The use, ownership, or purchase of a firearm is illegal if the act meets the following characteristics:^[1]

• possessing any firearm by a person who is both addicted to and an unlawful user of a controlled substance;
• possessing any firearm by any person, other than a law enforcement officer, in or on any school property or grounds upon which is located a building or structure used by a unified school district or an accredited nonpublic school for student instruction or attendance or extracurricular activities of pupils enrolled in kindergarten or any of the grades one through 12 or at any regularly scheduled school-sponsored activity or event whether the person knows or has reason to know that such person was in or on any such property or grounds;
• possessing any firearm by a person who is or has been a mentally ill person subject to involuntary commitment for care and treatment,^[2] and amendments to it, or persons with an alcohol or substance abuse problem subject to involuntary commitment for care and treatment^[3] and amendments to it;
• possessing any firearm while a fugitive from justice;
• possessing any firearm by a person who is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States;
• possessing any firearm by a person while such person is subject to a court order that:
  • was issued after a hearing, of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to participate;
  • restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or a child of such person or such intimate partner, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or the child; and
  • includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or
  • by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury; or
• possessing any firearm by a person who, within the preceding five years, has been convicted of a misdemeanor for a domestic violence offense or a misdemeanor under a law of another jurisdiction which is substantially the same as such misdemeanor offense.

Any person who is 21 years of age or older can carry concealed in Kansas without a permit.^[4] However, the state offers an optional Concealed Carry Handgun License for those who wish to obtain one.

How to Apply

A person must be at least 21 to carry concealed in Kansas.

1. Complete a firearm safety training course approved by the state Attorney General’s office.
2. Submit a Kansas Application for Concealed Carry Handgun License to the applicant’s local Sheriff’s office. Attach the filing fee, proof of safety training completion, a 2×2 passport-type color photo, and proof of citizenship or permanent residency.
3. Submit fingerprints to the Sheriff’s office along with the application.
4. The Sheriff’s office has 90 days from submission to approve or deny an application.

Reciprocity

Anyone 21 years of age or older, whether a resident of Kansas or not, is legally allowed to carry a concealed weapon in the state.^[5]