Kentucky certificate of need
Kentucky has a certificate of need program, run by Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Inspector General. It covers 13 kinds of services, listed below.
- CON program
- Yes
- Services covered
- 13
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Kentucky CON program
Kentucky has a certificate of need program, run by Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Inspector General. It covers 13 kinds of services, listed below.
- CON program
- Yes
- Program
- Certificate of Need
- Application fee
- $1,000 if no capital expenditure or capital expenditure up to $200,000; 0.5% of the capital expenditure for $200,000–$5,000,000; $25,000 above $5,000,000. Refundable only if withdrawn within 5 working days (900 KAR 6:020).
- Review timeline
- Applications are filed in monthly batching cycles (A/B/C). Nonsubstantive review decisions are due within 35 days after that status is granted (KRS 216B.095). In the cabinet's July 2022 cycle timetable, formal review decisions fell roughly 4.5 months after the filing deadline. Affected parties may request a hearing within 15 days (formal) or 10 days (nonsubstantive) of public notice.
- Recent changes
- 2025 SB 17 provides that no CON is needed to establish and license a freestanding birthing center of four beds or fewer. Statutory ambulance carve-outs for city/county and hospital-owned services run until July 1, 2026. Further CON bills were filed in the 2026 session (e.g., HB 407); their outcome was not verified.
- Statute
- KRS Chapter 216B (§§216B.010–216B.130); 900 KAR 5:020 and 900 KAR 6:010–6:130
Services that need a certificate of need
- hospitals
- ambulatory surgical centers
- home health agencies
- hospice (including residential hospice by a non-hospice entity)
- nursing facilities, personal care homes, ICF and ICF/IID
- chemical dependency treatment programs
- psychiatric residential treatment facilities (Level I and II)
- PET, MRI, megavoltage radiation and cardiac catheterization
- open heart surgery and organ transplant programs
- special care neonatal beds
- prescribed pediatric extended care facilities
- ground ambulance providers (unless exempt)
- nonsubstantive review: adult day health, private duty nursing agencies, PACE, hospital-owned off-campus freestanding EDs, industrial ambulance, certain acute bed transfers
Frequently asked questions
Does Kentucky have a certificate of need law?
Kentucky has a certificate of need program, run by Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Inspector General. It covers 13 kinds of services, listed below.
How long does a Kentucky CON review take?
Applications are filed in monthly batching cycles (A/B/C). Nonsubstantive review decisions are due within 35 days after that status is granted (KRS 216B.095). In the cabinet's July 2022 cycle timetable, formal review decisions fell roughly 4.5 months after the filing deadline. Affected parties may request a hearing within 15 days (formal) or 10 days (nonsubstantive) of public notice.
How much is a Kentucky CON application?
$1,000 if no capital expenditure or capital expenditure up to $200,000; 0.5% of the capital expenditure for $200,000–$5,000,000; $25,000 above $5,000,000. Refundable only if withdrawn within 5 working days (900 KAR 6:020).