Kansas background check laws combine a state-run criminal records system at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, a state consumer reporting statute with a seven-year cap that a salary exception largely swallows, federal Fair Credit Reporting Act rules that govern every employer using a screening company, and industry-specific mandates for childcare and healthcare. Whether you’re an employer ordering a report, an applicant wondering what will surface, or someone weighing expungement, the rules below are the ones that actually decide what shows up and what an employer can do about it.
Where Kansas Background Checks Come From
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation runs the state’s central repository of criminal history record information, collecting data from state agencies and municipalities across Kansas.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 22-4705 – Establishment of Criminal Justice Information System Central Repository It is the primary source behind most Kansas background checks and supports both name-based and fingerprint-based searches.
A name-based check requires the subject’s first and last name and date of birth. A Social Security number, middle name, and any aliases aren’t required but help narrow results and reduce false matches.2Kansas.gov. Conducting a Record Check Name-based requests can go through the KBI’s online portal or by mail. Fingerprint-based checks need a completed FBI Applicant Fingerprint Card (FD Form 258) mailed to the KBI’s Criminal History Records Section in Topeka.
Current KBI fees are:
- Name-based check: $30 per individual
- Fingerprint-based check: $45 per individual
- Certified name-based check: $40
- Certified fingerprint-based check: $55
Certified checks are typically required for court filings, professional licensing, and other official purposes.2Kansas.gov. Conducting a Record Check
How Far Back a Kansas Background Check Can Go
Kansas has its own consumer reporting statute that adds a state-level time limit on top of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Under K.S.A. 50-704, consumer reporting agencies cannot include criminal records older than seven years in a background report. The seven-year clock starts from the date of disposition, release, or parole, not the date of the offense or arrest.3Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 50-704 – Obsolete Information The statute also caps bankruptcies at fourteen years, and paid tax liens and collection accounts at seven.
Then comes the exception that most summaries leave out. Subsection (b) of the same statute says the seven-year cap does not apply when the report is used for employment of any individual earning, or expected to earn, $20,000 or more per year.3Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 50-704 – Obsolete Information Because $20,000 sits well below what most full-time workers earn, the exception effectively removes the seven-year limit for the vast majority of employment background checks. If you’re applying for a salaried position or a full-time hourly job, a screening company can legally report convictions from any point in your past.
The cap still has real teeth in two situations: credit transactions under $50,000 and life insurance policies under $50,000 in face value. For those reports, the seven-year limit applies in full. For employment above the salary threshold, older records are fair game.
FCRA Rules Every Kansas Employer Must Follow
Any Kansas employer using a third-party company to run a background check must comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, regardless of the industry or position. The process has two mandatory gates: disclosure before the check, and a structured adverse action process if the results lead to a negative decision.
Before ordering a report, the employer must give the applicant a standalone written disclosure explaining that a consumer report may be obtained. It has to be a separate document, not language buried inside the job application. The applicant then provides written authorization for the check.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports Skipping this step taints the whole background check and can give the applicant grounds for a lawsuit under the FCRA.
If something in the report leads the employer to consider denying the job, federal law requires a two-step adverse action process. First, a pre-adverse action notice goes to the applicant with a copy of the report and a summary of FCRA rights. That gives the applicant a window, typically about five business days though the statute doesn’t specify an exact number, to review the report and dispute errors. Only after that waiting period can the employer send a final adverse action notice. The final notice must identify the reporting agency, state that the agency did not make the hiring decision, and inform the applicant of the right to a free copy of the report and to dispute its accuracy.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports
The adverse action requirement covers any negative employment decision based wholly or partly on the report, including rescinding a job offer, denying a promotion, or terminating an employee.
When Employers Can Ask About Criminal History
Kansas has a ban-the-box policy, but its reach is narrow. Executive Order 18-12 prohibits executive branch state agencies under the governor’s office from asking about criminal history on the initial job application.6Kansas Department of Administration. Executive Orders The order does not cover private employers, local governments, or the legislative and judicial branches.
Under the executive order, an agency cannot inquire about criminal history until the applicant has been deemed otherwise qualified or has completed an initial interview. After a conditional offer, the agency can run a full check. If a conviction surfaces, the agency has to weigh the nature and severity of the offense against its relevance to the specific job duties. Blanket rejection of everyone with a record isn’t allowed; the review has to be individualized.
There is no statewide law extending this protection to private-sector jobs, and no Kansas municipality has adopted a local ordinance covering private hiring. For a non-government job, the employer can legally ask about criminal history at any stage of the process, including on the initial application.
Industries With Mandatory Background Checks
A few Kansas industries have to run background checks by law, and the screening reaches further than a standard name-based search.
Childcare Facilities
Under K.S.A. 65-516, no one may operate a licensed childcare facility if any employee, resident, or regular volunteer has been convicted of specified offenses. The prohibited list covers person felonies, drug felonies, sex crimes, crimes against children, and offenses requiring registration as a sex offender.7Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 65-516 – Restrictions on Persons Maintaining or Residing, Working or Volunteering at a Child Care Facility It reaches everyone connected to the facility, including cooks, janitors, and anyone living on the premises.
Everyone in a licensed facility undergoes a name-based check covering Kansas criminal history and the DCF Child Abuse and Neglect Registry. Owners, program directors, and staff with unsupervised access to children also need fingerprint-based checks that pull federal criminal history and state and federal sex offender registries.
Healthcare and Adult Care Facilities
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services enforces similar rules for nursing homes, home health agencies, and adult care facilities. Under K.S.A. 39-2009a, these facilities cannot employ anyone with a disqualifying conviction, which includes person felonies, drug felonies, and offenses described in the criminal code’s articles on sex crimes and crimes against persons.8Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. Criminal Record Check Program The system also checks the Kansas Nurse Aide Registry for findings of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. A candidate flagged by the system can apply for a Waiver of Employment Disqualification through KDADS, though approval is discretionary.
Drug and Alcohol Testing
Kansas takes a light-touch approach in the private sector. No state law restricts when or how a private employer can test employees for drugs or alcohol. Employers can use pre-employment, random, reasonable-suspicion, and post-accident testing as long as they maintain a written policy spelling out the conditions and consequences of a positive result or refusal. The Kansas Human Rights Commission does require that pre-employment drug tests be administered only after a conditional offer, and that all applicants for the same job category be tested equally.
Public-sector testing is more structured. K.S.A. 75-4362 authorizes drug screening for applicants to safety-sensitive state positions and for current employees in those roles based on reasonable suspicion of illegal drug use. Safety-sensitive positions include state law enforcement officers authorized to carry firearms, corrections officers, parole officers, employees with access to correctional institutions, juvenile facility employees, and certain mental health institution staff. Applicants can only be tested after a conditional offer of employment.
Expungement and What It Hides
Kansas lets people petition a court to seal old convictions, arrest records, and diversion agreements. Once expungement is granted, the conviction is treated as though it never happened for most purposes, and the person can legally answer “no” on most job applications that ask about criminal history.
The waiting period depends on the severity of the offense. For traffic infractions, misdemeanors, and lower-level felonies (severity levels 6 through 10 on the nondrug grid or level 5 on the drug grid), the wait is three years after completing the sentence or being discharged from probation, parole, or postrelease supervision. For Class A, B, or C felonies, off-grid felonies, and higher-severity-level crimes, the wait is five years.9Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 21-6614 – Expungement of Certain Convictions, Arrest Records and Diversion Agreements Municipal court convictions under K.S.A. 12-4516 follow a similar three-year wait for most city ordinance violations, with five years required for more serious offenses like vehicular homicide or fleeing a police officer.10Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Fact Sheet – Expungement of Criminal History Records
Filing costs a $176 docket fee, which the court can waive in whole or part.11Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 22-2410 You still have to convince the judge that your circumstances and behavior since the conviction warrant clearing the record; the court can deny the petition if the case isn’t persuasive.
An expunged record drops off standard background checks and public searches. Certain entities keep access, though. Law enforcement agencies retain it, and professional licensing boards for fields like healthcare, law, and education often require applicants to disclose expunged convictions during credentialing. For most private employers running a routine screening, an expunged record should not appear.
Convictions That Can Never Be Expunged
Some Kansas convictions are permanently off-limits for expungement no matter how much time passes. K.S.A. 21-6614(e) bars expungement for the following offenses and any attempt to commit them:9Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 21-6614 – Expungement of Certain Convictions, Arrest Records and Diversion Agreements
- Homicide offenses: capital murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter
- Sex offenses: rape, criminal sodomy, aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, sexual battery against a victim under 18, indecent liberties with a child, indecent solicitation of a child, and sexual exploitation of a child
- Crimes against children: abuse of a child, endangering or aggravated endangering a child, and aggravated incest
- Child pornography: internet trading in child pornography or the aggravated version of that offense
Convictions in these categories remain on the record permanently. For any offense not on the list, expungement stays available once the applicable waiting period has been served and the court is satisfied the petition has merit.