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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky Senate Bill 83 requires automatic expungement of dismissed forcible detainer records and minor name removals
Last action · January 13, 2026: introduced in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)Sponsor: Gerald Neal
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky Senate Bill 83 requires courts to automatically expunge dismissed records after five days and allows s improperly named in such actions to petition for immediate name removal. The measure also restricts court record inspections and applies to actions brought on or after the act's effective date.
- Forcible detainer actions are legal proceedings used in Kentucky to resolve landlord-tenant disputes and property possession claims. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
defendants in dismissed forcible detainer actions
Defendants experience automatic expungement of dismissed records after five days, relieving them from disclosing the matter on applications.
unemancipated minors
Minors improperly named in forcible detainer actions can have their names immediately expunged from the court order upon petition.
Administrative Office of the Courts
The office must establish a standardized form for petitions for expungement filed by minors.
Key Facts
- Dismissed forcible detainer actions must be automatically expunged by the court upon the expiration of five days without requiring defendant action.
- Expunged proceedings are deemed never to have occurred, and official background checks must indicate that the records do not exist.
- Individuals whose records are expunged are not required to disclose the matter on employment, credit, or other applications.
- Unemancipated minors improperly named as defendants, their parents or guardians, or other named defendants can petition at any time to expunge the minor's name.
Show all 6 facts
- Court clerks must seal papers, records, files, and proceedings in a suitable envelope upon entry of a final order, restricting inspection to parties and their attorneys without a written order.
- The expungement provisions apply to actions for forcible detainer brought on or after the effective date of the Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a forcible detainer action is dismissed?
Can an improperly named minor be removed from a forcible detainer order?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the Senate.
Procedural history
1 action- Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroducedintroduced in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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