Privacy Law Library

Automated License Plate Reader Restrictions

KY ALPR Law

Location · Government records · Financial

Makes it unlawful for anyone, public or private, to use automated license plate readers except for listed purposes such as parking regulation, access control to secured areas, public safety and auto theft, law enforcement, tolling, and commercial vehicle enforcement. Captured data (plate, location, time, photos, vehicle details) generally must be deleted after 90 days and may not be sold or shared except to law enforcement, under subpoena, or to insurers and lenders for specified purposes, with notice to new insurance and loan applicants starting in 2027.

Where
Kentucky
Citation
KRS 189.632; KRS 189.990(33) (created 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 71, HB 58)
Status
In force
In force since
2026-07-15
Enforced by
Prosecutors (criminal penalty); Transportation Cabinet (permit process for highway rights-of-way)
People can sue
No
Penalties
Violating KRS 189.632 is punishable by a fine of $20 to $2,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.
Applies to
  • Any individual, entity, partnership, corporation, or association, and the Commonwealth, its agencies, and political subdivisions, that uses an automated license plate reader
  • Law enforcement agencies, the Transportation Cabinet, and their contractors
  • Insurance carriers, insurance support organizations, and financial institutions that receive ALPR data

What a privacy notice must say

  • Insurance carriers must tell applicants for insurance, via the website privacy statement or application disclaimer, of potential use of ALPR data to enforce the contract.KRS 189.632(4)(d)4.b. · Only if: Applications on or after January 1, 2027 · From 2027-01-01
  • Financial institutions must tell financing applicants, via the website privacy statement or application disclaimer, of potential use of ALPR data to enforce the contract.KRS 189.632(4)(d)5.b. · Only if: Applications on or after January 1, 2027 · From 2027-01-01

Practices it requires

  • Use ALPRs only for listed purposes: regulating parking, controlling access to secured areas, or promoting public safety and addressing auto theft (plus government law enforcement, tolling, and commercial vehicle uses).KRS 189.632(2)-(3)
  • Do not preserve captured license plate data longer than 90 days unless an exception applies, such as evidence in a criminal or insurance claim investigation, redacted training use, auditing, or a subpoena or preservation notice.KRS 189.632(4)(a)
  • Use captured data only for the deploying entity's lawful purpose and do not sell, share, access, or transfer it except to law enforcement or its contractors, under subpoena, to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, to insurers for fraud, recovery, and claims purposes, or to financial institutions for collateral recovery, liens, defaulted funds, or loan verification.KRS 189.632(4)(c)-(d)

Other duties

  • Before deploying ALPRs, law enforcement agencies must adopt and publish a written policy covering databases, retention, training, oversight, access and security, and 90-day audits, and must visually confirm plate matches before a traffic stop.KRS 189.632(5)-(6)

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.

Unverified: Transportation Cabinet permit regulations under KRS 189.632(7) had not been checked.

Research reference, not legal advice.