Kansas Farm Permit Affidavit (Form DE-98): Filing and Exam Day

The Kansas Farm Permit Affidavit, Form DE-98, is the sworn statement a parent or guardian (and, when the minor works on someone else’s farm, the employer) signs to confirm that a 14- or 15-year-old lives or works on a qualifying Kansas farm. It is the document the Kansas Department of Revenue requires under K.S.A. 8-296 before issuing a farm permit. The form itself is one page, free to download from the Department of Revenue website, and also available in paper at any driver licensing exam station.¹

Confirm the Farm Qualifies Before You Sign

The affidavit is a sworn statement, so the facts behind it need to be right before anyone signs. Two conditions have to be met.

First, the minor must be at least 14 and younger than 17, and must either live on the farm or be employed for pay on it.²

Second, the farm itself must be at least 20 acres and used for agricultural operations.² A residential lot with a garden and a few animals is not enough. The acreage has to be used to produce plant or animal products at a scale the state treats as genuinely agricultural.

Who signs depends on the living and work arrangement:

If the minor lives on the farm, a parent or guardian signs the affidavit.
If the minor does not live on the farm but is employed on one, the employer signs confirming the minor works on a qualifying farm of 20 or more acres, and a parent or guardian also signs to attest to the employment arrangement.²

Filling Out the Form

DE-98 collects three categories of information on a single page.¹

Applicant identification. Enter the minor’s full legal name, date of birth, and driver’s license number if one has already been assigned. The name must match the identity documents you plan to bring to the exam station exactly. Nicknames and initials cause problems at the counter, so use the name as it appears on the state-issued birth certificate.

Parent or guardian certification. If the minor lives on a farm, the parent or guardian completes and signs the statement confirming the minor resides on a farm of 20 or more acres used for agricultural purposes.¹

Employer certification. If the minor works on a farm but doesn’t live there, the employer signs the employer section confirming the minor works on a qualifying farm of 20 or more acres. The parent or guardian still signs their section as well.²

Fill out only the sections that apply to your situation. A minor who lives on the family farm doesn’t need the employer section completed; a minor who works on a neighbor’s farm but lives in town needs both.

Signing the Affidavit

DE-98 is an affidavit, which means the signer is swearing under penalty of law that the information on the form is true. Neither the form nor the statute requires notarization. A signature alone is sufficient.¹

Because the form is sworn, the person signing bears legal responsibility for the facts it states. Confirm the 20-acre threshold and the agricultural-use requirement are actually met before signing. If you are an employer signing the employer section for someone else’s child, you are vouching for the farm’s size and use, not just for the job offer.

What to Bring to the Exam Station

The signed DE-98 is one piece of a larger packet. Kansas requires the same identity and residency proofs for a farm permit that it requires for any original driver credential, and a parent or guardian must be present with their own photo identification for a minor under 16.³ Bring all of the following:

Proof of U.S. citizenship or identity. A state-issued birth certificate from vital statistics. Hospital-issued birth certificates are not accepted.³
Proof of Social Security number. The Social Security card with the minor’s current full name, a current W-2 or 1099, or a pay stub showing the Social Security number.
Two proofs of Kansas residency. Documents showing the minor’s current name and Kansas residential address, such as a utility bill no more than two months old, a bank statement, a school transcript or grade card, a Kansas voter registration card for the parent, or mail from a government agency. A P.O. Box does not count. If the minor has nothing in their own name, a parent or guardian can complete a Certification of Address using their own two proofs of residency.³
The signed DE-98 affidavit.

Check every item against the Department of Revenue’s proof-of-identity page before you leave the house. Missing one document means a return trip.

What Happens at the Exam Station

Farm permit applicants ages 14 and 15 must pass a vision screening, a written knowledge test, and a driving test, or present a certificate of completion from an approved driver education course that replaces both the written and driving portions.⁴ If the minor has already finished a driver education course through school or a private program, bring the certificate.

The vision screening checks for 20/40 or better in at least one eye at the exam station. An applicant who falls short is referred to an ophthalmologist or optometrist and must return with a report showing 20/60 or better in at least one eye, with or without corrective lenses.⁵ If lenses are needed to meet the standard, the permit is issued with a corrective-lens restriction.

The Kansas Department of Revenue recommends scheduling an appointment through ksrevenue.gov before visiting a driver licensing exam station. A license fee and a photo fee are collected at the counter; the current amounts are posted on the department’s driver license fee chart.

The Second Affidavit You’ll Need at Age 16

DE-98 gets the permit issued, but it is not the only affidavit a parent will sign. Before the minor turns 16, a parent or guardian must submit a separate affidavit certifying that the minor has completed at least 50 hours of supervised driving, with at least 10 of those hours at night.² The supervising adult has to be at least 21 and hold a valid Class A, B, or C license.

Missing this step has a concrete cost. A permit holder who doesn’t submit the 50-hour affidavit stays locked into the stricter 14- and 15-year-old driving rules until the affidavit is filed or the holder turns 17, whichever comes first.² Start a driving log the day the farm permit is issued and record farm trips, school commutes, and night driving as they happen. Fifty hours is manageable spread across a year or two of regular driving, and much harder to reconstruct the week before a birthday.

1
Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Farm Permit Affidavit Form
2
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 8-296 – Farm Permit Requirements Procedure
3
Kansas Department of Revenue. Driver’s License Proof of Identity
4
Kansas Department of Revenue. Graduated Driver License Requirements for Teen Drivers
5
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 8-295 – Vision Standards for Drivers Licenses