Handbook·Elections

Running for office in Kentucky

State page·Verified 2026-07-10

This page covers what's specific to Kentucky on top of the general guide to filing for local office.

Filing in Kentucky

Kentucky candidates for local office, including county judge executive, magistrate, sheriff, county commissioner, mayor, city council, and school board, file with their county clerk rather than the Secretary of State. You either pay a filing fee or qualify by petition, not both. Most local offices carry a $50 filing fee under state law, while filing directly with the Secretary of State for certain offices runs $20 to $500 depending on the office. As a petition alternative, city officer and board of education candidates need just 2 qualified signers, and county officer candidates need 100. Petition signatures cannot be collected before the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November of the year before the election.

Deadlines and numbers

  • 2026 filing window: opened November 6, 2025, closed January 9, 2026 at 4:00pm
  • County clerk filing fee: $50 (KRS 64.012), for most local offices
  • Secretary of State fee schedule: $500 statewide/Congress, $200 certain offices, $20 city office, $50 other (KRS 118.255)
  • Petition alternative: 2 signers (city officer, board of education) or 100 signers (county officer, General Assembly, Commonwealth's attorney)

The dossier could not verify the exact per-office dollar filing fee for every local office title beyond the general $50/$20 statutory tiers, since county clerks may apply local variations, and flags that the 2026-cycle signature requirement for a specific office should be confirmed locally. Route both to /engage or your county clerk.

Where to go