Do Trailers Need To Be Registered In Kentucky

my neighbor and i was having a descusion on the DOT boys cracking down on people that pull trailors,,,,,what he said was that it was a law that they needed to be licensed,,and have lights and trailor brakes,,,,,,he said that the law always has been for the lights but none of the above was ever enforced,,,but he knows a couple of guys in this area that got a ticket for the trailor,,,,, i pull a 5x8 with a mower a few days a week,,,,,,what he said was that they are starting to enforce it in KY now,,,,anybody hear of this?????????

It more over the guys hauling scrap Iron with trailers over so many ft in length. They are poppin em for so called comercial activity without DOT numbers and crap. I believe that any trailer over 10 ft must have lights and anything over 16 must have breaks. The state is hard pressed for funds so they are getting pretty gung ho over simple crap that they have ignored forever.
i agree duck,,,,,they are finding ways to stick it to us simple people

I have a friend that is a trooper, he told me that as long as the trailor or load does not block the tail lights of the veh. pulling it you are fine with no lights.
Trailers that are privately owned and operated and meet the following criteria do not have to be licensed in Kentucky.
Used for the transportation of:

Boats

Luggage

Personal Effects

Farm products, farm supplies or farm equipment

All-terrain vehicles as defined in KRS 189.010(24)

Wildlife as defined in KRS 150.010(41) that the owner or operator of the trailer has obtained while hunting

Firearms or other supplies used in conjunction with hunting wildlife

Trailers used for anything else must be licensed. (EDIT) Which includes travel trailers, camping trailers, or recreational trailers (example-a horse trailer with a living quarters)
In addition, Kentucky law does not specifically require brakes on trailers, regardless of weight. However, vehicles singular or in combination must be able to stop within distance specified by statute.

If the trailer is small enough or has a small load so that you can see the towing vehicle's rear lights, the trailer does not require lights of any kind. However, if the trailer has lights of any kind, the trailer lights must work regardless of trailer size or size of load even if you can see the vehicle lights.

Even though the trailer may not have to be licensed if it meets the criteria above, anytime you tow a trailer out of state it must be registered and you must have the registration reciept with you, regardless of what kind of trailer it is.

As, stated above, the crack down from the DOT is more for people using them for work related things, such as hauling metal, construction, etc.
Last edited: Mar 18, 2010
The dot are cracking down in the louisville ky. area if you have a mowing service or any thing that looks like being used for work.

This may also have to do with the number of trailors that are being stolen. If you have to put tags on it, it would make a stolen trailer harder to re-sell.
Even though there arent that many commercially used utility trailers compared to the number used for personal use, anything to damper the market for stolen ones would help.

There are quite a few folks from the Louisville, Lex and N.KY area that come to S-Tree campground to ride ATV's, and it seems that someone in the group always has a trailor stolen that they ask to keep an eye out for.
It's a way for them to charge me taxes on a boat trailer that I've never had to pay before, too.
My newest boat doesn't have to have trailer tags so long as I stay in state, but I get a seperate tax and registration bill just for the stinking trailer, as well as the one for the boat that rides on it.
Just a thought but the resale of the trailor with a tag on it, probably wont matter much if they are being cut up for the aluminum.That is what is happening down in Florida, according to my brother.
Is this correct?
I always thought that the laws of the home state dictated registration on personal use trailers travelling out of state. I know I've trailered an unlicensed dog trailer all over the country without a problem ... have I been just lucky?
Where does a towable grill fall ? It is used for pleasure only .
*Firearms or other supplies used in conjunction with hunting wildlife.
Looks to me as long as you have a season open, you would have to eat when you got back from hunting.. Looks like Wing Dings may have some competition from Coyote Cookin's LOL

I pull a trailer to Florida every year to haul my cycle, and a FL Trooper said as long it is legal in the state of license, it is legal.

I guess that is how Florida boats get away with having only 1 sticker in KY.
i have put about 2 hours into this to get the exact definition of everything,,,talking about something not making sense,,,,,,can't even find a dang # to call these idiots
Fraid it is correct, and you are lucky, well, I don't really thinks it is luck, as much as since it doesn't need to be licensed, most DOT officers simply do not bother checking or enforcing out of state registration laws. But you must to have proof of the KY registration in case you are checked to prove ownweship and it is a registered trailer if you pull it out of state
However, you do not need to license the trailer if it is registered in KY (or any other state that does not require trailer license) to pull it out of state. Each state could not realistically enforce license plate laws from every other state as they all differ, but it is easy to just check registration for out of state trailers as all states require this of any trailer pulled out of state. I doubt even some DOT/DMV officers know this, but it is the law(s).
Good question, it doesn't fit the best, but you should be ok saying it is a personal effect as it is used for personal use only. That's a tough one.That is correct, as I stated above each state could not begin to know and enforce every state's trailer license laws, but if you pull it out of state it must be registered , not licensed. So if you don't have to licesne it in KY, you don't have to have a license for it in FL, which is exactly what you said the FL Trooper stated. But it has to be registered which is seperate from licensing.
Hey guys, I'm not telling anyone they have to register thier trailers, or license them, that is your buisness, I'm just stating what the KY laws pertaining to trailers are per the thread request. In truth, these laws are rarely enforced, but they are starting to enforce some of them which will probably lead to more enforcement of all of them.

As far as taxes and cost-I have three trailers, none of them are licensed (they don't have to be as they all fall under the exemptions I posted), but all are registered because I use them for fourwheeling and hunting out of state occaisonally. One is homemade, and all I had to do is go to the County Clerks office, fill out a request, and the state issued a serial # for it and it is good to go (and should I every start using any of them for other use it will be simple to license them now). Total taxes for registering my -6x18, -5x9, and -6x12 enclosed trailer, is just under $4 dollars a year. Four bucks is nothing if it keeps me legal out of state and prevents just one ticket, which would probably cost a few hundred bucks.
Heck, noone around bere can afford an all aluminum trailer. If I could, I could afford to license it. lol
My Gooseneck I built has a deckover on it 8 ft long. It athat considerd in the full length of the trailer or do you measure from main deck to end of dovetail??? If so, my trailer is 31 ft long total!!!!! 18 ft deck, 5 ft dovetail and 8 ft deckover. 8 ft wide. Any trailer wider tha 8 ft i believee it is has to have side lights and a 3 light assembly in the center of the dovetail. Just as a dually pickup truck. Correct me If I am wrong.

Last edited: Mar 19, 2010