Kansas earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Somewhat higher bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must provide clear and convincing evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Kansas’ forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Kansas?
Under Kansas law, prosecutors’ and owners’ deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 291 days, but the wait may be longer as the deadline for serving the complaint can be extended and there is no deadline for the hearing itself. While you wait, the government has your property, but you can try to get it back while the case continues by requesting a probable cause hearing or by posting a bond equal to the property’s fair market value.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $105 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Kansas Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $1,690,336 | $22,000 | $1,712,336 |
| 2001 | Unknown | $3,137,162 | $0 | $3,137,162 |
| 2002 | Unknown | $1,442,719 | $12,000 | $1,454,719 |
| 2003 | Unknown | $1,992,796 | $0 | $1,992,796 |
| 2004 | Unknown | $5,039,777 | $0 | $5,039,777 |
| 2005 | Unknown | $3,279,147 | $26,000 | $3,305,147 |
| 2006 | Unknown | $1,805,375 | $9,000 | $1,814,375 |
| 2007 | Unknown | $2,091,681 | $17,000 | $2,108,681 |
| 2008 | Unknown | $2,874,235 | $192,000 | $3,066,235 |
| 2009 | Unknown | $5,449,087 | $21,000 | $5,470,087 |
| 2010 | Unknown | $3,065,997 | $293,000 | $3,358,997 |
| 2011 | Unknown | $6,620,392 | $88,000 | $6,708,392 |
| 2012 | Unknown | $9,285,114 | $357,000 | $9,642,114 |
| 2013 | Unknown | $5,041,781 | $375,000 | $5,416,781 |
| 2014 | Unknown | $2,664,544 | $243,000 | $2,907,544 |
| 2015 | Unknown | $4,781,945 | $150,000 | $4,931,945 |
| 2016 | Unknown | $3,612,914 | $345,000 | $3,957,914 |
| 2017 | Unknown | $1,978,999 | $7,000 | $1,985,999 |
| 2018 | Unknown | $4,762,906 | $52,000 | $4,814,906 |
| 2019 | $1,895,641 | $3,697,252 | $2,046,000 | $7,638,893 |
| 2020 | $2,872,153 | $3,029,713 | $755,000 | $6,656,866 |
| 2021 | $4,383,701 | $645,324 | $6,000 | $5,035,025 |
| 2022 | $3,380,300 | $1,752,225 | $1,629,000 | $6,761,525 |
| 2023 | $2,198,802 | $4,318,775 | $342,000 | $6,859,577 |
| Totals | $14,730,597 | $84,060,196 | $6,987,000 | $105,777,793 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Kansas does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Kansas agencies have generated more than $91 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 61 Kansas agencies, or an estimated 18% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Kansas Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$2,490
From July 2019 through 2023, half of Kansas’ currency forfeitures were worth less than $2,490 per case.
Property Types
From July 2019 through 2023, more than half of Kansas’ forfeitures were solely of currency.
From July 2019 to 2023, more than three-quarters of Kansas’ forfeitures were seized without a warrant.
Seizures on Interstate Highways
From July 2019 to 2023, more than 79% of Kansas’ seizures along interstates were from out-of-state residents, with 78% being forfeited by default.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
A-Statewide Forfeiture Reports
APenalties for Failure to File a Report
B*Accounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
BAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
AFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
F*Agencies must file even when they have nothing to report.
For full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Forfeiture case data were downloaded from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s website. Revenues generally represent the value of forfeited currency and property with final dispositions in a calendar year. Data for 2019 reported in the third edition of Policing for Profit have been updated to reflect additional forfeitures added to the state’s dataset and include only six months of complete data (July–December). Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Clear and convincing evidence.
Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-4113(h).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-4112(h), -4113(h).
Financial incentive: 100%.
Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-4117. But see Kan. Att’y Gen. Op. No. 2018-14, 2018 WL 4922703, at *4 (Oct. 5, 2018) (concluding that forfeiture proceeds may not be used for normal operating expenses such as salaries for regular employees); Kan. Att’y Gen. Op. No. 2007-15, 2007 WL 2021740, at *2 (July 6, 2007) (determining that forfeiture proceeds may be applied to special law enforcement projects, but cannot be used as a regular funding source).
Process: Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-4101 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); id. § 60-255 (default judgment).