E-Verify requirements in Kentucky: no state mandate, and the bills that did not pass
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As of October 2026, Kentucky has no E-Verify mandate. We found no Kentucky Revised Statutes section requiring private employers, public employers or state contractors to use it, and no executive order doing so. Bills to require it have been filed repeatedly, most recently House Bill 673 in 2025, and none has passed. A Kentucky employer uses E-Verify only if it chooses to, or if a federal contract with the FAR E-Verify clause requires it.
Some compliance guides say Kentucky requires E-Verify of "public contractors." We could not find the statute, regulation or order behind that statement, and the 2025 bill would have created such a requirement as new law, which suggests it did not already exist.
Not legal advice. To check, we reviewed the Kentucky Legislature's records for the 2025 and 2026 Regular Sessions, including the 2026 index headings for Homeland Security and Immigration, read the summaries and histories of the E-Verify bills we found, and compared NCSL's list of state E-Verify laws, which does not include Kentucky. We did not review individual state agency or local government procurement terms. Status as of October 2026; confirm with counsel before relying on it.
Who is covered in Kentucky
| Who | E-Verify requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Private employers | None under state law; voluntary use allowed | No statute found; HB 673 (2025) not enacted |
| State and local government employers | None under state law that we found | No statute or order found |
| State contractors and incentive recipients | None under state law that we found | HB 673 (2025) would have added it; not enacted |
| Federal contractors with FAR 52.222-54 | Must enroll and verify | FAR 22.1803; 52.222-54 |
The bills, and what happened to them
| Bill | What it proposed | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| HB 673 (2025), "AN ACT relating to employment of unauthorized aliens" | New sections of KRS Chapter 336 to prohibit employing unauthorized aliens and require business entities and employers to enroll in E-Verify; a new section of KRS Chapter 45A requiring E-Verify enrollment to receive contracts, grants or incentives from the state, a political subdivision or a state-funded entity; delayed effective date of January 1, 2026 | Introduced February 18, 2025; referred to Economic Development and Workforce Investment on February 26, 2025; no further action |
| HB 62 (2026), "AN ACT relating to unlawful employment" | A new section of KRS Chapter 434 creating a Class A misdemeanor of unlawful employment by an unauthorized alien; aimed at the worker, not the employer, and no E-Verify mandate | Introduced January 7, 2026; reassigned to House Judiciary on January 20, 2026; no further action |
| HB 58 (2012) | Would have required public contractors to use E-Verify and employers with 11 or more employees to register for and use it | Introduced and referred to committee; not enacted |
| SR 153 (2010) | A Senate resolution urging the governor and the Finance and Administration Cabinet to develop rules requiring E-Verify for all employers doing business with the Commonwealth | Referred to committee; a resolution would not have created a legal requirement in any case |
HB 673 is the useful one to read if you want to know what a Kentucky mandate would probably look like if it returns: an all-employer rule similar in shape to the laws in states such as Alabama, combined with an E-Verify condition on public contracts, grants and incentives. We found no E-Verify mandate bill among the 2026 session's bills indexed under Homeland Security or Immigration.
What applies to every Kentucky employer
Form I-9
Federal law requires Form I-9 for every new hire, with Section 2 completed within three business days of the first day of work, whether or not the employer uses E-Verify. See I-9 timing in hiring and, for the penalty exposure if the forms are wrong, I-9 penalties.
The federal contractor clause
Under FAR 22.1803, clause 52.222-54 goes into federal contracts over $150,000 unless performed only outside the United States, shorter than 120 days, or only for commercially available off-the-shelf items. It flows down to subcontracts for services or construction over $3,500 that include work in the United States. A covered contractor enrolls within 30 calendar days of award and verifies new hires company-wide and employees assigned to the contract. In Kentucky, with no state mandate, this is the route by which E-Verify most often becomes compulsory, for example for firms supporting federal facilities or federally funded construction under a federal contract.
The federal rules once you enroll
The E-Verify employer memorandum of understanding requires an enrolled employer to verify all new employees at the enrolled site, not selectively; to create each case within three business days after hire; never to create a case before a firm offer is accepted and Form I-9 is complete; never to screen applicants; and to take no adverse action while a tentative nonconfirmation is contested. See E-Verify tentative nonconfirmation.
Neighboring states matter more than Kentucky law
Kentucky borders several states that do have E-Verify rules, and state mandates generally follow where the employee works. Tennessee requires employers with 35 or more employees to use E-Verify; Indiana covers public agencies and public contractors; Missouri covers public employers and businesses receiving state or local contracts or grants over $5,000; Virginia covers state agencies and certain state contractors; West Virginia has narrower rules; Ohio requires E-Verify for nonresidential construction contractors, subcontractors and labor brokers. A Kentucky employer with workers across the river in Ohio or Indiana, or crews on a Tennessee job, should check those states: Tennessee, Ohio and the full list in E-Verify requirements by state.
Records to keep
A Kentucky employer that uses E-Verify by choice or under a federal clause should keep the signed MOU, its company ID, the list of enrolled hiring sites and case results alongside each Form I-9. Federal retention is three years after hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later; see I-9 retention rules.
Staffing agencies and recruiters in Kentucky
- No Kentucky placement carries a state E-Verify duty. An agency enrolled voluntarily or through a federal subcontract runs the case as the employer of record that completes Form I-9; see E-Verify for staffing agencies.
- Placements across state lines can carry the other state's rule. Track the work location of every assignment, not just the agency's office.
- Licensing is a separate question; see staffing agency license requirements in Kentucky.
A worked example
This is an invented example. A Louisville staffing firm with 40 employees places warehouse workers at three sites: two in Louisville and one just across the river in southern Indiana, at a private distribution center with no public contract. It also supplies two workers to a contractor building a commercial warehouse in Cincinnati. Kentucky requires nothing for the Louisville placements. The southern Indiana placement involves no Indiana public contract, so Indiana's public-contract rule does not reach it, though Indiana's 2026 law makes E-Verify a defense for every employer there. The Cincinnati job is a nonresidential construction project, so Ohio's 2026 law treats the firm as a labor broker and requires E-Verify for those two workers. The firm enrolls, and because its one hiring site is now enrolled, all of its new hires are verified from then on.
A Kentucky checklist
- No federal contract with FAR 52.222-54? E-Verify is optional under Kentucky law; Form I-9 is not.
- Read state and local contracts for any E-Verify term the agency adds on its own.
- For workers in Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Virginia or West Virginia, apply that state's rule.
- If enrolled, verify every new hire at the site, after an accepted offer and a completed I-9.
- Watch the 2027 session for a return of HB 673's approach.
Questions people ask
Does Kentucky require employers to use E-Verify?
No. As of October 2026 we found no Kentucky statute or executive order requiring private employers, public employers or state contractors to use E-Verify. The most recent bill to require it, House Bill 673 of the 2025 session, was referred to committee and went no further.
What would Kentucky House Bill 673 have done?
According to the Legislature's summary, it would have prohibited employing unauthorized aliens, required business entities and employers to enroll in E-Verify and verify the employment eligibility of employees, set penalties, and required E-Verify enrollment to receive state or local contracts, grants or incentives, with a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026. It was not enacted.
Did Kentucky pass an E-Verify law in 2026?
No. The 2026 Regular Session's immigration-related bills indexed by the Legislature included House Bill 62, which would have created a misdemeanor for unlawful employment by an unauthorized alien, targeting the worker rather than the employer. It was reassigned to the House Judiciary Committee in January 2026 with no further action recorded.
Can a Kentucky employer use E-Verify voluntarily?
Yes. Kentucky does not restrict voluntary use. An enrolled employer must follow the federal memorandum of understanding, which requires verifying every new hire at the enrolled site and forbids pre-employment screening.