# Kansas

The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training (KSCPOST) certifies officers, keeps a confidential central registry, and may suspend, condition, or revoke certification on seven statutory grounds. Since 2023 the State has made registry confidentiality permanent, standardized fingerprint and criminal-history checks for applicants, and in 2026 made failing to self-report an offense or to file registry notices unprofessional conduct. A 2026 rule also requires officers to pass the standard qualification course of fire each year to carry a firearm. KSCPOST publishes a list of certification actions by officer name, though no statute requires it.

Source: https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/kansas

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training (KSCPOST), a 12-member commission. It certifies police and law enforcement officers under the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Act, keeps the central registry, and disciplines certificates. The Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center runs basic training ([K.S.A. 74-5606, 74-5607, 74-5611a, 74-5616](https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch74/074_056_0006.html)).
- **Statute:** Kansas Law Enforcement Training Act, [K.S.A. 74-5601 to 74-5623](https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/ksa_ch74.html), particularly 74-5605 (applicant requirements), 74-5607a (continuing education), 74-5611a (central registry), and 74-5616 (discipline); K.S.A. 22-4713 (applicant fingerprinting). Rules: K.A.R. 106-1 to 106-4.
- **Minimum standards:** An applicant must be a U.S. citizen; be fingerprinted, with local, state, and national file searches; have no conviction for a felony, misdemeanor domestic violence, or a misdemeanor reflecting on honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, or competence (diversions count); be a high school graduate or equivalent; be of good moral character; complete an assessment that includes commission-approved psychological testing; be free of disqualifying physical or mental conditions; and be at least 21. The agency head certifies these before academy admission, and KSCPOST may rely on that statement to issue a provisional certificate ([K.S.A. 74-5605](https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch74/074_056_0005.html)).
- **Decertification:** Discretionary: the commission “may suspend, condition or revoke” certification, reprimand or censure, or deny certification on seven grounds. They are failing to meet or maintain requirements; false documents; false information or non-cooperation in a commission investigation; failing annual continuing education; conduct that would be a felony, misdemeanor domestic violence, or a disqualifying misdemeanor; racial or other biased policing; and unprofessional conduct as defined by rule ([K.S.A. 74-5616](https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch74/074_056_0016.html)). The rule definition includes excessive force and failing to report another officer’s misconduct ([K.A.R. 106-2-3](https://rules.ks.gov/api/policy-library-public/collections/0ae1e448-f5a1-4e09-9d6d-a488ac7c284a/policies/f323b665-f26a-492a-a3f3-1d684b412047)). Emergency suspension is available, and agency heads must give KSCPOST investigative records on request.
- **Public decertification list:** No statute requires one. KSCPOST publishes a [Certification Actions](https://kscpost.gov/certification/certification-actions/) page listing officers by name, agency, disposition (revocations, reprimands, suspensions, denials, and consent agreements), and date, for 2023 to 2026 with links to earlier years; it notes that some actions are withheld for medical reasons. By statute, registry records are confidential, but an officer’s name, employers, dates, training summary, and certification status may be released under the Kansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 74-5611a(a)(3) to (5)).
- **National Decertification Index:** None found. Neither K.S.A. 74-5601 to 74-5623 nor any of the 16 K.A.R. 106 regulations in force (including 106-3-7, effective March 13, 2026) names the Index or IADLEST ([KSCPOST regulations](https://kscpost.gov/certification/kansas-administrative-regulations/)).
- **Continuing training:** Beginning the second year after certification, every full-time officer “shall complete annually 40 hours” of continuing law enforcement education. Failing to do so is grounds for suspension, and agencies report completion to the director ([K.S.A. 74-5607a(b)](https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch74/074_056_0007a.html); K.A.R. 106-1-9). Since March 13, 2026, an officer must also pass the standard qualification course of fire each year to carry a firearm (K.A.R. 106-3-7).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Mar 13, 2026 — **Unprofessional conduct now includes failing to self-report an offense or to file registry notices** — K.A.R. 106-2-3, amended (Kansas Register Vol. 45, No. 9; hearing notice Vol. 44, No. 26) · Published February 26, 2026; effective March 13, 2026 — Two items were added to the definition of unprofessional conduct used for discipline under K.S.A. 74-5616: (m) failing to report a criminal offense to the commission as K.A.R. 106-2-2b requires; and (n) failing to comply with K.S.A. 74-5611a(b) or (c), which require registry forms and 30-day notices of appointment and termination. The existing grounds, including excessive force under a reasonable-officer standard, failing to report another officer’s sanctionable conduct, false statements, and discipline in another jurisdiction, were kept. — **For officers:** Not reporting your own criminal offense to KSCPOST can now be grounds for discipline. — [K.A.R. 106-2-3](https://rules.ks.gov/api/policy-library-public/collections/0ae1e448-f5a1-4e09-9d6d-a488ac7c284a/policies/f323b665-f26a-492a-a3f3-1d684b412047)[Hearing notice](https://rules.ks.gov/api/policy-library-public/collections/29b1a920-facc-44b1-89b2-a5ef675bf1bc/policies/188fa9d0-adb9-4de7-9f7f-08dcb7086a4e/document/22aaf335-39cb-462b-b6ce-62530e54d990)
- Mar 13, 2026 — **Standard qualification course of fire put in rule and required each year to carry a firearm** — K.A.R. 106-3-7, new (Kansas Register Vol. 45, No. 9) · Published February 26, 2026; effective March 13, 2026 — The regulation sets the six-stage standard qualification course of fire required by K.S.A. 74-5607(e). Passing means 35 or more hits on the target. To carry a firearm, an officer “shall successfully complete” the course each year, July 1 to June 30. The course may also be used to qualify retired officers under federal law. KSCPOST describes the rule as codifying a course agencies had followed voluntarily for 18 or more years. — **For officers:** Pass the standard course of fire each July-to-June year to keep carrying a firearm. — [K.A.R. 106-3-7](https://rules.ks.gov/api/policy-library-public/collections/0ae1e448-f5a1-4e09-9d6d-a488ac7c284a/policies/65f8723b-9efa-4a1b-8bfc-c75cd7b94d03)[KSCPOST regulations](https://kscpost.gov/certification/kansas-administrative-regulations/)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **Standard fingerprint and criminal-history checks for criminal justice applicants** — SB 491 (L. 2024, ch. 15), adding K.S.A. 22-4713 and amending K.S.A. 74-5602, 74-5605, and 74-5607 · Approved April 4, 2024; effective July 1, 2024 — A criminal justice agency “shall require” an applicant for criminal justice employment to be fingerprinted and must submit the prints to the KBI and FBI. The KBI “shall release” adult convictions, non-convictions, diversions, and expunged records, and juvenile adjudications, non-adjudications, and diversions, to law enforcement agencies admitting applicants for KSCPOST certification, and to KSCPOST for certification applicants. K.S.A. 74-5605 now cross-references the new section. The fingerprint requirement in 74-5605 predates the act; the Legislative Research Department’s note says the bill would not substantively change fingerprinting requirements or the types of records that may be released, except for the EMS board. — **For officers:** The records released to hiring agencies and KSCPOST, including expunged and juvenile records, are now listed in one statute. — [Enrolled SB 491](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2023_24/bills/download/?apn=b2023_24/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_491/sb491_enrolled.pdf)[Supplemental note](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2023_24/bills/download/?apn=b2023_24/ds_docs_li/supp_note_sb491_01_0000.pdf)
- Jul 1, 2023 — **Confidentiality of the officer central registry made permanent** — HB 2395 (L. 2023, ch. 25, sec. 7), amending K.S.A. 74-5611a · Approved April 14, 2023; effective July 1, 2023 — The act removed the sunset under which the registry-confidentiality provision in 74-5611a(a)(3) would have expired on July 1, 2023 unless the Legislature reviewed and reenacted it. Registry records, including complaints and all records on violations of the training act, stay confidential and closed under the Kansas Open Records Act. They may still be shared with certifying or hiring agencies, the officer, parties to commission proceedings, and other licensing bodies. The public may still get an officer’s name, employers, dates, training summary, and certification status; those disclosure categories date from 2018. No new access was created. — **For officers:** Complaints and investigation records in your registry file remain closed to the public. — [Enrolled HB 2395](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2023_24/bills/download/?apn=b2023_24/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2395/hb2395_enrolled.pdf)[K.S.A. 74-5611a](https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch74/074_056_0011a.html)

## Not yet in force and pending

- **Good moral character rule:** KSCPOST has posted a proposed amendment to K.A.R. 106-2-4. It would make the listed traits alternatives (“or” replaces “and”), add “upholding the oath required for certification,” and say that any single incident contrary to one or more traits may show a lack of good moral character. No Kansas Register adoption was found. Not in force. [Proposed text](https://kscpost.gov/wp-content/uploads/106-2-4-Good-moral-character-Proposed-Web-Version.pdf)

These bills were not enacted: SB 469 and HB 2658 (2026, Safe and Transparent Arrest Act, banning officer face coverings that conceal identity on duty) and HB 2706 (2026, federal officers at hospitals, schools, and places of worship, and a face-covering ban), all died in committee on April 10, 2026; SB 492 (2026, sharing records on officers’ criminal conduct or certification sanctions; died in committee); HB 2164 (2025–26, which as introduced would have let 20-year-olds apply for certification; replaced by a Senate substitute, and the House rejected the conference report 40-83 on April 9, 2026); SB 134 and HB 2187 (2023–24, KSCPOST membership); HB 2835 (2024, pursuit protocols); HB 2224 (2025–26, knock-and-announce warrants); SB 501 (2026, criminalizing biased policing); and SB 287, HB 2771, and SB 525 (immigration enforcement).

## Checked and unchanged

- K.S.A. 74-5616 (discipline grounds): last amended in 2015 (L. 2015, ch. 89). K.S.A. 74-5607a (40-hour continuing education): last amended in 2012.
- K.S.A. 74-5602 was amended by L. 2023, ch. 7 (reorganization references). 74-5602, 74-5605, and 74-5607 were amended by L. 2024, ch. 15 (SB 491, fingerprint cross-references). Neither changed the certification standards. 74-5619 was amended by L. 2024, ch. 39 (HB 2491, abolishing the training center fund).
- K.A.R. 106-2-2b (duty to report criminal offenses) and 106-1-9 (continuing education) date from 2022.
- Not counted: HB 2372 (2026, enacted over veto on April 9, 2026) addresses federal officers, ICE detainers, and unlawful approach of a first responder. It does not change certification, decertification, records, or officer identification.