Photo: Charles Delano, USACE Louisville District, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kentucky licenses bioptic drivers under KRS 186.578 and 186.579, with a Bioptic Driving Program run through the state’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. Your license examination includes a driving test over a route designed for bioptic use, and new bioptic drivers take both a daytime and a nighttime exam. Your license then requires the bioptic device and outside mirrors on both sides, and may be limited to daytime driving. Check the exact acuity you need through the telescope with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Kentucky bioptic rules at a glance
| Topic | Kentucky rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Driving test | Driving skills tested over a route designed to test competency with a bioptic telescopic device | Official (2022 Acts ch. 116) |
| Day and night exams | New bioptic drivers take daytime and nighttime examinations, which may be on the same day | Official (2022 Acts ch. 116) |
| License conditions | Bioptic device required; vehicle must have left and right outside mirrors | Official (KRS 186.579) |
| Daytime restriction | Added on a vision specialist’s recommendation, or if you fail the nighttime exam | Official (KRS 186.579) |
| Removing the daytime restriction | A vision specialist’s recommendation plus an evaluation by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation’s bioptic driving program | Official (KRS 186.579) |
| Acuity through the telescope | 20/60 or better | Official (Office of Vocational Rehabilitation) |
| Carrier acuity and field | 20/200 or better in the better eye with ordinary lenses; 120-degree horizontal field | Official (Office of Vocational Rehabilitation) |
| Time before the daytime restriction can be lifted | 36 months without at-fault crashes is reported | Check with the state |
A 2026 act (Senate Bill 116, 2026 Acts chapter 94) revised KRS 186.579. It restricts bioptic licensees to driving with the device and exempts them from certain vision-testing provisions. Ask the Transportation Cabinet how the current text applies to you.
How the Kentucky route works
- Vision screening and eye exam. Kentucky applicants need 20/40 to go straight on to the written test. Below that, you are referred for an eye exam. The general rule is that 20/60 or better makes you eligible to test, with a lens restriction if lenses are prescribed.
- Low vision specialist. If a bioptic is prescribed, your vision specialist’s report and recommendation shape your restrictions.
- Bioptic Driving Program. Contact the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation about training and evaluation.
- Permit and tests. Your road test uses a route designed for bioptic driving, by day and by night.
- Your license. It requires the bioptic and two outside mirrors, and may be daytime only.
The usual Kentucky teen steps also apply: see learning to drive in Kentucky.
Can I drive at night with a bioptic in Kentucky?
Possibly from the start. Because new bioptic drivers take a nighttime exam, you are restricted to daytime driving only if you fail it or your vision specialist recommends the restriction. To remove a daytime restriction later, you need your specialist’s recommendation and an evaluation by the vocational rehabilitation bioptic program.
Where to check the details
- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet driver licensing, for the current vision standard and forms
- The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, for the Bioptic Driving Program
- Your low vision specialist, for questions about your own eyes
Compare Kentucky with other states in bioptic driving laws by state and the Southern vision rules. Neighbors: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee and Virginia.
All medical and disability topics: the US guide to driving with a medical condition or disability.
Want to practise the eyesight check? Our sister site Driving Eyesight Test has a free US letter chart on drivingeyesighttest.com. It is a practice screen, not an eye test.
Sources
- Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, “Bioptic Driving Program” (kcc.ky.gov)
- Kentucky General Assembly, “2022 Regular Session Acts Chapter 116” (apps.legislature.ky.gov)
- Kentucky General Assembly, “KRS 186.579 Restricted operator’s license” (apps.legislature.ky.gov)
- Kentucky General Assembly, “2026 Regular Session Acts Chapter 94 (SB 116)” (apps.legislature.ky.gov)
- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, “Kentucky Driver Manual” (drive.ky.gov)