Yes. Under current Kentucky law, when a previously registered vehicle changes ownership – which includes when your car is declared a total loss and you sign the title over to the insurance company or a salvage buyer – the license plate does not stay with the vehicle; it stays with you, the owner, and may be transferred to another vehicle you own of the same class while the registration is still valid (KRS 186.190). The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s KAVIS/“Keep Your License Plate” guidance confirms that Kentuckians now keep their plate and unexpired registration when transferring vehicle ownership, rather than letting the plate go with the car. The main exceptions are when the vehicle is being junked or otherwise taken out of service, in which case the plate and registration are turned in to the county clerk as part of that process under the same statute.
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