How it works in Kansas

The steps

1. Request your record

   Complete and submit your application to request an official copy of your criminal history record from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

   Record request fee: $30.00

2. Review your record

   Confirm there is no disqualifying information in your history. If there is something incorrect, follow the process to challenge the issue. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

3. Request certified documents

   Collect certified copies of relevant documents. These include a copy of the disposition of the case from the clerk of court that handled the original case and the arrest record from the arresting agency. If you had probation or parole, had to take classes, had to pay fees, or had any other obligations, you also need certified proof that you completed those requirements.

   Certified copy fee: $10.00 — Per document certified; copies 25 cents per page. District courts may assess fees that are higher or lower.

4. Verify the final documents

   Review each document for accuracy. Confirm each one is certified and clearly shows you completed your obligations. Make copies of every original.

5. Prepare your petition

   Complete the petition based on the type of charge and outcome you are seeking. Note the timing rules in Kan. Stat. § 21-6614: most convictions and diversions need three years; more serious felonies and some driving offenses, including a first DUI, five; a second DUI, ten; a prostitution conviction or diversion where you acted under coercion, one. Each clock runs from when you satisfied the sentence, fulfilled the diversion, or were discharged from probation, parole or other supervision. A specialty-court graduate can petition with no wait. Some crimes can never be expunged, and nothing can be while you must register as an offender.

6. Finalize your petition

   Take the completed petition from Step 5, the documents collected in Step 3, and the background check from Step 1, and put them together in a complete package. Double-check every file in the package is the original and ensure you have a copy of the complete package for your personal file.

7. File your expungement petition

   Once you have confirmed you have everything, file the petition in the court that convicted you — the district court, for a diversion — in your original case. The docket fee is set by statute and is the same in every county; the court may waive all or part of it for a specialty-court graduate. An arrest-record petition carries the same fee, and none at all if you were arrested as a victim of identity theft, a court found no probable cause for the arrest, you were found not guilty, or the charges were dismissed.

   Filing fee: $195.00 — The $176 docket fee is set by statute statewide; the $19 surcharge brings it to $195 (the same for an arrest-record petition under K.S.A. 22-2410). The court may waive all or part of it for a specialty-court graduate; no fee for an arrest expunged for identity theft, no probable cause, a not-guilty verdict or dismissed charges.

8. Work with the court

   After you file, the court sets a hearing date and notifies the prosecutor and the arresting law enforcement agency. Anyone with relevant information about you may testify, and the court may look into your background, including your corrections and prisoner review board records. Respond promptly to anything the court asks for.

9. Receive the court's order

   Once the court rules on the petition, it issues an order either granting or denying expungement. The court must grant it if it finds you meet the felony rule, that your circumstances and behavior warrant it, that it is consistent with the public welfare and, for a felony conviction, that your possessing a firearm is not likely to pose a threat to public safety. Review the order's terms carefully — they spell out which records are covered. Keep a certified copy of the order for your own files.

10. Verify the record update

    Under Kan. Stat. § 21-6614, the clerk of the court sends a certified copy of the order to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which notifies the FBI, the secretary of corrections and every other criminal justice agency that may hold a record of the arrest, conviction or diversion; if your case came up from a municipal court, the district court clerk sends the order there and the municipal court expunges its case. From then on, every custodian of those records must not disclose that they exist, except to the requesters the statute lists, and you may say you were never arrested, convicted or diverted, except where the statute requires you to disclose it. If the expunged record is what barred you from possessing a firearm, the order fully restores your right to keep and bear arms, and the KBI reports to the FBI so the record is withdrawn from the national instant criminal background check system. Confirm with the arresting agency that its records reflect the expungement. If a background-check provider later produces an outdated report, your certified copy of the court's order is your authoritative reference.

If you have to mail anything, remember to keep a copy of whatever you send and to use a method with a tracking number like the USPS Flat Rate Envelope.