Overview
Process Server in Kansas: How Service of Process Works
Kansas offers flexible methods. Under K.S.A. 60-303, service can be made by 'return receipt delivery', which includes certified mail, priority mail, commercial courier and overnight delivery services with a receipt showing who received it. It can also be made personally, or by residence service on someone of suitable age and discretion who lives at the defendant's home. If neither personal nor residence service works, the papers can be left at the home with a mailed notice. A refusal after a server's offer counts as service.
Who serves process
Who Can Serve Legal Documents in Kansas
Under K.S.A. 60-303, service may be made by the sheriff, by a person appointed as a process server by the court, or, for return receipt delivery, by the party or the party's attorney. Kansas doesn't license private process servers statewide.
If a person refuses to accept the papers, the authorized server's offer to deliver them and the refusal are enough for service.
Typical documents include summonses and petitions, limited actions papers, eviction papers, subpoenas and divorce papers.
Proof you receive: a sworn affidavit of service
The sheriff, party or attorney files a return of service; for return receipt delivery, a copy of the receipt is attached.
Personal and residence service statewide
Service in all 105 counties, with returns that meet K.S.A. 60-303.
Return receipt delivery
Certified mail or courier service with a receipt, when that's the faster route.
Wichita, Kansas City, Topeka and statewide
Fast service in Sedgwick, Johnson, Wyandotte, Shawnee and every Kansas county.
The rules
Kansas Service of Process Rules
The Kansas rules that matter most for service:
| Rule | What it covers |
|---|---|
| K.S.A. 60-303(c) | Service by return receipt delivery |
| K.S.A. 60-303(d) | Personal and residence service |
| K.S.A. 60-303(d)(4) | Refusal after an offer is sufficient service |
| K.S.A. 60-203 | Action commenced on filing if served within 90 days |
| K.S.A. 60-212 | 21 days to answer |
Treaties
Kansas and the Hague Conventions: Treaty Status
The Hague Service Convention lets member countries send documents to each other's Central Authorities for service. Kansas has not joined it, so that route isn't available, and the Convention's Article 10 rules on postal and private service don't apply. Whether those methods are acceptable depends on Kansas's law and on what your court allows.
Kansas is not a party to the Hague Evidence Convention, so requests for witness testimony or documents go through letters rogatory.
