Kansas Red Flag Law: Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Red Flag / Extreme Risk Protection Orders in Kansas

Kansas has NO state ERPO / red-flag statute

Kansas does NOT have an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO), or "red flag" statute. Multiple ERPO bills have been introduced in the Kansas legislature over the past several sessions and have failed to advance. As of May 2026 there is no operative Kansas process by which a court may temporarily suspend a person's firearm rights based on a "risk to self or others" finding outside the standard criminal-process and involuntary-civil-commitment frameworks.

Kansas does have related, narrower firearm-disability mechanisms:

• K.S.A. 21-6304 - Criminal possession of a firearm: categorical felony-conviction bars (graduated 5/10/lifetime depending on offense).
• K.S.A. 75-7c04 - CCHL ineligibility for applicants disqualified under specified state and federal categories.
• K.S.A. 75-7c27 - Petition for relief mechanism for persons subject to the federal mental-health firearm prohibition under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(4).
• K.S.A. 59-29a - Sexually violent predator commitment.
• K.S.A. 59-2946 et seq. - Civil commitment for mentally ill persons (federal Section 922(g)(4) trigger).

Federal prohibitor categories at 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g) continue to apply in Kansas independently of state law.

Out-of-state ERPOs are NOT automatically enforceable in Kansas; full-faith-and-credit application of out-of-state civil orders is governed by general Kansas civil procedure.

For criminal-penalty detail relating to firearms offenses, see RESTRICTIONS and PERMIT_BASICS.

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Criminal Penalties Related to Concealed Carry in Kansas (historical reference)

The remainder of this section is retained as a reference for criminal penalties associated with weapons offenses and CCHL misuse. It is not "red flag" content per se.

Carrying Under the Influence (K.S.A. 21-6332)

• Offense: Having a loaded firearm on your person or within your immediate access while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Classification: Class A misdemeanor
• Penalties:
  • Up to one (1) year in jail
  • Up to $2,500 in fines
• Refusal to submit to drug/alcohol testing: Civil penalty of up to $1,000
• CCHL Revocation:
  • First offense: CCHL revoked for a minimum of one (1) year
  • Second or subsequent offense: CCHL revoked for a minimum of three (3) years

Criminal Use of Weapons (K.S.A. 21-6301)

Kansas law establishes multiple categories of criminal penalties for weapons offenses:

Class A Nonperson Misdemeanor

Applies to violations of K.S.A. 21-6301(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7), (a)(8), (a)(9), or (a)(12), including:

• Selling, manufacturing, purchasing, or possessing any bludgeon, sand club, or metal knuckles
• Possessing with intent to use unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, blackjack, slungshot, dangerous knife, straight-edged razor, throwing star, stiletto, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon
• Setting a spring gun
• Transferring firearms with barrels less than 12 inches to persons under 18
• Transferring firearms to persons addicted to and unlawful users of controlled substances
• Transferring firearms to mentally ill persons subject to involuntary commitment
• Refusing to surrender or remove a firearm from school property when directed
• Possession of a firearm with a barrel less than 12 inches by a person under 18 (first offense)

Class B Nonperson Select Misdemeanor

Applies to violations of K.S.A. 21-6301(a)(10) or (a)(11), including:

• Possessing any firearm by a person who is both addicted to and an unlawful user of a controlled substance
• Possessing any firearm (by a non-law enforcement person) on school property or grounds used by a unified school district or accredited nonpublic school

Severity Level 9, Nonperson Felony

Applies to violations of K.S.A. 21-6301(a)(4), (a)(5), or (a)(6), including:

• Possessing a device designed for suppressing the report of a firearm (with exceptions)
• Possessing a shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches or an automatic firearm (with exceptions)
• Possessing certain prohibited ammunition

Severity Level 8, Nonperson Felony

Applies to violations of K.S.A. 21-6301(a)(13), (a)(15), (a)(16), (a)(17), or (a)(18), including:

• Possessing any firearm by a mentally ill person subject to involuntary commitment
• Possessing any firearm while a fugitive from justice
• Possessing any firearm by an illegal or unlawful alien
• Possessing any firearm while subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order
• Possessing any firearm by a person convicted within the preceding five years of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense
• Possession of a firearm with a barrel less than 12 inches by a person under 18 (second or subsequent conviction)

Perjury on CCHL Application (K.S.A. 75-7c09)

• Failure to truthfully disclose criminal history on a CCHL application could result in felony criminal charges for perjury.

CCHL Administrative Penalties

Failure to Notify of Address Change (K.S.A. 75-7c06(e))

• Fine of up to $100, or
• Suspension of CCHL for up to 6 months

Moving Out of State Without Notification

• If the Concealed Carry Licensing Unit (CCLU) receives notice from another entity that a licensee has moved out of state without prior notification, the CCHL will be revoked.

Criminal Trespass

• If a person carrying concealed is asked to leave a private business by the owner or an employee and refuses, they could be cited for criminal trespass, even if the business was not posted as prohibiting concealed carry.

Federal Firearms Prohibitions

Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) & (n), federal law prohibits firearm possession for:

• Persons convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than 12 months
• Persons under indictment for such crimes
• Fugitives from justice
• Persons with qualifying domestic violence protection orders
• Persons addicted to or unlawful users of controlled substances (including medical marijuana cardholders)
• Persons adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
• Persons dishonorably discharged from the U.S. armed forces
• Persons who have renounced U.S. citizenship
• Illegal or unlawful aliens
• Persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)) - this may result in a permanent loss of firearms rights

Kansas State Firearms Possession Prohibitions (K.S.A. 21-6304)

Kansas law prohibits individuals from possessing firearms for varying periods depending on the felony conviction/adjudication and whether a firearm was used in the commission of the crime:

• 3 months
• 3 years
• 8 years
• Permanently

Note: Expungement may not restore firearms rights for all convictions. Some convictions, even if expunged, remain lifetime firearms prohibitors. Only a pardon may restore a person's ability to possess firearms in certain cases.

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Federal context

United States v. Rahimi (2024). In United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. ___ (2024), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal firearm prohibition at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) for persons subject to a qualifying domestic-violence restraining order, holding the federal disability survives the historical-tradition test of N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022). Rahimi is the controlling SCOTUS authority on the constitutionality of federal firearm disabilities tied to domestic-violence findings; it bears on any state-level red-flag / ERPO analysis to the extent those frameworks borrow federal § 922(g)(8) prohibitor mechanics.