Selling a house in Kentucky: the paperwork

Every document a Kentucky sale commonly touches, who usually produces it, and the law behind it. In most sales the seller's own share is small, and this page shows you which part that usually is.

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11 documents · 8 questions · about a 12 minute read · free, and we don't ask for your email

3documents are usually the seller's

out of 11 in a Kentucky sale

Tell us about your sale

Answer what you know. Skip what you don't. Every answer takes something off your list or explains why it stays on.

The home

Was the home built before 1978?

Older homes carry a federal lead paint disclosure. It's the same in every state.

Is the home in an HOA, condo, or co-op?

The association has to produce a package, and they can take weeks. Worth knowing early.

You and the title

Are you married?

Some states need a spouse's signature even when they're not on the title. Many don't.

Is the home owned by a trust, LLC, or company?

An entity needs paperwork showing who's allowed to sign for it.

Do you file U.S. taxes as a citizen or resident?

If you don't, the buyer has to hold back part of the price and send it to the IRS.

Will you be at the closing yourself?

Signing from a distance takes a power of attorney, and it has to be arranged early.

Its history

Has there been mold, structural repair, or environmental testing here?

What you know, you generally have to say. What you don't know, you don't have to go find.

Are the mineral, oil, or gas rights separate from the land?

In some states these are sold off separately, and the deed has to say so.

Usually the seller's to produce

In most sales nobody else prepares these. Whether each one applies to you depends on your home, your title, and your buyer.

KREC Seller's Disclosure of Property Condition (Form 402)Pre-listing / seller's disclosure packet
Federal lead-based paint disclosure (pre-1978)Attached to the purchase agreementOn your list because was the home built before 1978
Methamphetamine contamination disclosurePre-listing / seller's disclosure packetOn your list because has there been mold, structural repair, or environmental testing here

Usually drafted for you to sign

These commonly arrive already written. Read them, and ask about anything that looks wrong before you sign.

Consideration certificate (KRS 382.135)Recorded with the county after closing
Condominium resale certificate (KRS 381.9203)In the HOA resale packageOn your list because is the home in an hoa, condo, or co-op

Usually somebody else's to prepare

Commonly handled by a title company, an attorney, a lender, or the county. Listed so none of them is a surprise.

Deed (general/special warranty; quitclaim) with dower/curtesy releaseRecorded with the county after closingOn your list because are you married
Coal/mineral severance & broad-form deed noticeIn the title/escrow closing packetOn your list because are the mineral, oil, or gas rights separate from the land
Payoff statement / mortgage releaseIn the title/escrow closing packet
Transfer tax collection (KRS 142.050)Recorded with the county after closing
1099-SFiled with a government agency post-closing
Notarial certificate / RONIn the title/escrow closing packet

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What catches Kentucky sellers out

The things people find out late here. None of this is a ruling on your sale, and every one of them ends with somebody who can actually answer it for you.

A spouse who is not on the deed may still need to sign

Kentucky kept dower and curtesy, which gives a husband or wife an interest in the property even when only one name is on the title. A deed signed by the titled owner alone can leave a cloud that turns up years later. Electronic signing tools generally collect signatures from the people named on the deed, and no one else.

The rule behind it: KRS 392; retained by SB 50, effective 15 July 2026
Who can answer it: Your closing attorney or title company. Mention your marital status early.

In coal country, somebody else may own what is underneath

Older deeds in Kentucky's coal counties can separate the surface from the minerals beneath it, and a broad-form deed in the chain can carry rights the surface owner never knew about. What those rights permit has been narrowed by the state constitution, but the severance itself usually stands. Buyers ask about this, and it is better found in a title search than in a conversation.

The rule behind it: Ky. Const. § 19(2); broad-form deed doctrine
Who can answer it: A Kentucky title attorney familiar with the county.

How Kentucky generally runs a sale

The broad shape of a sale there, as the research found it. Counties and cities add their own rules on top of all of this.

Closing model — attorney or title company; not mandatory attorneyIn *Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. v. Kentucky Bar Ass'n*, 113 S.W.3d 105 (Ky. 2003), the Kentucky Supreme Court held that lay closing agents may conduct real estate closings, but may not give...

Marital-property regime — common law (NOT community property)

Homestead / spousal joinderKentucky's homestead exemption is $5,000 (Ky. Const. § 244; KRS 427.060). Not a conveyance-joinder rule by itself. The joinder mechanism is dower/curtesy (below).

Dower and curtesy — RETAINEDKentucky is one of the few states retaining dower/curtesy (KRS 392.020, KRS 392.080). A non-titled spouse holds an inchoate interest that must be released in the deed to convey clean title;

Tenancy by the entiretyKentucky recognizes TBE for married couples (creditor protection); however, a conveyance to spouses creates a tenancy in common unless survivorship is expressly stated (KRS 381.050).

Standard deed typeGeneral warranty deed is the standard conveyance; special (limited) warranty and quitclaim also used (KRS 382.010, 382.030 et seq.).

Disclosure regime — statutory formKRS 324.360 requires the seller's disclosure of property condition on the KREC form; primarily a broker-transaction requirement.

Transfer tax — low, grantor-paidKRS 142.050: $0.50 per $500 of value (0.1%), imposed on the grantor; collected by the county clerk at recording (clerk retains a 5% collection commission);

RON status — permanent since Jan. 1, 2020KRS 423.300–423.455 (Kentucky's RULONA enactment, 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 86); online notarization and the notarial act for a remotely located individual at KRS 423.455.

Recording act — race-notice / noticeKRS 382.270 (unrecorded deed void against a subsequent bona fide purchaser without notice); recorded with the County Clerk (KRS 382.110). 120 counties.

Notable overlaysCoal-mining subsidence & broad-form deeds (eastern KY); severed mineral/oil/gas estates; methamphetamine-contamination disclosure (KRS 224.1-410).

Other things Kentucky asks about

These come up in Kentucky and almost nowhere else. We don't ask them above because we can't answer them for you yet, but they're worth raising with your title company.

KY-6: Well/septic served (local health department)? → § 6
KY-7: Are you selling through a licensee (KRS 324.360 applies) or truly FSBO? → § 5

Before you rely on any of this

This is a compilation of published state requirements, not legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it or your sale. Laws and forms change, counties and cities add their own rules, and whether any of this applies to you depends on facts we don't know. Treat every item as a starting point for a question, not as an answer. Confirm anything you plan to rely on against the official source we link, and run your list past a title company or an attorney licensed in your state.

These counts describe a typical sale, not yours. Which documents you need turns on facts about your home, your title, your buyer, and your county, and one unusual answer can add several or remove them.

Who prepares each document is what usually happens, not a rule. Practice differs between states, between counties, and between one title company and the next, and your contract can move work from one side to the other.

Keighbor is not a real estate brokerage and does not represent you. Nobody here is your agent. We don't negotiate, set your price, recommend a course of action, or take a commission. We provide software that helps you organize your side of the sale.

The full Kentucky reference

The rest of the research, with every citation kept. This is the same material our own product is built on, and nothing is held back for paying customers. It describes the law as the research found it, not as it applies to your sale.

ALWAYS-required documents

Deed + consideration certificate

Citation: KRS 382.010, 382.030 et seq.; consideration statement KRS 382.135 (sworn and notarized by both parties). Ownership [ATTORNEY]; appearance: Recorded with the county after closing.
Contents: parties, consideration, legal description, source-of-title reference (book & page), preparation statement, in-care-of tax-mailing address, grantor signature acknowledged; dower/curtesy release by non-titled spouse where applicable (§ 7).
Consequences: county clerk will not record without the consideration certificate and payment of transfer tax; unrecorded deed void against a BFP (KRS 382.270).
Official: statutes https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/; county clerk directory via the Kentucky County Clerks Association / Secretary of State.

KREC Seller's Disclosure of Property Condition (Form 402)

Citation: KRS 324.360; KREC Form 402. Ownership [SELLER]; appearance: Pre-listing / seller's disclosure packet. See § 7 for timing/substance.
Official: https://krec.ky.gov (KREC forms).

Transfer tax collection

Citation: KRS 142.050 — $0.50 per $500 of value, grantor-paid, collected by the county clerk at recording; clerk retains 5% collection commission. No state form; no DOR filing. Where a property straddles counties, the tax is imposed only once, in the county where the deed is required to be recorded under KRS 382.110(1).

SOMETIMES-required documents (triggered)

Trigger — Married seller (dower/curtesy)

KRS 392.020. Non-titled spouse must join the deed to release the inchoate dower/curtesy interest. Satisfy by adding the spouse as a releasing party to the deed; no Realtor form needed.

Trigger — Coal/mineral severance & broad-form deeds

In coal counties, coal/oil/gas estates are frequently severed. Under Ky. Const. § 19(2) (the Broad Form Deed Amendment, proposed by 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 117, § 1, and — per the Kentucky Supreme Court in Ward v. Harding, 860 S.W.2d 280 (Ky. 1993) — "approved by more than 82% of the voters in the November, 1988, General Election") and Ward v. Harding itself (overruling Buchanan v. Watson, 290 S.W.2d 40 (Ky. 1956)), a pre-existing broad-form deed is construed — absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary — to permit coal extraction only by methods commonly in use in the area at the time the instrument was executed, so modern strip mining generally requires the surface owner's consent. Satisfy by title examination and disclosing severed-mineral/broad-form status; title policy typically excepts mineral rights.

Trigger — Methamphetamine contamination (actual knowledge)

KRS 224.1-410 and 902 KAR 47:200 require written disclosure of methamphetamine contamination; failure to properly disclose is a Class D felony under KRS 224.99-010. The KREC Form 402 references this.

Trigger — Condominium

New-regime Kentucky Condominium Act (KRS 381.9101–381.9207, eff. Jan. 1, 2011): under KRS 381.9203, the seller furnishes the declaration, bylaws, rules, and a signed association certificate (assessments, budget, reserves, litigation over $10,000, insurance) before contract execution or before conveyance; the contract is voidable by the purchaser until the certificate is provided and for 5 days thereafter, or until conveyance, whichever occurs first. The association must furnish the certificate within 10 days of request (fee capped at the lesser of $225 or 80% of the monthly assessment). HB 433 (eff. April 11, 2012) extended the § 381.9203 certificate requirement to condos created before 2011 (older condos also governed by the Horizontal Property Law, KRS 381.805–381.910). There is no standalone HOA resale-certificate statute for non-condo subdivisions.

Trigger — Foreign seller

FIRPTA applies (federal § 10). Kentucky imposes no separate closing-stage non-resident withholding; non-resident owners reconcile via Kentucky income tax filings.

Prescribed-language items (substance-over-form)

KRS 324.360 seller's disclosure

Operative substance: KRS 324.360(3) requires the KREC form to provide for disclosure of (a) basement condition and whether it leaks; (b) roof condition and whether it leaks; (c) source and condition of water supply; (d) source and condition of sewage service; (e) working condition of component systems; and (f) other matters the commission deems appropriate. The form states it "shall not be a warranty by the seller or seller's agent and shall not be used as a substitute for an inspection or warranty that the purchaser may wish to obtain."
Where/when: KRS 324.360(4) — the seller completes and signs the form at the time of executing the listing agreement or similar marketing agreement; a copy is delivered by the listing agent to any prospective purchaser (or representative) within 72 hours of the listing agent's receipt. The seller may authorize the agent to complete the form on the seller's behalf under KRS 324.360(9) (hold-harmless).
How Realtor/attorney forms handle it: KREC Form 402 is the standardized form. A true FSBO not using a licensee is outside the core KRS 324.360 broker-transaction mechanism, but common-law misrepresentation liability applies; a FSBO can download and use Form 402 from krec.ky.gov to document known conditions. Verify current Form 402 edition at krec.ky.gov before use.

Consideration certificate (KRS 382.135)

Operative substance: the deed must contain a sworn, notarized statement of the full actual consideration (or fair market value for gifts/nominal consideration), signed by both grantor and grantee. Enumerated exceptions (utility easements, divorce-proceeding transfers, government right-of-way, cemetery lots).
FSBO: the certificate language is standard clerk-required text; the county clerk will reject a deed lacking it.

Local / municipal overlays

Not exhaustive — notable examples include:

Eastern KY coal counties (Pike, Floyd, Perry, Harlan, Letcher) — severed minerals, broad-form deed history, subsidence risk.
Louisville Metro / Jefferson County — consolidated metro government; local recording practices.
Northern Kentucky (Boone, Kenton, Campbell) — Greater Cincinnati market overlap; Ohio River floodplain proximity.
Property tax — homestead exemption for age 65+/disabled (KRS 132.810) is an assessment-relief mechanism, separate from conveyance.
Kentucky's transfer tax is uniform statewide ($0.50/$500); there are no meaningful local transfer-tax add-ons and no state mortgage recording tax.

Post-closing obligations

Recording with the County Clerk (KRS 382.110); transfer tax collected at recording (KRS 142.050); consideration certificate required.
Mortgage payoff and recording of a release (Kentucky uses mortgages, not deeds of trust; judicial foreclosure only, via a court-appointed master commissioner and commissioner's deed).
1099-S (federal, § 10).
No state closing-stage non-resident withholding; non-resident sellers reconcile via Kentucky returns.

Federal overlays (cross-reference)

See 01-methodology-v2.md § 8 for the full federal overlay set: Title X lead-based paint (pre-1978); FIRPTA (26 U.S.C. § 1445); 1099-S (26 U.S.C. § 6045(e)); wire-fraud advisory; Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601); RESPA/TRID.

FinCEN Residential Real Estate Rule (31 CFR 1031.320) — currently suspended. The Rule was effective March 1, 2026, but the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated it nationwide on March 19, 2026 in Flowers Title Companies, LLC v. Bessent. FinCEN filed an appeal to the Fifth Circuit on May 11, 2026. A conflicting Middle District of Florida decision, Fidelity National Financial, Inc. v. Bessent, No. 3:25-cv-554-WWB-SJH (M.D. Fla.) (Feb. 19–20, 2026), upheld the Rule. Net effect for Kentucky closing agents: no filing obligation pending the Fifth Circuit appeal. Recheck currency before quoting.

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