Kansas Odometer Statement: Exemptions, Penalties, and Defenses

In Kansas, the seller in almost every motor vehicle sale must give the buyer a written odometer disclosure statement, using Form TR-59 or the odometer section printed on the title, that records the mileage at transfer and certifies whether that number reflects actual miles. The requirement comes from K.S.A. 8-135 and the federal rules at 49 CFR Part 580, and skipping it or falsifying it can lead to felony charges, civil penalties, and treble-damage lawsuits.

What the Statement Must Contain

Under 49 CFR 580.5, the disclosure has to show the odometer reading at the time of transfer (not counting tenths of a mile), the date of transfer, the printed name and current address of both seller and buyer, and the vehicle’s make, model, year, body type, and VIN.¹

The seller then picks one of three certifications:

The reading reflects the actual mileage.
The mileage exceeds the odometer’s mechanical limits.
The reading does not reflect the actual mileage and should not be relied on. This option carries a warning to the buyer that a discrepancy exists.

The buyer signs to acknowledge the information.¹

Kansas uses Form TR-59 from the Department of Revenue, which warns on its face that missing or false information can bring fines or imprisonment.² If the existing certificate of title has no space for the odometer certification, Kansas Administrative Regulation 92-51-42 requires both parties to complete the separate TR-59 instead.³

When a Sale Is Exempt

Kansas adopts the federal exemptions in 49 CFR 580.17.⁴ You do not need to complete a disclosure for:

Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 16,000 pounds.
Non-self-propelled vehicles, such as trailers.
Vehicles the manufacturer sells directly to a U.S. government agency under contract.
New vehicles before their first transfer for a purpose other than resale.

⁵

The Age Exemption Changed in 2021

This is where Kansas sellers most often go wrong. The old rule exempted any vehicle at least ten years old. A federal change in 2021 kept that ten-year window only for vehicles from model year 2010 and earlier. Anything from model year 2011 forward now has a 20-year disclosure period.⁵

Put in plain terms for a sale happening now:

Model year 2010 or older: exempt.
Model year 2011 through 2016: not exempt, even though the vehicle is more than ten years old. A 2011 model, for instance, will not become exempt until 2031.
Model year 2017 or newer: not exempt.

If you sell a 2012 or 2014 vehicle in Kansas and skip the disclosure because it’s “over ten years old,” you have violated the law. Private sellers and even some dealers who learned the older rule still get this wrong.

Repaired or Replaced Odometers

Nothing in Kansas law forbids fixing or swapping out a broken odometer, but K.S.A. 21-5835 controls how it’s done. If the repaired odometer can be set to the mileage the vehicle had before the work, it must be set to that number. If it cannot, it has to read zero, and the owner or their agent has to permanently attach a notice to the vehicle’s left door frame showing the pre-repair mileage, the date of the work, and the VIN.⁶

Removing or altering that notice is itself a crime. Buyers should check the left door frame during an inspection; a zeroed odometer with no notice is a warning sign.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

K.S.A. 21-5835 criminalizes rolling back or disconnecting an odometer, selling or installing tampering devices, driving on a public road while knowing the odometer is disconnected, and selling a vehicle you know has a tampered odometer. Each is a severity level 9 nonperson felony. Whether a first conviction brings prison time depends on the offender’s criminal history under Kansas sentencing guidelines, but a clean record generally means presumptive probation.⁶

On top of the criminal case, Kansas allows civil fines under K.S.A. 50-651. A violation of the tampering statute carries a civil penalty up to $10,000 per violation. A violation of the title-search disclosure rules in K.S.A. 50-653 carries up to $2,000 per violation. The Attorney General or the individual consumer can pursue either penalty.⁷

Federal law adds another layer. Under 49 U.S.C. § 32709, anyone who knowingly and willfully violates the federal odometer statutes faces a Title 18 fine, up to three years in prison, or both, and corporate officers who authorize or perform the violation are personally liable.⁸ On the civil side, 49 U.S.C. § 32710 lets a defrauded buyer recover three times actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater.⁹

Defenses and the Dealer Safe Harbor

The crimes in K.S.A. 21-5835 require knowledge or intent. A seller who genuinely did not know a prior owner had rolled the odometer back has a real defense, though courts and prosecutors weigh whether the seller had access to records showing the discrepancy, whether the asking price matched the stated miles, and whether the seller took any steps to verify the reading.⁶

Kansas dealers have a statutory safe harbor under K.S.A. 50-653. A dealer who discloses in writing, before or at the time of sale, whether a title search was performed on the vehicle, and who gets the buyer’s signed acknowledgment, is shielded from civil liability under the odometer fraud penalty statutes if the mileage later turns out to be wrong. That protection disappears if the dealer knowingly sold a vehicle with a tampered odometer.¹⁰

Clerical mistakes, like transposing digits, generally aren’t fraud. That defense weakens fast if the “typo” happens to make the vehicle look newer than it is.

If You Bought a Car With a Rolled-Back Odometer

A defrauded Kansas buyer has two tracks available at once. Under K.S.A. 50-651, you can pursue the state civil penalty. Under 49 U.S.C. § 32710, you can seek treble damages or $10,000, whichever is greater, in federal court.⁷⁹ Both remedies are available together, so the financial exposure for a dishonest seller stacks quickly.

1
eCFR. 49 CFR 580.5 – Disclosure of Odometer Information
2
Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Odometer Disclosure Statement
3
Legal Information Institute. Kansas Administrative Regulations 92-51-42 – Odometer Disclosure Statement
4
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 8-135 – Transfer of Ownership of Vehicles
5
eCFR. 49 CFR 580.17 – Exemptions
6
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 21-5835 – Unlawful Acts Concerning Odometers
7
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 50-651 – Odometer Fraud Civil Penalty
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 32709 – Penalties
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 32710 – Civil Actions by Private Persons
10
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 50-653