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Kansas Small Claims Court

District Court (small claims), for claims up to $10,000.

Last checked November 1, 2026

The most you can ask for$10,000
LawyersLawyers not allowed
Time to sue on a contract5 years
Good to know

Raised from $4,000 on July 1, 2024. Not counting interest and costs. Assigned claims can't be filed, and no one can file more than 20 small claims in the same court in a calendar year.

Lawyers: No lawyers before judgment, unless another party is or uses a lawyer, in which case you may hire one too.

How it works in Kansas

  1. Get a Small Claims Petition from the clerk of the district court or the Kansas Judicial Council forms page.
  2. You'll need the name and address of the person you're suing, and a street address if you want personal service.
  3. Take the original petition and a copy for each defendant to the clerk in the county where the defendant lives.
  4. Pay the filing fee and any sheriff's fee. The clerk sets a trial date.
  5. Present your side yourself at the trial.

What it costs

$47.50 for claims of $500 or less, $67.50 for larger claims, plus $1.50 in Johnson County or $2 in Sedgwick County. Sheriff service costs extra.

How long you have to sue

Written contract5 years
Spoken agreement3 years
Damage to property2 years
Personal injury2 years

K.S.A. 60-511, 60-512, 60-513. These are general limits. The clock can start late, pause or be much shorter, as it is for claims against a government agency.

If you lose

Any party can appeal within 14 days of judgment for a new trial before a different district judge. If the party defending the appeal wins, the court awards that party's reasonable attorney fees on appeal.

L. 2024, ch. 22 raised the limit from $4,000 to $10,000, effective July 1, 2024. Many commercial sites and some county pages still show $4,000.

Sources

Have a dispute in Kansas?

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General information to help you get organized, last checked November 1, 2026. It isn't legal advice, and SueYou isn't a law firm. Laws change and every case is different, so confirm anything important with a lawyer or the court. No lawyer has reviewed this page yet.