Home › Forms by state › Kentucky
Kentucky: post-conviction forms and deadlines.
These are the four forms a woman convicted in Kentucky can use to ask a court to look at her conviction or sentence again, with the deadline we found for each. Download them, or ask us to mail them to her in prison, free. Not sure which applies? Find her step first.
RCr 11.42 motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence
Free packet. The Department of Public Advocacy (the state public defender) offers: RCr 11.42 information packet with sample motion, request for counsel and affidavit of indigency →
There is no official court form, but the packet above has sample petitions. She can still file. The petition can be typed or neatly handwritten, as long as it includes what the state’s rule requires. How to write it without a form → First, ask the court clerk whether the court that convicted her has its own form.
Most states allow only one post-conviction petition, so a claim left out may be lost. The federal one-year clock keeps running until this petition is filed. Ask the court in writing to appoint a lawyer, and write to an innocence organization before she files.
Petition for writ of habeas corpus
Some federal courts use their own version of this form. Check the court’s website before filing.
Sentence review by a panel of judges
We did not find a separate sentence review panel in Kentucky. Confirm with the court clerk.
Motion for shock probation
Shock probation is a request for early release to probation, not a reduction of the sentence itself. The motion must be signed and verified before a notary. She must ask for a lawyer in writing; the rule appoints counsel only on a specific written request when a hearing is needed. Prisoners can request DPA packets by writing to DPA Legal Inquiries, 5 Mill Creek Park, Section 101, Frankfort, KY 40601.
All Kentucky court forms: state court forms page →
We will mail them to her.
Write to us and we will print the Kentucky forms and mail them to her at no cost.
Ask us to mail them →Or email help@womensinnocenceclinic.com. Print our guide for her. Each facility sets its own mail rules. If her facility returns our mail, we will let you know.
Send us:
- Her full legal name
- Her ID or DOC number
- Her facility’s name and full mailing address
- The state, county and case number
- Her sentencing date, and her appeal and filing dates
- Which forms she needs
- Your name, your relationship to her, and how to reach you
Last checked Sept. 24, 2026 against the rule or statute cited above. Forms, rules and deadlines change, and exceptions apply. Deadlines are copied from each state’s rule, in the rule’s own words. Confirm every deadline with the court clerk or a lawyer before filing. This is information, not legal advice.