Law,Brief Summary,Body
61.878(1)(a),Personal privacy,Public records containing information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
61.878(1)(b),Confidential records disclosed for research,"Records confidentially disclosed to an agency and compiled and maintained for scientific research. This exemption shall not, however, apply to records the disclosure or publication of which is directed by another statute;"
61.878(1)(c),Trade secrets disclosed to government,"1. Records confidentially disclosed to an agency or required by an agency to be disclosed to it, generally recognized as confidential or proprietary, which if openly disclosed would permit an unfair commercial advantage to competitors of the entity that disclosed the records;
2. Records confidentially disclosed to an agency or required by an agency to be disclosed to it, generally recognized as confidential or proprietary, which are compiled and maintained:
  a. In conjunction with an application for or the administration of a loan or grant;
  b. In conjunction with an application for or the administration of assessments, incentives, inducements, and tax credits as described in KRS Chapter 154;
  c. In conjunction with the regulation of commercial enterprise, including mineral exploration records, unpatented, secret commercially valuable plans, appliances, formulae, or processes, which are used for the making, preparing, compounding, treating, or processing of articles or materials which are trade commodities obtained from a person; or
  d. For the grant or review of a license to do business.
3. The exemptions provided for in subparagraphs 1. and 2. of this paragraph shall not apply to records the disclosure or publication of which is directed by another statute;"
61.878(1)(d),Prospective business locations,"Public records pertaining to a prospective location of a business or industry where no previous public disclosure has been made of the business’ or industry’s interest in locating in, relocating within or expanding within the Commonwealth. This exemption shall not include those records pertaining to application to agencies for permits or licenses necessary to do business or to expand business operations within the state, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection;"
61.878(1)(e),Financial auditing criteria and methods,"Public records which are developed by an agency in conjunction with the regulation or supervision of financial institutions, including but not limited to banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions, which disclose the agency’s internal examining or audit criteria and related analytical methods;"
61.878(1)(f),Preliminary real estate transaction records,"The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering or feasibility estimates and evaluations made by or for a public agency relative to acquisition of property, until such time as all of the property has been acquired. The law of eminent domain shall not be affected by this provision;"
61.878(1)(g),Licensing exams and data,"Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a licensing examination, examination for employment, or academic examination before the exam is given or if it is to be given again;"
61.878(1)(h),Certain law enforcement records,"Records of law enforcement agencies or agencies involved in administrative adjudication that were compiled in the process of detecting and investigating statutory or regulatory violations if the disclosure of the information would harm the agency by revealing the identity of informants not otherwise known or by premature release of information to be used in a prospective law enforcement action or administrative adjudication. Unless exempted by other provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884, public records exempted under this provision shall be open after enforcement action is completed or a decision is made to take no action; however, records or information compiled and maintained by county attorneys or Commonwealth’s attorneys pertaining to criminal investigations or criminal litigation shall be exempted from the provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 and shall remain exempted after enforcement action, including litigation, is completed or a decision is made to take no action. The exemptions provided by this subsection shall not be used by the custodian of the records to delay or impede the exercise of rights granted by KRS 61.870 to 61.884;"
61.878(1)(i),Preliminary drafts and notes,"Preliminary drafts, notes, correspondence with private individuals, other than correspondence which is intended to give notice of final action of a public agency;"
61.878(1)(j),Preliminary recommendations and opinions,"Preliminary recommendations, and preliminary memoranda in which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended;"
61.878(1)(k),Incorporation of State and Federal restrictions outside of the KORA,All public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited by federal law or regulation or state law;
61.878(1)(l),Tax records,"Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly, including any information acquired by the Department of Revenue in tax administration that is prohibited from divulgence or disclosure under KRS 131.190;"
61.878(1)(m),Threats to public safety,"1. Public records the disclosure of which would have a reasonable likelihood of threatening the public safety by exposing a vulnerability in preventing, protecting against, mitigating, or responding to a terrorist act and limited to:
  a. Criticality lists resulting from consequence assessments;
  b. Vulnerability assessments;
  c. Antiterrorism protective measures and plans;
  d. Counterterrorism measures and plans;
  e. Security and response needs assessments;
  f. Infrastructure records that expose a vulnerability referred to in this subparagraph through the disclosure of the location, configuration, or security of critical systems, including public utility critical systems. These critical systems shall include but not be limited to information technology, communication, electrical, fire suppression, ventilation, water, wastewater, sewage, and gas systems;
  g. The following records when their disclosure will expose a vulnerability referred to in this subparagraph: detailed drawings, schematics, maps, or specifications of structural elements, floor plans, and operating, utility, or security systems of any building or facility owned, occupied, leased, or maintained by a public agency; and
  h. Records when their disclosure will expose a vulnerability referred to in this subparagraph and that describe the exact physical location of hazardous chemical, radiological, or biological materials.
2. As used in this paragraph, “terrorist act” means a criminal act intended to:
  a. Intimidate or coerce a public agency or all or part of the civilian population;
  b. Disrupt a system identified in subparagraph 1.f. of this paragraph; or
  c. Cause massive destruction to a building or facility owned, occupied, leased, or maintained by a public agency.
3. On the same day that a public agency denies a request to inspect a public record for a reason identified in this paragraph, that public agency shall forward a copy of the written denial of the request, referred to in KRS 61.880(1), to the executive director of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and the Attorney General.
4. Nothing in this paragraph shall affect the obligations of a public agency with respect to disclosure and availability of public records under state environmental, health, and safety programs.
5. The exemption established in this paragraph shall not apply when a member of the Kentucky General Assembly seeks to inspect a public record identified in this paragraph under the Open Records Law;"
61.878(1)(n),Private donations requesting nondisclosure,"Public or private records, including books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, discs, diskettes, recordings, software, or other documentation regardless of physical form or characteristics, having historic, literary, artistic, or commemorative value accepted by the archivist of a public university, museum, or government depository from a donor or depositor other than a public agency. This exemption shall apply to the extent that nondisclosure is requested in writing by the donor or depositor of such records, but shall not apply to records the disclosure or publication of which is mandated by another statute or by federal law;"
61.878(1)(o),Preliminary procurement records,"Records of a procurement process under KRS Chapter 45A or 56. This exemption shall not apply after:
  1. A contract is awarded; or
  2. The procurement process is canceled without award of a contract and there is a determination that the contract will not be resolicited;"
61.878(1)(p),Public defender records,Client and case files maintained by the Department of Public Advocacy or any person or entity contracting with the Department of Public Advocacy for the provision of legal representation under KRS Chapter 31;
61.878(1)(q),"Photographs or videos that depict the death, killing, rape, or sexual assault","Except as provided in KRS 61.168, photographs or videos that depict the death, killing, rape, or sexual assault of a person. However, such photographs or videos shall be made available by the public agency to the requesting party for viewing on the premises of the public agency, or a mutually agreed upon location, at the request of;
  1. a. Any victim depicted in the photographs or videos, his or her immediate family, or legal representative;
    b. Any involved insurance company or its representative; or
    c. The legal representative of any involved party;
  2. Any state agency or political subdivision investigating official misconduct; or
  3. A legal representative for a person under investigation for, charged with, pled guilty to, or found guilty of a crime related to the underlying incident. The person under investigation for, charged with, pled guilty to, or found guilty of a crime related to the underlying incident or their immediate family shall not be permitted to have access to the photographs or videos; and"
61.878(1)(r),Personal communications,Communications of a purely personal nature unrelated to any governmental function.
DPPA,Motor vehicle licensing and records,"The Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) is a federal law that regulates and restricts access to personal information in DMV records. It prohibits the release or use of personal information obtained in connection with a motor vehicle record by any State DMV or its employees. The DPPA allows the release of personal information for specific purposes defined by the law, such as government agency functions, motor vehicle safety, insurance transactions, and employment verification."
HIPAA,Private healthcare information,"Summary: All health-related personal information is private, including but not limited to names, addresses, diagnoses, prescriptions, treatments."
FERPA,Student records,Summary: Student educational records that identify individual students are protected by FERPA are exempt from disclosure.
237.110(10),Firearm owner records,"The Department of Kentucky State Police shall maintain an automated listing of license holders and pertinent information, and this information shall be available upon request, at all times to all Kentucky, federal, and other states' law enforcement agencies. A request for the entire list of licensees, or for all licensees in a geographic area, shall be denied. Only requests relating to a named licensee shall be honored or available to law enforcement agencies. Information on applications for licenses, names and addresses, or other identifying information relating to license holders shall be confidential and shall not be made available except to law enforcement agencies. No request for lists of local or statewide permit holders shall be made to any state or local law enforcement agency, peace officer, or other agency of government other than the Department of Kentucky State Police, and no state or local law enforcement agency, peace officer, or agency of government, other than the Department of Kentucky State Police, shall provide any information to any requester not entitled to it by law."
189.635(5),Vehicular accident records,"(a) All accident reports filed with the Department of Kentucky State Police in compliance with subsection (4) of this section shall not be considered open records under KRS 61.870 to 61.884 and shall remain confidential, except that the department may:
    1. Disclose the identity of a person involved in an accident when his or her identity is not otherwise known or when he or she denies his or her presence at an accident; and
    2. Make the reports available:
        a. To the persons named in paragraph (c) of this subsection; and
        b. In accordance with subsection (8) of this section.
(b) All other accident reports required by this section, and the information contained in the reports, shall be confidential and exempt from public disclosure under KRS 61.870 to 61.884, except when:
    1. Produced pursuant to a properly executed subpoena or court order; or
    2. Disclosed as provided in this section.
(c) Accident reports shall be made available to:
    1. The parties to the accident;
    2. The parents or guardians of a minor who is party to the accident;
    3. Insurers or their written designee for insurance business purposes of any party who is the subject of the report;
    4. The attorneys of the parties to the accident;
    5. Any party to litigation who files with the department a request for the report and includes a copy of the first page of a District or Circuit Court clerk-stamped complaint naming all parties; and
    6. The Department of Workplace Standards in the Education and Labor Cabinet if the accident report is pertinent to an occupational safety and health investigation."
311A.190(5),Ambulatory records,"Ambulance provider, mobile integrated healthcare program and medical first response provider patient care records and the information transmitted electronically to the board shall be confidential and in compliance with HIPAA privacy rules referenced in 45 C.F.R. pt. 164. No person shall make an unauthorized release of information on an ambulance provider, mobile integrated healthcare program, or medical first response provider patient care record. Only the patient or the patient's parent or legal guardian if the patient is a minor, or the patient's legal guardian or person with proper power of attorney if the patient is under legal disability as being incompetent or mentally ill, or a court of competent jurisdiction may authorize the release of information on a patient's care record or the inspection or copying of the patient care record. Any authorization for the release of information or for inspection or copying of a patient care record shall be in writing."
365.880,Trade secrets,Summary: Trade secrets confidentially provided to the government are exempt from release under the KORA
610.320(3),Juvenile criminal records,"All law enforcement and court records regarding children who have not reached their eighteenth birthday shall not be opened to scrutiny by the public, except that a separate public record shall be kept by the clerk of the court which shall be accessible to the public for court records, limited to the petition, order of the adjudication, and disposition in juvenile delinquency proceedings concerning a child who is fourteen (14) years of age or older at the time of the commission of the offense, and who is adjudicated a juvenile delinquent for the commission of an offense that would constitute a capital offense or a Class A, B, or C felony if the juvenile were an adult, or any offense involving a deadly weapon, or an offense wherein a deadly weapon is used or displayed."
131.081(15),Taxpayer records,"Taxpayers shall have the right to privacy with regard to the information provided on their Kentucky tax returns and reports, including any attached information or documents. Except as provided in KRS 131.190, no information pertaining to the returns, reports, or the affairs of a person's business shall be divulged by the department to any person or be intentionally and without authorization inspected by any present or former commissioner or employee of the department, member of a county board of assessment appeals, property valuation administrator or employee, or any other person."
Courts,Court Records,"Despite their inclusion in the Open Records Act, Kentucky courts have held they are not subject to it. If users ask about any records maintained by the court, they can find more information on the Court of Justice website at https://courts.ky.gov/Pages/open-records-request.aspx."