Kentucky · Open Records Act

The Kentucky Open Records Act, with binding Attorney General review built in

AccessPoint manages Open Records Act requests under KRS 61.870–61.884 — the five-business-day written determination, the KRS 61.878(1)(a)–(s) exceptions, and Attorney General review with the force of law — pre-configured for Kentucky and running inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

Start Free Trial Request a Demo

Kentucky at a glance

Response standard
Written determination within 5 business days of receipt
Enforcement
Attorney General appeal, decided within 20 business days with the force of law unless appealed to circuit court within 30 days
Exemptions
KRS 61.878(1)(a)–(s), as amended by 2025 HB 520
Charges
Copies at actual cost; 10 cents per page is the long-standing reasonable-fee benchmark from case law, not a statutory figure
Oversight
Kentucky Attorney General, with circuit-court appeal
Languages
English

Built for Kentucky

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

ORA request lifecycle

Intake to release under the Kentucky Open Records Act (KRS 61.870–61.884) — the five-business-day determination, the written response, and inspection or copies — all on Microsoft 365.

Kentucky-residency eligibility

Since 2021, only residents of the Commonwealth may make an open-records request. AccessPoint captures residency at intake so an out-of-state request is flagged before it goes anywhere.

The five-business-day determination

Issue a written determination — grant, deny, or partial denial with the specific KRS 61.878(1) exception cited — within five business days of receipt.

Redaction by exception

Apply the KRS 61.878(1)(a)–(s) exceptions, as amended by 2025 HB 520, line by line on a colour-coded, audit-trailed redaction record.

ORA charges

Charge copies at actual cost, with the long-standing 10-cents-per-page reasonable-fee benchmark from case law available as a reference point, not a statutory rate.

In your own tenant

Every request and record stays inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant — no third-party cloud, no cross-border transfers, and no per-user fees.

Attorney General review with the force of law

In Kentucky, the Attorney General doesn't just advise on a denied request — the decision is binding unless someone appeals it.

Most states route an open-records dispute to an advisory opinion or straight to court. Kentucky's Attorney General review sits in between: appeal a denial and the Attorney General must decide within 20 business days, and that decision carries the force of law — enforceable as if a court had ruled — unless the agency or the requester appeals it to circuit court within 30 days. That makes the AG appeal a real, fast-moving enforcement track, not just a recommendation. AccessPoint keeps the request record — the written determination, the KRS 61.878(1) exception cited, and the residency check — ready for that appeal from day one.

5-business-day determination A written grant, denial, or partial denial, with the exception cited.
AG decides in 20 business days Binding — with the force of law — unless appealed further.
30 days to circuit court Either side may appeal the AG's decision within 30 days.

Configured out of the box

Installing the us-ky-ora jurisdiction pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Pack content last reviewed: 2026-09-03

Related guide: FOI Workflow Quick Check
  • The Kentucky Open Records Act (KRS 61.870–61.884) as the legal-authority and citation spine
  • The Kentucky-residency eligibility check required since 2021
  • The Kentucky state-holiday calendar and the five-business-day written-determination rule
  • The KRS 61.878(1)(a)–(s) exceptions, as amended by 2025 HB 520, mapped for redaction
  • ORA charges — actual cost, with the 10-cents-per-page case-law benchmark as a reference
  • The Attorney General appeal workflow — the 20-business-day decision and 30-day circuit-court appeal window
  • Kentucky timeliness tracking against the five-business-day standard
  • ORA correspondence templates with statutory wording
A jurisdiction pack's detail panel in AccessPoint settings, showing the pack description, version, what's new, and the checklist of items it imports: legal authorities, calendars, request statuses, request types, extension reasons, requestor categories and consultation types Click to enlarge
What a pack looks like in Settings (the Ontario municipal pack shown): the description, the version and what changed in it, and every item it imports with its statutory basis. Anything you have customized is never overwritten on update.

Kentucky Questions

When must a Kentucky agency respond to a records request?
KRS 61.870–61.884 requires a written determination — granting, denying, or partially denying the request, with the specific KRS 61.878(1) exception cited on any denial — within five business days of receipt. AccessPoint tracks the deadline and drafts the citation-ready determination.

What makes Kentucky different — binding Attorney General review?
Yes. A requester denied access may appeal to the Attorney General, who must decide within 20 business days. Unlike a purely advisory opinion, that decision has the force of law unless the agency or the requester appeals it to circuit court within 30 days. AccessPoint keeps the request record ready for that appeal.

Who can make a request in Kentucky, and what can an agency charge?
Since 2021, only residents of the Commonwealth may make an open-records request; AccessPoint checks residency at intake. Copies are charged at actual cost — the frequently cited 10-cents-per-page figure comes from case law as a reasonable-fee benchmark, not a statutory rate.

Where does data reside?
Entirely within your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Requests, documents, and audit history never leave your control — no third-party cloud, no vendor access, and no cross-border data transfers.

Go deeper

AccessPoint for Alabama A brand-new response clock, layered on Alabama's 1981 Stone balancing test AccessPoint for Alaska Silence is a denial, then a two-step appeal — agency head, then superior court AccessPoint for Arizona Open records on a balancing test, no exemption list FOI request management software The full request lifecycle — computed deadlines, records collection, redaction, audit. AccessPoint vs. GovQA Granicus Records Request Management — requests only, vendor cloud. AccessPoint vs. NextRequest CivicPlus's public-records platform — strong portal, vendor cloud only.

Flat annual pricing, published in full. Every feature in every size — access requests, privacy impact assessments, breach response, complaints, video & audio redaction, and AI Assist. No per-user or per-module fees.

  • Under 500 employees$2,990/yr
  • 500–2,000 employees$7,990/yr
  • Over 2,000 employees$14,990/yr

See full pricing Build the business case

Run the Kentucky Open Records Act in One Platform

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, pre-configured for Kentucky. No credit card required.

Start Free Trial Request a Demo