How to search Kansas court records

Kansas runs a single statewide case-lookup system, so one search — with the name spelled correctly — reaches courts across the entire state. There's no charge and no account required — results are visible to anyone who searches.

statewide free criminal data

Open the official Kansas portal →

What's actually there

Kansas CaseSearch gives guests free statewide basic case details for district and appellate courts; expanded access is limited to approved roles.

Other official lookups for Kansas

KDOC offender search

How Kansas courts are organized

Kansas district courts are the state's trial courts. Each of the 105 counties has its own district court and clerk where cases are filed, and the counties are grouped into 31 judicial districts of one to seven counties each. District courts hear civil and criminal cases, divorce, probate, guardianships, juvenile matters and small claims. Some counties also have magistrate judges with narrower jurisdiction.

Appeals go from district court to the Kansas Court of Appeals and, in some cases, to the Kansas Supreme Court.

Kansas CaseSearch, run by the Office of Judicial Administration, covers district court cases statewide and appellate cases from one site. Courts moved onto it as they switched to the Kansas eCourt case management system. You pick District or Appellate, then search.

Searching Kansas CaseSearch

Basic case details are available to all guests without an account; you only have to accept the CaseSearch user agreement. You can search by case number, party name, business name or citation number, narrow to one county or search statewide, and filter by case type (criminal, civil, family, or probate and mental health), date of birth and filing date.

Case information means the case number, case type, parties, attorneys, assigned judge and hearing dates. Documents are available only from the point a court started using the Kansas eCourt case management system, so older filings in many counties are not online. Approved roles can request expanded access, signing in through ID.me. On the appellate side, documents filed before March 13, 2025 are not in the portal.

Not available: adoption records, certain criminal investigation records, expunged criminal records, and many child in need of care and juvenile records.
Sealed cases and records cannot be seen online or at the courthouse terminal.
Some public information is withheld online but can be viewed on the courthouse terminal; Supreme Court Rule 22 and the eCourt rules list what is excluded.
Juvenile offender, disciplinary and original action cases were listed as temporarily unavailable on the appellate side.

Getting copies and certified copies

Every district court has a computer reserved for public searches of that court's cases and records, and public records are always available at the courthouse. To get copies, make a written request to the clerk of the district court under the Kansas Open Records Act. The Judicial Branch posts a Request Form for Court Records you can use. The Judicial Branch pages read for this guide do not list a statewide copy or certification fee, so ask the clerk before you pay.

Expunged and sealed records

Kansas expungement for adult convictions, arrests and diversions is governed by K.S.A. 21-6614. You petition the court that convicted you. Most misdemeanors and lower-level felonies, and completed diversions, become eligible three years after the sentence is satisfied or supervision ends. More serious felonies and a first DUI wait five years, and a second or later DUI waits ten. Some offenses, including rape and several other sex offenses, can never be expunged. The petition carries a $176 docket fee under the statute, and the court must find, among other things, that expungement is consistent with the public welfare.

Expunged records are taken out of public view, but the statute lists situations where the person must still disclose the conviction. Court staff cannot give legal advice; talk to a lawyer or start with the Kansas Judicial Branch self-help site.

Tip: CaseSearch versus a criminal history check

CaseSearch shows court cases, not a person's full criminal history. The Judicial Branch points people who need a criminal history to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation's record check. The KBI says anyone can obtain a criminal history record for a $30 fee, and most records display right away on its website. Also note that some counties appear more than once in the CaseSearch county list, split by city (for example Cowley, Cowley-Arkansas City and Cowley-Winfield), so if one entry returns nothing, try the others or search statewide.

Sources

Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.

Federal cases filed in Kansas

State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.

Search tips

Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to search Kansas court records online?

Yes. Kansas's statewide search is free to use, with no account or subscription required.

Does this include criminal records?

Yes. Kansas's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.

Does one search cover the whole state?

Kansas runs one statewide system, so a single search covers the whole state.

Links move. If the Kansas portal link above is dead, tell us on the corrections page.