pricing from estate planning attorneys for trust creation typically runs between $1,000 and $4,000, though a high-value jackpot can justify more involved planning.
What a Revocable Trust Will Not Do
Privacy is the point here, not asset protection. Because you retain control over a revocable trust and can modify or dissolve it at will, creditors can still reach assets inside it during your lifetime. An irrevocable trust offers stronger protection from creditors, but you give up control of the assets permanently. If you have existing debts or judgments, raise that tradeoff with an attorney before you choose.
Getting a Tax ID for the Trust
A revocable living trust can sometimes operate under the grantor’s Social Security number rather than a separate Employer Identification Number. The IRS allows this when the trustee furnishes the grantor’s name and taxpayer identification number to all payers.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) For a lottery claim, though, the Kentucky Lottery’s claim form asks for a federal tax identification number, and the cleaner approach is to get a separate EIN using IRS Form SS-4. The application is free and can be completed online in minutes.
Filing the Claim So the Trust Actually Stays on It
The most common mistake is signing the ticket in your personal name out of habit. Don’t. Once the trust exists, the trustee signs the back of the winning ticket using the trust’s official name, and the trust becomes the claimant from that point forward.
The claim package submitted to the Kentucky Lottery Corporation includes:
- The signed ticket, signed on the back with the trust’s name.
- The prize claim form, completed with the trust’s information and its federal tax ID number.
- A copy of the full trust agreement, showing it was established by the winner.
- A notarized letter of direction from the settlor (you) directing the Kentucky Lottery to pay the prize to the trustee.
KRS 154A.110 is the statute that addresses payment of lottery prizes to trustees of revocable living trusts, and it specifically requires that a copy of the trust and a notarized letter of direction be filed with the Corporation.4Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 154A.110 – Prizes Taxable, Withholdings From Prize, Verification Rules and Prize Payments The notarized letter is the piece people most often forget. Have the attorney who drafted the trust prepare it, and get it notarized before you walk into lottery headquarters.
Privacy Steps That Have Nothing to Do With the Law
Anonymity statutes and trust structures handle public records. They do not make you invisible to the people around you, and that is where most winners get into trouble.
Before claiming, keep the news to yourself. Every person you tell is a potential leak, and once word gets out it does not go back in. Make copies of the winning ticket and store the original in a safe or bank safe deposit box while you assemble your team. Do not sign the ticket in your own name until you have decided whether you are claiming personally or through a trust, because a personal signature can complicate a trust claim later.
After claiming, assume your contact information will circulate. Changing your phone number, setting up a P.O. box, and tightening social media privacy settings are small moves that save real headaches. Scammers target known lottery winners aggressively. Anyone who contacts you claiming to be a lottery employee, asks for upfront fees to release a prize, or requests banking information is running a scam. No legitimate lottery asks winners to pay money to collect winnings they have already won.
A professional team matters as much as the legal paperwork. An estate planning attorney, a tax professional, and a fee-only financial advisor working together can keep you clear of the mistakes that derail a surprising number of winners. Take time before you make major life changes, and be careful about becoming the family bank. Generosity holds up better when it is planned than when it is reactive.