Expungement / Record Sealing Petition and Eligibility Memo — Kansas

Kansas Expungement Eligibility Memo

Applicant: [________________________________]

Prepared by: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Question presented

Does the applicant qualify to expunge a Kansas conviction, diversion, related arrest record, or arrest-only record, and which current waiting period, exclusion, fee, and court finding applies?

Short answer

K.S.A. 21-6614 governs convictions, diversions, and related arrests. The ordinary waits are one, three, five, or ten years, with a separate specialty-court route. A first DUI uses five years; a second or later DUI generally uses ten years. K.S.A. 21-6614(e) currently lists 19 categories of permanently barred convictions and attempts, far more than the four sex-offense categories sometimes shown in older summaries. A person required to register generally cannot expunge any conviction or part of the criminal record while registration continues.

K.S.A. 22-2410 separately governs arrest-only relief. It has no general waiting period and instead requires a specified ground: mistaken identity, no probable cause, acquittal, or a best-interests finding after dismissal or when no charge was or likely will be filed.

1. Current-law source reconciliation

The Revisor's consolidated § 21-6614 page shows the 2023 version. Two later enacted amendments matter:

• 2025 H.B. 2323 added a required disclosure for insurance-producer or public-adjuster licensure when an expunged record concerns a fraudulent insurance act; and
• 2025 H.B. 2393 extended the possible nonjudicial-personnel surcharge through June 30, 2030.

Signed 2026 S.B. 430 reconciled those amendments into one § 21-6614 text. Current analysis therefore requires the Revisor text together with S.B. 430 § 2.

2. Conviction and diversion waiting periods

The offense date determines which historic class or grid provision applies. Do not assign a wait from the offense name alone.

3. Permanent and temporary bars

Permanent offense bars

Section 21-6614(e) bars convictions and attempts for:

1. rape;
2. indecent liberties or aggravated indecent liberties with a child;
3. the specified criminal-sodomy provisions;
4. aggravated criminal sodomy;
5. indecent or aggravated indecent solicitation of a child;
6. sexual exploitation of a child;
7. internet trading or aggravated internet trading in child pornography;
8. aggravated incest;
9. endangering or aggravated endangering a child;
10. abuse of a child;
11. capital murder;
12. first-degree murder;
13. second-degree murder;
14. voluntary manslaughter;
15. involuntary manslaughter;
16. sexual battery when the victim was under 18;
17. aggravated sexual battery;
18. K.S.A. 8-2,144, including diversion; and
19. comparable offenses in effect before July 1, 2011.

The statute includes prior-code and current-code citations. Compare the conviction statute and offense date with the full text.

Registration bar

Except as provided in K.S.A. 22-4908, a person required to register under the Kansas Offender Registration Act cannot expunge any conviction or any part of the criminal record while required to register. See § 21-6614(f).

4. Required court findings

At the hearing, § 21-6614(h) requires:

• for a standard subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) petition, no felony conviction in the past two years and no pending or impending felony proceeding;
• for a specialty-court subsection (a)(3) petition, no pending or impending felony proceeding;
• circumstances and behavior warranting expungement;
• consistency with public welfare; and
• for a felony conviction, a finding that firearm possession is not likely to threaten public safety.

The current statute does not state a separate universal “no active warrants” test or direct petitioner service on victims or KBI. Older forms or local practice should not be converted into extra statutory elements.

5. Procedure and fee

The petition must state the applicant's current and former name, sex, race, birth date, offense, arrest/conviction/diversion date, and the relevant court or agency. The court sets a hearing and gives notice to the prosecutor and arresting law-enforcement agency. The petition is docketed in the original criminal action. See § 21-6614(g).

The statutory base docket fee is $176. The post-reconciliation current text also permits a Supreme Court charge of up to $19 per case from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030. Confirm the current clerk total. A specialty-court petitioner may request waiver of all or part of the docket fee.

After a grant, the clerk sends a certified order to KBI; KBI notifies the FBI, Secretary of Corrections, and other criminal-justice agencies. The petitioner does not independently serve KBI as a statutory original-petition recipient.

6. Arrest-record-only relief

K.S.A. 22-2410 permits relief when:

• the arrest resulted from mistaken identity;
• a court found no probable cause;
• the applicant was found not guilty; or
• expungement is in the best interests of justice and charges were dismissed or no charges were or are likely to be filed.

For mistaken identity or another person's use of the named person's identifying information followed by dismissal or nonprosecution, § 22-2410(a)(2) directs the prosecutor or judicial officer to provide notice and petition, and the court must order expungement and purging from applicable systems.

A standard arrest-only petition uses the $176 base fee plus any current authorized charge. No fee or surcharge applies to the identity-theft, no-probable-cause, acquittal, and dismissal grounds listed in § 22-2410(b)(3)(B).

The official court file is separated when the petition is filed and disclosed only as the statute permits.

7. Effect of a conviction or diversion order

After expungement, the applicant is generally treated as not having been arrested, convicted, or diverted. The record may still be used or disclosed in the settings listed in § 21-6614(i) and (l), including later sentencing, specified licensure and employment decisions, commercial-driver licensing, law-enforcement employment, and other enumerated recipients.

The current 2026 text adds disclosure for an insurance-producer or public-adjuster application when the arrest, conviction, or diversion involved a fraudulent insurance act.

Subject to statutory disclosure exceptions, the applicant may state on most employment, licensing, civil-right, privilege, or witness questions that the arrest, conviction, or diversion did not occur. See § 21-6614(k)(1).

If the expunged record caused a state or federal firearm prohibition, § 21-6614(k)(2) deems the right to keep and bear arms fully restored, and subsection (m)(2) directs KBI to report withdrawal of the expunged record from NICS. Independent prohibitions not arising from that record require separate analysis.

8. Applicant analysis

9. Filing checklist

☐ Use the current Kansas Judicial Council packet for the selected relief.

☐ Verify the offense against the complete § 21-6614(e) list.

☐ Reconcile the Revisor page with enacted 2026 S.B. 430.

☐ Confirm historic class/grid level and DUI sequence.

☐ Obtain proof of sentence, supervision, diversion, or specialty-court completion.

☐ Prepare evidence for every § 21-6614(h) finding.

☐ Confirm the current docket fee and any surcharge or waiver.

☐ Prepare the Judicial Council notice, granting order, and denial order.

☐ Preserve a certified copy and confirm clerk-to-KBI transmission after entry.

Sources and References

• K.S.A. 21-6614 — Revisor text
• 2026 S.B. 430 enrolled — signed current reconciliation
• K.S.A. 22-2410 — arrest-record-only relief
• Kansas Judicial Council — Adult Expungement Forms
• Kansas Judicial Council — Conviction or Diversion packet