Kansas Free Public Records Directory

The state of Kansas is located in the mid-western United States, and is known as “The Sunflower State.” The sunflower is the official state flower and also appears on the state flag. It became a state in 1861 as the 34th state, and is the 15th largest state in the U.S. at 82,278 sq. miles.

The land that is currently Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years. The eastern part of the state was inhabited by tribes living in villages. The western part of the state was inhabited by semi-nomadic tribes that hunted large herds of bison.

Most of Kansas was acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and was first settled by European Americans in 1812. Southwest Kansas was part of Spain, Mexico and the Republic of Texas until the conclusion of the Mexican-American War in 1848. The United States officially opened the area to settlement in 1854. After the Civil War ended in 1865, waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland.

Kansas consists of 105 counties with 628 cities and is located in the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states. It is bordered by Nebraska on the north, Missouri on the east, Oklahoma on the south and Colorado on the west. The eastern third of the state has many hills and forests, and the western two-thirds has a generally flat or undulating surface. The state’s northeastern boundary is bordered by the Missouri River. Topeka, with a population of 126,808, is the capital of Kansas. The largest city in Kansas is Wichita, with a population of 391,586. The entire state of Kansas is ranked 35th in population with a total of 2,907,289.

The climate of Kansas, especially the northeastern portion, has a humid climate with cool to cold winters and hot often humid summers. The western third of the state often has very hot summers and is generally less humid. Winters are highly changeable between warm and very cold. In the spring and early summer, Kansas is prone to severe weather including severe thunderstorms. It annually averages over 50 tornadoes.

Kansas ranks eighth in U.S petroleum and natural gas production. However, production has steadily decreased since the 1990s. The aerospace industry also heavily influences the economy of Kansas. Several large aircraft corporations have facilities in Wichita and Kansas City. It is also home to three major military installations. The eastern part of Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the central U.S. producing high yields of wheat, corn, sorghum and soybeans. ^[1]

Below is a list of available public records for the state of Kansas. The links are separated by category including property records, vital records, licensing records, crime records, and more, and can be searched by specific record type by clicking on the link below.

Abbreviation	KS, Kan.
Capital	Topeka
Population	2,907,289 (2016 est.)
Area size	82,278 sq. mi.
Demonym	Kansan
Primary languages spoken	English
Governor	Jeff Colyer
Lieutenant Governor	Tracey Mann
U.S. Senators	Pat Roberts, Jerry Moran
U.S. House Delegation	4 Republicans
Time Zone – Primary Hamilton, Greeley, Wallace & Sherman Co.	Central: UTC -6/-5 Mountain: UTC -7/-6

*The map and data in the table are from Wikipedia.

Browse by Public Record Category

There are two types of public records; 1) personal public records that document major life milestones such as birth certificates, death certificates, divorce records, and marriage records, etc.; and 2) government records that are made public such as property tax records, recorded land records, voter records, crime data, jail inmate records, and court records. The Freedom of Information Act is a national law that releases government agency public records and makes it possible to view most public records.^[2] The Kansas Open Records Act grants you the right to inspect and obtain copies of public records created or maintained by public agencies in Kansas. The Open Records Act, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., as amended, declares that it is the public policy of Kansas that "public records shall be open for inspection by any person." ^[3]

Since there are a multitude of records available, it can be difficult to know how or where to access them. When you are ready to start your search, you’ll find our Public Records Directory website easy to use since all of the records can be searched by federal, state, county, city, town or type of record. The links provided will connect you to the best website for the record search, provide details about the record, or provide contact information for those records without search capabilities.