Requesting Your Own Criminal History

If you are a first-time requestor, please review all the information on this page before continuing.

The type of criminal history record you can obtain on yourself depends on why you want your record:

On-Line Record Check. If you want to receive a record check that includes only your adult convictions, you may request your record just as you would request another person’s record.

Certified Record Check. If you need a criminal history record check run on yourself for a visa application, an adoption, an application for immigration or a similar action in which a formal validation of record content is required, please follow the instructions on the “Certified Record Check” page.
Complete Record Check. If you want to review your entire criminal history, to include all arrests, non-convictions, diversions, expungements and juvenile offender data, you must mail a letter requesting your record to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. You must also include a Personal Identification fingerprint card with your fingerprints recorded. The fingerprint card establishes your identity to the Kansas Central Repository, so that someone else can’t obtain your record by pretending to be you. Instructions for submitting a request follow.

Hours of operation

You may conduct a record check at any time between the hours of 4:00 AM and Midnight, Central Time, every day. The Kansas Central Repository is unavailable from Midnight to 4:00 AM each day for scheduled maintenance.

Kansas Criminal History Records

Historical records of arrests and dispositions for criminal activity in Kansas are maintained in the Central Repository at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The Central Repository database receives summary information for these events from contributing police departments, sheriff’s offices, prosecutors and courts throughout the state.

The criminal history information maintained by the KBI includes felony and misdemeanor arrests, prosecution data, court disposition and information of incarceration in state-operated confinement facilities. The Central Repository does not contain data from any other state or federal agency.

Kansas Central Repository criminal history records are organized by individual identity so that all the offenses committed by that person are kept in chronological order within a single file. The offenses are associated with the subject of the record based upon fingerprint identification.

When criminal history record information is released, it is printed in an abstract of record commonly referred to as a “rap sheet.”

What criminal history record information is released:

When your identity has been verified by submission of fingerprints, the Central Repository will print and mail to you a “rap sheet” with all information contained in your criminal history record. This will include:

Arrests for violations of Kansas law that are felonies or class A or class B misdemeanors or Class C misdemeanor assaults, to include arrests for which the records of disposition have not yet been received.
Prosecutor and court information regarding the disposition of violations of Kansas law that are felonies or class A or class B misdemeanors or Class C misdemeanor assaults.
Court convictions for violations of municipal ordinances or county resolutions that are equivalent to class A or class B misdemeanors or class C misdemeanor assault under state statute.
Diversions; on-going, failed and successfully completed.
Expunged arrests, prosecutions and convictions.
Confinements in Kansas Department of Corrections facilities.
All juvenile offender information, to include arrests, prosecutions, convictions, diversions and expungements.

Getting your fingerprints taken

You may ask a local Police Department or Sheriff’s Office to take your prints. Although local law enforcement agencies are not obliged to provide this service, generally at least one agency that offers this service can be found in all counties in Kansas. You may be charged a reasonable fee to offset the expense of providing the service.

In larger cities, commercial fingerprinting services may also be found.

In Topeka, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) will take your fingerprints only on Monday, Wednesday or Friday from 9am to noon or from 1pm to 3pm. There is a fee of $10 for this service. Simply come to the KBI headquarters at 1620 SW Tyler Street. No appointment necessary.

Obtaining the Personal Identification fingerprint card

The fingerprint card used for personal review of criminal history is the standard FBI Personal Identification fingerprint card, FBI form FD-353. If that card is not available, the standard FBI Applicant fingerprint card, FBI form FD 258 may be substituted.

Personal Identification or Applicant fingerprint cards should be obtained from the agency that offers fingerprinting services. If the agency does not have these cards available, they can be obtained from the KBI.

Number of cards to be submitted.

Only one fingerprint card is submitted to the Central Repository.

Fee for a personal record check

The fee for processing the record check and returning the rap sheet is $29.75.

The letter requesting the personal record check

The letter you prepare must properly identify you, establish the reason for your request and provide your mailing address to which the response can be sent. Include the Personal Identification fingerprint card and a check or money order for $29.75. A sample letter is provided for your use.

Mailing the request to the KBI

Do not crease or staple the fingerprint card. Place it in an envelope large enough to hold the card without bending or folding. Regular first-class mailing is sufficient; there is no need to certify or insure the request. The proper mailing address is:

Kansas Bureau of Investigation
Attn: Criminal History Records Section
1620 SW Tyler
Topeka, KS 66612-1837

Correcting the record

If you review the rap sheet of your criminal history and believe that it is incorrect or incomplete, you may challenge the record by sending a letter to the KBI explaining what you believe the error to be. Please also include documents that provide the correct information. The mailing address for the KBI is found in the previous section, above.

For example, if your criminal history record shows an arrest without a disposition and you were given a diversion of prosecution by the County Attorney and the District Court, please send us a letter explaining the diversion, to include a copy of the Journal Entry filed by the County Attorney when the diversion was successfully completed. That Journal Entry will be used by the Central Repository to bring your record up-to-date.

Other types of record checks to consider

General public. This type of record check is the easiest to conduct. And if you are only interested in obtaining a record of your convictions, you may obtain your own record by using the public record check process. For further information, go to the Conducting a Public Record Check page.

Certified. If you are required to obtain a certified Kansas criminal history record check for a visa application, an adoption or a similar action other than employment, go to the Certified Record Checks page for further information.