Revised UAAARegistration requiredCovers HS athletes3 primary sources

How do you become a registered athlete agent in Kentucky?

Register with the Kentucky Department of Professional Licensing — NOT the Secretary of State — through the Kentucky Directory of Registered Athlete Agents at raa.ky.gov: $300 initial, two-year term, no bond. Kentucky's Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act (KRS 164.6901-.6935) expressly covers HIGH SCHOOL athletes and NIL/endorsement agreements. Penalties are the sharpest in the region: unregistered agenting is a Class A misdemeanor, and knowing violations of the prohibited-conduct or contract-form sections are Class D FELONIES, with civil penalties to $50,000.

Verified July 19, 2026 by LeadCo editorial review

Registration at a glance

Registration required
Yes
Registering body
Kentucky Department of Professional Licensing — Directory of Registered Athlete Agents
Fee
$300 initial; renewal not to exceed $300; $250 if based on another state's registration
Term
2 years
Surety bond
No
Covers high school athletes
Yes
Reaches NIL / marketing-only reps
Yes
Prescribed contract warning
Yes

How to register

  1. Apply via the Kentucky Directory of Registered Athlete Agents (raa.ky.gov) — Department of Professional Licensing, not the Secretary of State
  2. Pay $300 ($250 if relying on another state's registration)
  3. Include the prescribed warning text in every agency contract (KRS 164.6917(3))
  4. After signing: both agent and athlete notify the athletic director within 72 hours (KRS 164.6919(2)); separate 10-day deadlines apply for pre-existing relationships and athlete-initiated contact
  5. Renew every two years

Official registration page: Kentucky Department of Professional Licensing — Directory of Registered Athlete Agents

Renewal: Valid two years (KRS 164.6911(6)); renewal through raa.ky.gov

Contract & notification requirements

  • Prescribed verbatim warning block (KRS 164.6917(3)): eligibility warning, 72-hour dual notification, 14-day cancellation
  • 14-day non-waivable cancellation (KRS 164.6921(1)-(2))
  • Pre-existing-relationship disclosure within 10 days; athlete-initiated-contact notice within 10 days (KRS 164.6919(5),(7))
School notification required
Yes
Athlete cancellation right
14 days, non-waivable (KRS 164.6921); for a minor, the parent or guardian may cancel

Penalties

KRS 164.6927 (verbatim structure): (1) Acting or holding out as an unregistered athlete agent — Class A misdemeanor. (2) Knowing or willful violation of the prohibited-acts section (KRS 164.6925) — Class D felony. (3) Knowing or willful violation of the contract-form section (KRS 164.6917) — Class D felony. (4) A student-athlete's knowing or willful violation of the notice section (KRS 164.6919) — Class A misdemeanor. (5) Failure to make court-ordered restitution to a college or university — Class D felony.

KRS 164.6929(6): the department may assess a civil penalty up to $50,000.

Stated as the statute states it. Read the cited section before relying on this.

Statute

KRS 164.6901-164.6935 (Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act; definitions amended by 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 12 / SB 6, eff. March 9, 2022)

'Student-athlete' (KRS 164.6903(19)): 'an individual who is eligible to attend an educational institution and engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in, any interscholastic or intercollegiate sport' — high school covered. 'Agency contract' expressly includes 'a name, image, and likeness agreement as defined in KRS 164.6941; or an endorsement contract.'

NIL interaction

The parent-signs-for-minor / reaffirm-at-18 rule lives in a SEPARATE adjacent part — KRS 164.6941-164.6951, specifically 164.6951(3): a parent may enter a minor into an NIL agreement or agency contract, but the minor must reaffirm within 30 days of turning 18 or it is revoked. That clause is unchanged since 2022, but its neighboring subsections were amended by 2025 SB 3 (eff. March 13, 2025) — cite the current KRS, not the 2022 session law alone.

Sources

  1. KRS 164.6901-.6935 (Revised UAAA) via Kentucky Legislature (March 13, 2025)
    an individual may not act as an athlete agent in this state without holding a certificate of registration
  2. Kentucky Directory of Registered Athlete Agents (July 19, 2026)
  3. 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 12 (SB 6) (March 9, 2022)

Change history

  • July 19, 2026 — Initial publication from primary-source research pass (statute text read directly; penalties quoted verbatim).
Not legal advice. This page documents publicly available rules and is not legal advice. Rules change, and associations do not always announce changes. Confirm anything you rely on with the governing association, your school compliance office, or your own counsel before acting.

Spot an error? Tell us and cite the statute.

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