Jessamine County, KY: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

The Jessamine County Code has no home-occupation or auto-repair licensing section in the chapters that govern residential conduct. What it does regulate is the noise of working on vehicles at home, in the Fiscal Court's Noise Control Ordinance (Chapter 92). Section 92.36(E)(1) makes it a violation to repair, rebuild, modify or test any motorcycle or other motor vehicle, motorboat or aircraft between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day in such a manner as to cause a noise disturbance that exceeds a sound duration level of L50 for a 15-minute time span, heard within 10 feet of the walls of an adjacent residential dwelling.

Section 92.36(J) repeats the rule for two-wheeled and off-road machines: repairing, operating or testing any motorcycle, off-road vehicle, dirt bike or 4-wheeler to cause a noise disturbance in the same hours and at the same L50 and 10-foot standard. Section 92.04 defines a motor vehicle as a vehicle of four or more wheels that is required to be licensed, and a motorcycle as a motor driven vehicle designed to travel on not more than three wheels. A residential dwelling is any house or structure used for a home or residence.

The rule is a time-and-noise limit, not a ban on working on cars at home. Daytime repair outside the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. window is not addressed by § 92.36(E) or (J), though § 92.35 still makes it unlawful to make, continue or cause any unreasonably loud noise substantially incompatible with the time and location. Under § 92.37 the officer weighs time of day, proximity of residential structures, whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent or constant, and whether it can be controlled without unreasonable effort or expense.

A separate chapter matters to anyone storing project cars. Under § 93.01, motor vehicles and boats left in a dilapidated or apparently inoperable condition on private property for more than 7 consecutive days are discarded items, unless enclosed within a building or fence in a lawful manner or not visible from the street, road or public park. Section 92.20 exempts noise from farm machinery and agricultural activities. Relief for unavoidable night work is available through a hardship permit under § 92.16 or a variance under § 92.17.