The Kentucky Revised Statutes, abbreviated KRS, are the official collection of permanent general laws enacted by the Kentucky General Assembly, organized by subject into titles, chapters, and sections and maintained in an electronic database by the Legislative Research Commission.1Kentucky General Assembly. Kentucky Revised Statutes – Legislative Research Commission The General Assembly adopted the KRS in 1942, and it has served as the commonwealth’s statutory framework ever since.2UofL Libraries. Kentucky Revised Statutes 75th Anniversary – Section: History of KRS
How the Code Is Organized
The KRS is built in tiers. The broadest unit is a title, which covers a major subject area. Each title contains chapters, and each chapter contains numbered sections with the actual legal text.1Kentucky General Assembly. Kentucky Revised Statutes – Legislative Research Commission Title XL, for example, covers Crimes and Punishments; inside it, separate chapters handle how offenses are classified, what sentences apply, and what fines attach. Starting at the title level and drilling down is usually the fastest way to locate a rule when you don’t already know the section number.
One thing to watch out for: the chapter titles, headings, and section catchlines printed alongside the statute text are editorial labels, not law.3Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes If a heading seems to say one thing and the actual text of the section says another, the text controls.
Where to Find the Official Version
The official version of the KRS is not a book. Under KRS 7.131, the Legislative Research Commission maintains the official version in an electronic database.4Justia. Kentucky Code 7.131 – Official Version of the Kentucky Revised Statutes That database powers the General Assembly’s bill-drafting system and is published to the public on the LRC website. The online collection currently reflects enactments through the 2025 Regular Session, with the most recent update in April 2026.3Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes
You can browse the LRC database by title or chapter number, or search by keyword across the entire code. Printed sets still exist in law libraries and government offices, but they no longer carry official status. Commercial platforms such as Westlaw and LexisNexis publish annotated versions that add editor-written summaries of court decisions interpreting each section. Those annotations help you see how courts have applied a statute, but the annotations themselves are editorial and not part of the law.
How to Read a KRS Citation
A Kentucky statute citation uses the format “KRS” followed by a number with a decimal point. The number before the decimal is the chapter; the number after is the section inside that chapter. KRS 532.060 means Chapter 532, Section 060. “KRS” is itself the officially authorized shorthand for Kentucky Revised Statutes.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 446.120 – References to Sections, Subsections, and Paragraphs — Citation of Acts of General Assembly
When a citation links two section numbers with the word “to,” it covers both of the sections named and every section in between.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 446.120 – References to Sections, Subsections, and Paragraphs — Citation of Acts of General Assembly A reference to “KRS 500.010 to 500.080” takes in the whole range. Each section also carries a history note below the text, listing the year it was first enacted and every amendment since. If you need to know whether the version in front of you is the 1942 original or something changed last session, that note is where you look.
When a New Law Takes Effect
The Kentucky Constitution sets a default waiting period. No act of the General Assembly becomes law until 90 days after the session adjourns, unless the legislature specifies an earlier effective date or declares an emergency.6Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Constitution Section 55 – When Laws to Take Effect General appropriation bills are the built-in exception to the 90-day rule.
If a bill writes a specific effective date into its text, that date controls instead of the default. Emergency legislation can take effect immediately on the governor’s signature when the bill contains an emergency clause. The practical takeaway: always check the effective-date language in a newly passed act before assuming the 90-day default applies.
Reading the Language: Construction and Common Pitfalls
Chapter 446 of the KRS collects the general rules courts use when they interpret statutes. Under KRS 446.080, statutes are to be liberally construed to carry out their intended purpose, and they do not apply retroactively unless the text expressly says so.7Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 446.080 – Liberal Construction — Statutes Not Retroactive Words carry their common, everyday meaning unless the statute defines them differently or the word has an established technical meaning in the relevant field.
The most practical reading habit involves two short words. “Shall” is mandatory; “may” is discretionary. If a statute says a court “shall” impose a fine, the fine is required. If it says the court “may” impose a fine, the judge gets to choose. That single word often decides whether a provision is a hard rule or an option.
What Happens When Part of a Statute Is Struck Down
Kentucky has a blanket severability rule written directly into the code. Under KRS 446.090, if a court declares one part of a statute unconstitutional, the remaining parts stay in force.8Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 446.090 – Severability This default has been part of the KRS since 1942, so the General Assembly doesn’t need to attach a severability clause to every bill.
Two narrow exceptions apply. The surviving parts fall if they are so tightly tied to the invalid part that the legislature clearly would not have enacted them on their own. They also fall if, standing alone, they are incomplete and cannot be carried out in a way that matches what the General Assembly intended.8Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 446.090 – Severability Outside those situations, a successful constitutional challenge rarely wipes out an entire act. Courts preserve as much of the surrounding law as they can.