Kansas Background Check Laws for Employers (2026)
Kansas runs its own mini-FCRA, and most employers never read it. Because of that, routine hiring decisions quietly drift out of compliance.
This guide maps every Kansas statute that touches employment screening, from the seven-year lookback to the application questions you may ask. Moreover, it names the agency behind each rule.
Kansas Background Check Laws at a Glance
Kansas regulates employment screening through four separate bodies of law. First comes the state Fair Credit Reporting Act, then the criminal justice information statute, then the expungement code, and finally the industry statutes.
Use the table below as your quick reference. For a broader employment-law overview, Ogletree Deakins publishes a Kansas desk reference covering the Kansas Act Against Discrimination and related rules.
| Topic | Statute or Regulation | What It Does | Administered By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer reports | Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.; Kansas Fair Credit Reporting Act, K.S.A. 50-701 to 50-724 | Requires a disclosure, written authorization, and adverse action notices; Kansas adds its own user duty under K.S.A. 50-714. | FTC and CFPB; Kansas Consumer Credit Commissioner, Office of the State Bank Commissioner |
| State criminal records | K.S.A. 22-4707; K.S.A. 22-4710 | Controls dissemination of criminal history records and bars employers from making applicants pull their own record. | Kansas Bureau of Investigation |
| Fair chance / ban the box | Executive Order 18-12 (state agencies only) | Delays criminal-history questions for executive branch hiring; no private-sector mandate and no local ordinance covers private employers. | Office of the Governor of Kansas |
| Sealed and expunged records | K.S.A. 21-6614 | Treats expunged arrests, convictions, and diversions as though they never occurred, with narrow disclosure exceptions. | Kansas District Courts |
| Lookback limits | K.S.A. 50-704 | Bars reporting arrests, indictments, and convictions older than seven years unless the job pays $20,000 or more. | Office of the State Bank Commissioner |
| Public record accuracy | K.S.A. 50-712 | Public record information reported for employment must be complete and up to date. | Office of the State Bank Commissioner |
| Credit reports | No state restriction; FCRA | Requires FCRA consent and adverse action steps for employment credit checks. | FTC and CFPB |
| Salary history | No state law | Kansas does not ban salary history questions. | Not applicable |
| Drug and marijuana testing | No private-employer statute; marijuana illegal for all purposes | Private employers may test applicants for THC and other drugs; K.S.A. 75-4362 covers certain state employees only. | Not applicable |
| Application questions | K.S.A. § 44-1009(a)(3); K.S.A. 44-1111 et seq. (age) | Bars application questions that express a limitation as to race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, or ancestry at four or more employees. | Kansas Human Rights Commission |
| E-Verify | No state mandate; Form I-9, 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2 | E-Verify stays voluntary except for federal contractors with the FAR clause. | USCIS |
| Social media | No state statute | Kansas has no password-privacy law for applicants. | Not applicable |
| Driving records | K.S.A. 74-2012; Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2721 | Governs release of Kansas motor vehicle records and driver history to permitted users. | Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles |
| Adult care homes | K.S.A. 39-970 | Mandates criminal record screening for adult care home staff with direct access to residents. | Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services |
How the FCRA Applies to Kansas Employers
State law never replaces the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681. Instead, the two laws stack, and the FTC and CFPB enforce the federal side.
Kansas belongs to a small group of states with a genuine mini-FCRA, K.S.A. 50-701 to 50-724, in force since January 1, 1974. Notably, K.S.A. 50-714 binds the hiring company, not just the screening company. Follow all four steps below on every Kansas hire.
Clear Disclosure
Give the applicant a clear disclosure in a document that contains nothing else. Waivers, liability releases, and state notices belong on separate pages. Courts read this rule strictly.
Written Authorization
Collect a signed authorization before you order anything. K.S.A. 22-4710(c) independently permits a release for Kansas criminal history record information, so one signature can satisfy both laws.
Pre-Adverse Action
Before you decide against the applicant, send a copy of the report. Also include the CFPB Summary of Consumer Rights, then allow a reasonable window to dispute, commonly five business days.
Adverse Action Notice
Send the final notice with the agency name, address, and phone number. State plainly that the agency did not make the decision. Kansas adds its own notice duty under K.S.A. 50-714.
What the Kansas Act Adds
Under K.S.A. 50-714(a), an employer that denies employment because of a consumer report must advise the applicant. In addition, it must supply the name and address of the consumer reporting agency.
Subsection (b) covers adverse information from outside a reporting agency, such as a reference call. Then you must tell the applicant about the right to learn its nature, and the applicant has 60 days to request it in writing.
Subsection (c) offers a defense to employers who maintain reasonable procedures to assure compliance. Written procedures, therefore, carry real value in Kansas.
On the agency side, K.S.A. 50-712 requires public record information reported for employment to be complete and up to date. For that reason, BCS Background Screening LLC uses real-time court research instead of static database pulls.
Willful noncompliance triggers civil liability under K.S.A. 50-715, and negligent noncompliance under K.S.A. 50-716. The Kansas Consumer Credit Commissioner enforces the act through the Office of the State Bank Commissioner.
Kansas Criminal Records: K.S.A. 22-4710 and the KBI Repository
Kansas criminalizes a common shortcut. Under K.S.A. 22-4710(a), an employer may not require an applicant to inspect or challenge their own criminal history record to qualify.
Subsection (b) makes a violation a class A misdemeanor. Therefore, telling an applicant to “bring us your KBI printout” is not merely awkward. It is a crime.
The Lawful Alternative
Subsection (c) supplies the answer. An employer may require a signed release from a job applicant or prospective independent contractor, and that release authorizes access to criminal history record information for fitness purposes.
Subsection (d) lets the Kansas Bureau of Investigation charge employers a reasonable fee for that report. Meanwhile, subsection (e) immunizes the bureau from claims arising out of a release-based disclosure.
Subsection (f) adds a liability shield. No employer faces liability for a hiring decision based on criminal history that reasonably bears on trustworthiness or on the safety of employees and customers.
Document the job-relatedness of each disqualifying record. Consequently, you gain both a Kansas defense and a Title VII defense.
What a Public KBI Record Check Shows
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation operates the Kansas Central Repository. However, the public version of that record is narrower than most employers expect.
A public check includes adult convictions, cases currently in diversion, and arrests pending court disposition. It excludes completed diversions, dismissals, acquittals, expunged records of every kind, and all juvenile offender data.
The KBI charges $30 for an online name-based check and $40 for a certified mailed check. Fingerprint-based checks cost $45 and take roughly one to three weeks.
Why the Repository Alone Falls Short
Repository data depends on arrest and disposition reporting from local agencies. Gaps appear when a court never transmits a disposition, and K.S.A. 50-712 expects a reporting agency to close them.
Kansas courts sit in 31 judicial districts covering all 105 counties. For that reason, a real-time search of district court indexes beats a single repository pull.
Ordering through a consumer reporting agency keeps you inside 22-4710 automatically. Our Kansas real-time statewide criminal search runs on your signed authorization, never on an applicant self-check.
How Far Back Can a Background Check Go in Kansas?
Here Kansas departs sharply from federal law. The federal FCRA stopped applying its seven-year limit to convictions in 1998, but K.S.A. 50-704 still lists “records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of crime.”
The clock runs from the date of disposition, release, or parole. Every limit below drops away for positions expected to pay $20,000 or more per year.
Arrests, Indictments and Convictions
A screening company may not report any of these older than seven years from disposition, release, or parole.
Bankruptcies
Kansas measures bankruptcy from the date of adjudication of the most recent bankruptcy, longer than the federal ten-year rule.
Salary Exemption
All obsolescence limits, including the limit on convictions, fall away when the role pays or may reasonably be expected to pay $20,000 or more a year.
Expunged Records
Expunged records stay out of the report regardless of salary under K.S.A. 21-6614.
Because the threshold sits low, many Kansas employers may report older records lawfully. Even so, document the salary basis in your file.
The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026. Title VII still bars using criminal history as a proxy for race or national origin, and the disparate-impact rule in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k) remains law. So keep weighing the nature of the offense, the time elapsed, and the duties of the job before you act on any record.
Expunged, Arrest and Juvenile Records in Kansas
Sealed, Expunged and Set-Aside Records
Kansas has no automatic clean-slate sealing. Instead, people petition district courts to expunge convictions, arrests, and diversions under K.S.A. 21-6614, generally after three or five years depending on the offense.
Once the court enters the order, the petitioner “shall be treated as not having been arrested, convicted or diverted of the crime.” Practically speaking, you may not ask about an expunged record, and you may not act on one.
| Record Type | Statute | Waiting Period | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic infractions, misdemeanors, lower-level felonies | K.S.A. 21-6614 | Three or more years | By petition to the district court |
| Class A, B and C felonies, certain vehicular crimes | K.S.A. 21-6614 | Five or more years | By petition to the district court |
| DUI convictions | K.S.A. 21-6614 | Five years for a first DUI; ten years for later DUIs | By petition to the district court |
| Certain prostitution convictions of trafficking victims | K.S.A. 21-6614 | One or more years | Victim status must be shown |
Narrow exceptions: § 21-6614(i) requires disclosure of an expunged conviction only for listed positions. Those include law enforcement, private detective and bail enforcement work, the Kansas Lottery, racing and gaming, bar admission, and commercial driver’s license roles.
Outside that list, treat the record as gone. Kansas Legal Services publishes plain-language guidance on expungement that your HR team can share with applicants.
Arrests and Non-Convictions
Kansas allows employers to consider arrest records, subject to the seven-year reporting limit in K.S.A. 50-704. However, the public KBI check already excludes dismissals, acquittals, and completed diversions.
An arrest alone does not prove conduct. Confirm the final disposition before you act, and consider the underlying conduct only when it is job-related.
Juvenile Records
Juvenile offender records are excluded from public KBI checks. Accordingly, a compliant Kansas report should never show one.
Ban the Box in Kansas: What Is Real and What Is Not
Kansas has no statewide ban-the-box statute for private employers. Furthermore, no Kansas city or county imposes one on private employers.
Kansas also requires no individualized assessment, notice, or waiting period before you act on a record. Still, document a job-related reason for every criminal-history decision.
Executive Order 18-12: State Agencies
Governor Jeff Colyer signed this order in 2018. It covers executive branch departments, agencies, boards, and commissions under the Governor’s jurisdiction.
Those agencies stopped asking about criminal records at the initial application stage. A record cannot automatically block an interview, and checks generally wait until after the interview stage.
One exception survives. Where state law already bars people with certain histories from a position, agencies may inquire earlier.
Johnson County, Wyandotte County/Kansas City and Topeka
These local governments apply ban-the-box policies only to their own government hiring. They impose no duty on private employers.
The Kansas City Confusion
Many guides claim Wyandotte County or Kansas City, Kansas restricts private employers. That claim is wrong, and it costs employers money in unnecessary process changes.
The ordinance in question belongs to Kansas City, Missouri. Ordinance No. 180034, codified at Section 38-104, took effect on June 9, 2018 and covers private employers with six or more employees.
Because the metro straddles the state line, Kansas employers with Missouri locations still need to comply there. Littler’s analysis explains the Missouri-side duties in detail.
Federal Contractors
Federal agencies and contractors follow the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019, 41 U.S.C. § 4714. That law delays conviction questions until after a conditional offer for work under covered federal contracts.
Kansas employers remain free to ask about convictions on the application. Still, timing your inquiry after the interview reduces discrimination risk and improves your applicant pool.
What a Kansas Job Application May Ask
Kansas does limit pre-employment inquiries. K.S.A. § 44-1009(a)(3) makes it unlawful for an employer to use any application form, or make any inquiry about prospective employment, that expresses a limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, or ancestry.
The rule covers employers with four or more employees, and the Kansas Human Rights Commission enforces it. The only exception is a bona fide occupational qualification.
Age is covered separately by the Kansas Age Discrimination in Employment Act, K.S.A. 44-1111 et seq. So, the four federal limits below apply to nearly every Kansas employer as well.
Sex, Marital Status, Religion and Photographs
Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2, makes sex a lawful question only where it is a bona fide occupational qualification. Almost no job meets that test.
The EEOC treats questions about race, sex, religion, marital status, children, or pregnancy as evidence of intent to discriminate. The EEOC also says employers should not ask for a photograph before hire.
Ask instead: whether the applicant can work the schedule, travel, and overtime the job requires. Request a photograph only after hire for a badge.
Date of Birth and Age
The ADEA protects applicants 40 and older at employers with 20 or more employees. Under 29 C.F.R. § 1625.5, a date-of-birth question is closely scrutinized because it deters older applicants.
Your screening company still needs the date of birth to match criminal records. So, collect it on the FCRA authorization form after the conditional offer, never on the application.
Ask instead: “Are you at least 18 (or 21) years old?” where the job has a legal minimum age.
Disability, Health and Workers’ Compensation
The ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(2), bars disability-related inquiries and medical exams before a conditional offer. Questions about health, prescriptions, prior workers’ compensation claims, or sick leave all count.
GINA, 42 U.S.C. § 2000ff-1(b), separately bars requests for family medical history. Post-offer exams must apply to every entering employee in the job category.
Ask instead: whether the applicant can perform the essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.
Citizenship, National Origin and Military Discharge
The Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, bars citizenship-status discrimination at employers with four or more employees. Pre-hire questions about birthplace, immigration status, or a “green card” are evidence of a violation.
USERRA, 38 U.S.C. § 4311, protects uniformed service. Do not ask the type of military discharge on an application; ask only after the offer where a law or license requires it.
Ask instead: “Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?” and “Will you need sponsorship for an employment visa?”
EEO self-identification is different. Collect race, ethnicity, sex, veteran, and disability status on a separate, voluntary form kept away from decision-makers. Private employers with 100 or more employees file the EEO-1 report each year under 29 C.F.R. § 1602.7.
Credit Reports, Salary History, Drug Testing and More
Employment Credit Reports
Kansas has no statute limiting credit checks for employment. Consequently, Kansas employers follow the federal FCRA, plus the Kansas act’s permissible-purpose and adverse-action rules.
Even so, run credit only where the role justifies it. Financial responsibility, cash handling, and fiduciary duties support the request, and Title VII disparate-impact claims still apply.
Salary History and Pay Transparency
Kansas has no salary history ban and no pay transparency statute. Kansas City, Missouri, however, adopted a salary history ban that took effect on October 31, 2019.
Therefore, employers hiring on both sides of State Line Road should keep application forms separate.
Drug and Marijuana Testing
No Kansas statute governs pre-employment drug testing by private employers. Spencer Fane’s Kansas memo puts it plainly: no Kansas law says when private-employer testing is authorized or prohibited.
K.S.A. 75-4362 does regulate testing for certain state employees in safety-sensitive positions. Meanwhile, marijuana remains illegal in Kansas for all purposes, so no state law protects an applicant who tests positive for THC.
Safety-sensitive and CDL roles follow federal DOT testing under 49 C.F.R. Part 40, which still includes marijuana.
Motor Vehicle Records
Kansas releases driver records through the Department of Revenue under K.S.A. 74-2012. Requesters certify a permitted use, and the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act governs the same data.
CDL positions add Department of Transportation testing and inquiry rules. Because of that, fleet employers usually combine an MVR with a criminal search and a drug screen through our motor vehicle records search.
E-Verify and Form I-9
Kansas does not mandate E-Verify for private or public employers. E-Verify stays voluntary except for federal contractors with the FAR clause at 48 C.F.R. 52.222-54.
Every employer must still complete Form I-9 for each new hire under 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2. Finish Section 1 by the first day of work and Section 2 within three business days.
Social Media and Passwords
Kansas has no social media password-privacy statute. Even so, never request an applicant’s login credentials, and keep any public-profile review job-related and consistent.
Automated and AI Hiring Tools
Kansas has no statute regulating automated or AI hiring tools. Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, and the Kansas Act Against Discrimination still apply to any screening tool that creates a disparate impact.
Kansas Industry Screening Statutes
Several Kansas statutes mandate screening for specific roles. Review the cards below before you write a job description.
Adult Care Homes: K.S.A. 39-970
Operators must screen employees, agency staff, and contractors with direct access to residents. The KBI releases records to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, which returns a determination to the employer.
Murder, rape, indecent liberties, human trafficking, and mistreatment of a dependent adult disqualify permanently. Other felonies, such as drug offenses, forgery, Medicaid fraud, and identity theft, carry a shorter bar with a waiver path.
Schools and Child Care
Licensed teachers submit fingerprints through the Kansas State Department of Education. Non-licensed staff, however, face no statewide mandate today.
KBI Director Tony Mattivi raised this gap before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2026. Senate Bill 246 would require fingerprint checks every five years for roughly 32,000 non-licensed staff.
Healthcare and Licensed Facilities
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment administers background check requirements for child care facilities and other licensed programs. Registry checks accompany the criminal record review.
Federal exclusion screening applies separately for Medicare and Medicaid participants. Accordingly, many Kansas providers add a FACIS® sanctions search to every hire.
Drivers and Fleet Roles
Motor carriers must pull an MVR from every state of licensure in the past three years. They also follow FMCSA previous-employer rules under 49 C.F.R. § 391.23 and run Clearinghouse queries before hire and annually.
Expunged convictions must still be disclosed for commercial driver’s license roles under K.S.A. 21-6614(i).
What Changed for Kansas Employers in 2026
Kansas passed no new screening statute in 2026. However, one pending Kansas bill and three federal changes affect how Kansas employers screen this year.
Senate Bill 246 would mandate fingerprint checks for non-licensed school staff
KBI Director Tony Mattivi told the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2026 that roughly 32,000 non-licensed Kansas school employees remain unscreened. Senate Bill 246 would require fingerprint-based checks for them every five years.
The bill has not become law. Today, only licensed teachers face a statewide fingerprint mandate through the Kansas State Department of Education.
What to do: Watch the bill. Meanwhile, screen non-licensed school staff voluntarily through an FCRA-compliant search with a signed K.S.A. 22-4710(c) release.
Source: Senate Bill 246, Kansas Legislature, 2026 session; Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, January 2026. Read KSDE’s fingerprint rules
EEOC rescinds its 2012 arrest and conviction guidance
The Commission voted on October 28, 2026 to rescind the 2012 Enforcement Guidance on arrest and conviction records, effective immediately. The rescission does not revive the 1987 and 1990 policy statements.
The EEOC says employers need not abandon lawful practices adopted under the rescinded guidance, and it will keep enforcing Title VII. Disparate-impact claims under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k) remain available to private plaintiffs and under state law.
What to do: Keep the individualized assessment and the written job-related criteria. They come from the courts (Green v. Missouri Pacific) and from state and local fair-chance laws, not from the rescinded guidance.
Source: EEOC press release, Oct. 29, 2026. Read the release
Medical marijuana moved to Schedule III; DOT testing is unchanged
DEA’s final rule of April 28, 2026 moved FDA-approved marijuana drug products and marijuana dispensed under state medical-marijuana licenses to Schedule III. All other marijuana remains Schedule I.
DOT testing is unchanged. 49 C.F.R. Part 40 still tests for marijuana, and DOT’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance stated in May 2026 that state medical-marijuana use is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive result under 49 C.F.R. § 40.137.
What to do: Keep testing CDL drivers and other safety-sensitive employees for marijuana under Part 40. Kansas has no medical program, so no state protection applies to any other role either.
Source: DEA final rule, 91 FR, Doc. 2026-08176; 49 C.F.R. § 40.137. Read DOT’s guidance
OFCCP’s EO 11246 regulations are rescinded; Section 503 and VEVRAA remain
Executive Order 11246 was revoked by Executive Order 14173 on January 21, 2025. OFCCP then rescinded its implementing regulations at 41 C.F.R. parts 60-1 through 60-50 by final rule published August 21, 2026.
The FAR overhaul likewise removed subpart 22.8 and clauses 52.222-21 through 52.222-29. Race- and sex-based affirmative-action plan and recordkeeping duties under EO 11246 no longer apply.
What to do: Keep your Title VII, Section 503 (disability), and VEVRAA (protected veterans) nondiscrimination, affirmative-action, and recordkeeping programs. Those obligations for covered contractors remain in force.
Source: Executive Order 14173, Jan. 21, 2025; OFCCP final rule, Aug. 21, 2026. Read OFCCP’s notice
Kansas Employment Screening Services
Our searches map directly to the Kansas statutes above. Each one runs on your signed FCRA authorization, so K.S.A. 22-4710 stays satisfied.
Kansas Real-Time Statewide Search
Live district court research across Kansas jurisdictions, verified at the source. Choose it when you need current dispositions rather than stale database entries.
County Criminal Court Search
Direct research at the courthouse of record wherever an applicant lived, worked, or studied outside Kansas. Price: $18 plus court fees.
SSN Trace and Address History
Ten or more years of reported address history plus names and aliases. This trace tells you which Kansas counties and which other states to search.
Nationwide Background Check
SSN trace, nationwide criminal database, sex offender registries, and watchlists in one package. Use it to locate jurisdictions before ordering court searches.
Federal Criminal Search
United States District Court records for fraud, trafficking, and interstate offenses. State searches never capture these cases.
Motor Vehicle Records
Driving histories for delivery, trucking, sales, and CDL positions, pulled under a permitted DPPA use.
FACIS® Healthcare Sanctions
Exclusion and sanction screening for Medicare and Medicaid participants, including adult care home and hospital staff.
Verifications and Add-ons
Adds employment, education, and license verification to any Kansas package.
Kansas Employer Compliance Checklist
- Issue a standalone FCRA disclosure with no extra language on the page.
- Collect written authorization that also serves as your K.S.A. 22-4710(c) release.
- Never ask an applicant to obtain or challenge their own KBI record.
- Remove questions about race, religion, sex, disability, national origin, and photographs from the application, per K.S.A. 44-1009.
- Collect the date of birth on the FCRA authorization after the conditional offer, never on the application.
- Confirm whether the role clears the $20,000 salary threshold in K.S.A. 50-704 and document it.
- Apply the seven-year limit to arrests and convictions where that threshold is not met.
- Exclude expunged records unless K.S.A. 21-6614(i) lists your position.
- Send pre-adverse action with the report and the Summary of Consumer Rights.
- Keep written screening procedures on file as your K.S.A. 50-714(c) defense.
Kansas Employment Screening Law FAQs
Does Kansas have its own version of the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
Yes. The Kansas Fair Credit Reporting Act sits at K.S.A. 50-701 through 50-724, and it took effect on January 1, 1974. It governs permissible purposes, obsolete information, disclosure duties, and adverse action notices.
Notably, K.S.A. 50-714 imposes duties on employers who use consumer reports, not just on reporting agencies. The Kansas Consumer Credit Commissioner enforces the act through the Office of the State Bank Commissioner.
How far back can a background check go in Kansas?
K.S.A. 50-704 limits reports to seven years for arrests, indictments, and convictions, measured from disposition, release, or parole. Bankruptcies run fourteen years from the most recent adjudication.
Every one of those limits, including the limit on convictions, disappears when the position pays or may reasonably be expected to pay $20,000 or more a year. The Office of the State Bank Commissioner administers the act.
Can a Kansas employer make an applicant pull their own criminal record?
No. K.S.A. 22-4710(a) bars requiring an applicant to inspect or challenge their own criminal history record, and a violation is a class A misdemeanor under subsection (b).
Instead, subsection (c) allows you to require a signed release so you can obtain the record yourself. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation administers the central repository and may charge employers a reasonable fee.
Does Kansas have a ban-the-box law for private employers?
No. Executive Order 18-12, signed by Governor Jeff Colyer in 2018, applies only to executive branch agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction. Those agencies delay criminal-history questions until after the interview stage.
Johnson County, Wyandotte County/Kansas City, and Topeka apply ban-the-box policies only to their own government hiring. The six-employee ordinance that many guides cite belongs to Kansas City, Missouri, under Ordinance No. 180034, Section 38-104.
What appears on a Kansas Bureau of Investigation record check?
A public KBI check returns adult convictions, cases currently in diversion, and arrests pending court disposition. It excludes completed diversions, dismissals, acquittals, expunged records, and all juvenile offender data.
Online name-based checks cost $30 and usually return immediately. Certified mailed checks cost $40, while fingerprint-based checks cost $45 and take roughly one to three weeks under K.S.A. 22-4707 and 22-4710.
Can Kansas employers consider expunged convictions?
Generally no. After a Kansas district court grants expungement under K.S.A. 21-6614, the person is treated as not having been arrested, convicted, or diverted. Waiting periods run three or five years depending on the offense.
Subsection (i) creates narrow exceptions requiring disclosure. Those cover law enforcement, private detective and security work, bail enforcement, the Kansas Lottery, racing and gaming, bar admission, and commercial driver’s license roles.
What may a Kansas employer ask on a job application?
K.S.A. § 44-1009(a)(3) bars any application question that expresses a limitation as to race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, or ancestry at employers with four or more employees. The Kansas Human Rights Commission enforces it, and a bona fide occupational qualification is the only exception.
Age falls under the Kansas Age Discrimination in Employment Act, K.S.A. 44-1111 et seq., and the federal ADEA. Collect the date of birth on the FCRA authorization after the conditional offer, not on the application.
Does Kansas restrict employment credit checks or drug testing?
Kansas restricts neither. No Kansas statute limits credit checks for employment, so the federal FCRA and the Kansas Fair Credit Reporting Act govern, enforced by the FTC, the CFPB, and the Office of the State Bank Commissioner.
No Kansas statute regulates pre-employment drug testing by private employers, although K.S.A. 75-4362 covers certain state employees in safety-sensitive positions. Marijuana remains illegal in Kansas for all purposes.
Start Screening Kansas Applicants Today
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Every user account also includes optional Multiple Authentication Factor (MAF) for added login security.
This page provides general information about Kansas background check laws, not legal advice. Laws change often, so consult an employment attorney before you finalize a screening policy. Revised October 29, 2026.