Kansas Felony Levels and Misdemeanor Classes: Sentences (2026)

In Kansas, a felony is a crime punishable by death or by imprisonment in a state correctional institution, or a crime the law defines as a felony, and every other crime except traffic and cigarette or tobacco infractions is a misdemeanor (K.S.A. 21-5102). Kansas does not sort current felonies into lettered classes: most are ranked by severity level on two presumptive sentencing grids, while misdemeanors are class A (up to one year), class B (up to six months), class C (up to one month) or unclassified (K.S.A. 21-6602, 21-6804, 21-6805). For how other states compare, see our guide to felony and misdemeanor classes by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-17. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Kansas crime classification in K.S.A. 21-5102, misdemeanor classes in 21-6602, fines in 21-6611, the sentencing guidelines in 21-6802, 21-6804, 21-6805 and 21-6806, the life and mandatory-minimum statutes in 21-6620, 21-6626 and 21-6627, postrelease supervision and parole eligibility in 22-3717, and probation and violations under 21-6604, 21-6608 and 22-3716, as amended through the 2026 session. It does not cover how individual offenses are ranked (see the Kansas theft laws and Kansas assault and battery laws pages for two examples), time limits for charges, record clearing, the criminal history scoring rules, juvenile cases, crimes committed before July 1, 1993, city ordinances, or federal offenses (the state-by-state hub covers the federal classes).

Felony vs misdemeanor in Kansas

Kansas draws the line by where the sentence can be served. K.S.A. 21-5102 provides:

Crimes are classified as felonies, misdemeanors, traffic infractions and cigarette or tobacco infractions. (a) A felony is a crime punishable by death or by imprisonment in any state correctional institution or a crime which is defined as a felony by law.

Subsection (d) of the same section adds that "All other crimes are misdemeanors." A misdemeanor sentence is a definite term in the county jail fixed by the court (K.S.A. 21-6602(a)).

The two infraction categories are defined by list. A traffic infraction is a violation of a provision listed in K.S.A. 8-2118(c), and a cigarette or tobacco infraction is a violation of K.S.A. 21-6109 through 21-6114, 21-6116, or subsection (m) or (n) of K.S.A. 79-3321 (K.S.A. 21-5102(b), (c)).

Kansas felony and misdemeanor classes

Felonies committed on or after July 1, 1993 are sentenced under the sentencing guidelines, which "have no application to crimes committed prior to July 1, 1993" (K.S.A. 21-6802(c)). Instead of letter classes, each felony is ranked at a severity level on the nondrug grid or the drug grid, or is designated off-grid, apart from a few felonies sentenced under their own statutes outside the grids (K.S.A. 21-6804(i), described below). The table shows the fine ceiling for each band; the prison term comes from the grid rather than from a fixed class maximum.

These are the ranges for each band on its own. K.S.A. 21-6804, 21-6805, 21-6626 and 21-6627 set higher or presumed-prison sentences for some repeat, weapon and sex-offense convictions, described below.

The fine statute, K.S.A. 21-6611, allows a fine "in addition to the sentence authorized by law" for a felony, and "in addition to or instead of the imprisonment authorized by law" for a misdemeanor. Under 21-6611(c), "As an alternative to any of the above fines, the fine imposed may be fixed at any greater sum not exceeding double the pecuniary gain derived from the crime by the offender." The fine tiers for drug crimes committed before July 1, 2012 use different levels, set out in the same section.

Lower level numbers are the more serious crimes on both grids: for example, nondrug levels 1 to 4 carry 36 months of postrelease supervision while levels 7 to 10 carry 12 (K.S.A. 22-3717(d)(1)).

Felonies sentenced outside the grids

The felony provisions of K.S.A. 21-5414(c)(1)(C) (third or later domestic battery within five years), 21-5823(b)(3) and (b)(4), 21-6412 and 21-6416 are sentenced under the specific mandatory terms in those sections rather than the grid, and the term may not be served in a state correctional facility (K.S.A. 21-6804(i)(1), (3)).

For example, a third or later domestic battery within five years carries 90 days to one year and a fine of $1,000 to $7,500 (K.S.A. 21-5414(c)(1)(C)). If criminal history makes the case presumptive prison, or the judge departs from presumptive probation to prison, the grid applies instead (21-6804(i)(2)).

How a Kansas felony sentence is actually set

The grids, not a class maximum, set the usual sentence. Under K.S.A. 21-6804(c), the grid "is a two-dimensional crime severity and criminal history classification tool": its vertical axis is the crime severity scale for the current crime, and its horizontal axis is the criminal history scale. The grid "defines presumptive punishments for felony convictions, subject to the sentencing court's discretion to enter a departure sentence" (21-6804(d)), and its sentences "represent months of imprisonment" (21-6804(b)). The drug grid in K.S.A. 21-6805 works the same way for drug felonies under K.S.A. 21-5701 through 21-5717.

Within a block, K.S.A. 21-6804(e)(1) gives the judge discretion "to sentence at any place within the sentencing range. In the usual case it is recommended that the sentencing judge select the center of the range and reserve the upper and lower limits for aggravating and mitigating factors insufficient to warrant a departure."

The grid also decides prison versus probation. Under 21-6804(f), "If an offense is classified in a grid block below the dispositional line, the presumptive disposition shall be nonimprisonment. If an offense is classified in a grid block above the dispositional line, the presumptive disposition shall be imprisonment." For grid blocks 5-H, 5-I and 6-G, the court may impose an optional nonprison sentence under subsection (q). The month ranges for each block appear in the grid charts in the statute and the Kansas Sentencing Commission materials; this page does not restate them.

Kansas has no parole for grid crimes. Under K.S.A. 22-3717(d)(1), people sentenced for crimes other than off-grid crimes committed on or after July 1, 1993 "will not be eligible for parole, but will be released to a mandatory period of postrelease supervision." Subject to the exceptions in subparagraphs (D) and (E), that period is 36 months for nondrug levels 1 to 4 and drug levels 1 to 3 (crimes on or after July 1, 2012), 24 months for nondrug levels 5 and 6 and drug level 4, and 12 months for nondrug levels 7 to 10 and drug level 5. A person 18 or older sentenced to prison for a sexually violent crime committed on or after July 1, 2006 is instead released to postrelease supervision for life, except as subsection (v) of that section provides (K.S.A. 22-3717(d)(1)(G)(i)). For off-grid offenses committed on or after July 1, 1999, the baseline parole eligibility is after 20 years of confinement "without deduction of any good time credits," unless another listed provision applies (22-3717(b)(3)).

A crime committed while on felony probation, parole, postrelease supervision, felony release, or while incarcerated for a felony must be served consecutively to the earlier sentence (K.S.A. 21-6606(c)-(e)), except where applying that rule would result in a manifest injustice (K.S.A. 21-6819).

Off-grid crimes and life sentences

K.S.A. 21-6806(c) makes violations of K.S.A. 21-5401, 21-5402 (murder in the first degree), 21-5421, 21-5422 and 21-5901 off-grid crimes. "Except as otherwise provided by K.S.A. 21-6617, 21-6618, 21-6619, 21-6622, 21-6624, 21-6625, 21-6628 and 21-6629," the sentence "shall be imprisonment for life and shall not be subject to statutory provisions for suspended sentence, community service or probation."

The top sentences, from the statutes:

• Capital murder. If a death sentence is not imposed or requested, the sentence is life without the possibility of parole (K.S.A. 21-6620(a)(1)). The prosecutor must file and serve notice of intent to seek death no later than seven days after arraignment; without that notice, a person convicted of capital murder "shall be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, and no sentence of death shall be imposed" (K.S.A. 21-6617(a)). A defendant who was under 18 at the time cannot receive death or life without parole (K.S.A. 21-6618).
• Attempted capital murder. Life imprisonment with no probation and no parole before 25 years, which good time cannot reduce, subject to the criminal-history exception in 21-6620(a)(2)(B).
• First-degree felony murder (K.S.A. 21-5402(a)(2), crimes on or after July 1, 2014). Life imprisonment with no probation and no parole before 25 years, subject to the exception in 21-6620(b)(2).
• Premeditated first-degree murder (crimes on or after July 1, 2014). The sentence is under K.S.A. 21-6623 (life, with no probation and no parole before 50 years, which good time cannot reduce) unless the judge finds substantial and compelling reasons, after a review of mitigating circumstances, to impose life with no parole before 25 years, each subject to the criminal-history exceptions in 21-6620(c)(1)(B) and (c)(2)(B) (K.S.A. 21-6620(c)).
• Mandatory 50-year terms. For a person sentenced under K.S.A. 21-6623 for crimes committed on or after July 1, 1999, parole eligibility comes only after 50 years, not reduced by good time; for crimes on or after July 1, 2006, that minimum does not apply if the court makes the findings the section describes.
• Jessica's Law. A defendant 18 or older convicted of listed child sex crimes committed on or after July 1, 2006, including rape under K.S.A. 21-5503(a)(3) and aggravated indecent liberties with a child under 21-5506(b)(3), is sentenced to life with a mandatory minimum of not less than 25 years, unless the court sentences under 21-6627(a)(2), and subject to subsections (b) and (d) (K.S.A. 21-6627(a)(1)). Under 21-6806(d), violations of the listed sections by an offender 18 or older against a victim under 14 are off-grid crimes.

For how long these terms run in practice, see how long a life sentence is in Kansas.

Repeat-offender and enhancement rules

Kansas handles most repeat offending through the criminal history axis of the grid (K.S.A. 21-6804(c)). On top of that, the statutes contain specific repeat-offender and enhancement rules, among them:

• Persistent sex offender. A person convicted of a sexually violent crime who already has a sexually violent crime conviction (or, for rape, a prior rape conviction) receives "double the maximum duration of the presumptive imprisonment term," and a presumptive nonprison block becomes presumed imprisonment (K.S.A. 21-6804(j)(1)). Except for the rape-on-rape case, this does not apply when the current crime is a severity level 1 or 2 felony (21-6804(j)(3)).
• Aggravated habitual sex offender. A person convicted on and after July 1, 2006 of a listed sexually violent crime after two or more prior sexually violent crime convictions "shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole," with no probation, postrelease supervision, or sentence modification (K.S.A. 21-6626(a), (c)(1)).
• Repeat Jessica's Law offense. A defendant 18 or older convicted of a 21-6627(a)(1) crime who has a prior conviction for one of those crimes (or a substantially similar crime) is sentenced to life with a mandatory minimum of not less than 40 years, except as 21-6627(b)(2) provides, and is not eligible for probation or for suspension, modification or reduction of sentence (K.S.A. 21-6627(b), (c)). This does not apply to a crime under K.S.A. 21-5507.
• Felony committed while on supervision (2026). A felony committed while the offender was in custody for, or on probation, community corrections, suspended sentence, parole or postrelease supervision for, a prior nondrug felony, with a criminal history score of A, B, C, D or E, "shall be presumptive imprisonment regardless of the grid block," served consecutively to the prior case, and is not a departure (K.S.A. 21-6804(dd), as enacted by 2026 HB 2444 and reconciled by 2026 HB 2029). HB 2444 also amended K.S.A. 21-6818(a)(3): the judge may not impose a downward dispositional or durational departure after finding that the current felony was committed while the offender was in custody or under supervision for a prior felony, unless the departure is an agreed recommendation of both parties.
• Other presumed-prison rules. A firearm used to commit any person felony makes the sentence presumed imprisonment, with an optional nonprison sentence under subsection (q) (21-6804(h)(1)); so does a felony committed for a criminal street gang with the required intent (21-6804(k)). A third or subsequent violation of K.S.A. 8-1568 is presumptive imprisonment served consecutively (21-6804(v)); aggravated criminal damage to property with a prior nonperson felony is presumptive imprisonment (21-6804(w)); and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon is presumptive imprisonment, served consecutively, when the trier of fact finds the weapon was a firearm used in a violent felony (21-6804(z)). Subsections (l) and (p) set special sentencing rules for some burglary and theft convictions with prior burglary or theft convictions.
• Added time and higher levels. Wearing or using ballistic resistant material in a felony adds 30 months (21-6804(t)). Discharging a firearm at an occupied dwelling, building, structure or vehicle under K.S.A. 21-6308(a)(1)(A) or (B), with the knowledge the statute requires, is presumptive imprisonment plus an additional 60 months, or 120 months if a child under 14 was present, served consecutively (21-6804(aa)). A nondrug felony against a law enforcement officer, on the findings in 21-6804(y), is sentenced one severity level higher, and at severity level 1 is life imprisonment with no probation and no parole before 25 years, except as that subsection provides. On the drug grid, carrying or possessing a firearm for a drug felony adds 6 months, or 18 months if the firearm was discharged (K.S.A. 21-6805(g)(1)), and some fentanyl-related level 1 to 3 convictions are presumed imprisonment at twice the maximum presumptive term (21-6805(h)).

Unclassified misdemeanors

Some statutes declare a crime a misdemeanor without naming a class. Under K.S.A. 21-6602(a)(4), unclassified misdemeanors "shall include all crimes declared to be misdemeanors without specification as to class, the sentence for which shall be in accordance with the sentence specified in the statute that defines the crime; if no penalty is provided in such law, the sentence shall be the same penalty as provided herein for a class C misdemeanor." The fine follows the same rule (21-6611(b)(4)).

Can a Kansas felony be reduced to a misdemeanor?

Kansas has no general "wobbler" statute of the kind some states use. K.S.A. 21-5102 classifies each crime as a felony, misdemeanor or infraction by the punishment it authorizes, and K.S.A. 21-6602 assigns classes only to misdemeanors. The flexibility in felony sentencing sits inside the grid instead: presumptive nonprison blocks, the optional nonprison blocks in 21-6804(f), and probation granted through a departure "for substantial and compelling reasons" (K.S.A. 21-6604(a)(3)).

Infractions in Kansas

Kansas treats infractions as crimes. K.S.A. 21-5102 says a crime includes an act for which, "in the case of a traffic infraction or a cigarette or tobacco infraction, a fine is authorized," and lists both infraction types among the four classes of crimes. A person convicted of a traffic infraction "may be sentenced to pay a fine which shall be fixed by the court, not exceeding $500" (K.S.A. 21-6611(d)). A traffic violation that is not on the K.S.A. 8-2118(c) list is not a traffic infraction under this definition.

Probation in Kansas

Who can get probation. For a felony, K.S.A. 21-6604(a)(3) allows probation "if the current crime of conviction and criminal history fall within a presumptive nonprison category or through a departure for substantial and compelling reasons." A felony probation may include up to 60 days in county jail, which need not be served consecutively. Probation is unavailable, among other cases, for off-grid crimes under 21-6806(c) (except as the listed sections provide), for aggravated habitual sex offenders (21-6626), for attempted capital murder and first-degree felony murder (21-6620), for a level 1 offense against a law enforcement officer under 21-6804(y), and for sentences under 21-6623 and 21-6627, each as those sections provide. The presumed-imprisonment rules above also take a case out of the presumptive probation range unless the court departs or the rule allows an optional nonprison sentence.

How long. For misdemeanors, the period "shall not exceed two years in misdemeanor cases, subject to renewal and extension for additional fixed periods of two years" (K.S.A. 21-6608(a)). For felonies committed on or after July 1, 1993, 21-6608(c) sets these terms:

The court may impose a longer term than the 12- and 18-month limits if it "finds and sets forth with particularity" that public safety would be jeopardized or the offender's welfare would not be served (21-6608(c)(5)). Except as subsections (c)(7) and (c)(8) provide, "the total period in all cases shall not exceed 60 months, or the maximum period of the prison sentence that could be imposed whichever is longer" (21-6608(c)(6)). Under 21-6608(c)(7), probation for nonsupport of a child may continue as long as the support duty continues, and probation with a restitution order may continue until the restitution is paid. After a modification hearing and a judicial finding of necessity, the court may extend supervision for up to five years or the maximum prison term, whichever is longer, counting the original term (21-6608(c)(8)).

Violations. Under K.S.A. 22-3716, a violation hearing is held in open court, "the state shall have the burden of establishing the violation," and the defendant has the right to counsel. What the court may do depends on the original crime:

• Most felonies (other than those listed in 21-6804(i)): continue or modify the conditions; continue them with a two-day or three-day county jail sanction, with all such sanctions totaling no more than 18 days during supervision except as subsection (h) provides; or, if the person already had one of those jail sanctions, revoke and require the person to serve the sentence imposed or any lesser sentence (22-3716(c)(1)). The court may revoke without a prior sanction in the situations in 22-3716(c)(7), including where it finds with particularity that public safety would be jeopardized or the offender's welfare would not be served by a sanction. For a felony other than DUI under K.S.A. 8-1567 or 8-2,144, the court may also impose up to 60 days in county jail on each violation finding, separate from those sanctions (22-3716(c)(9)).
• Misdemeanors and felonies listed in 21-6804(i): continue or modify probation with up to 60 days in county jail, impose the two- or three-day sanctions under the same 18-day limit, or revoke (22-3716(b)(3)(B)).

Except as subsections (c)(3), (c)(4) and (c)(7) provide, a person cannot be sent to a state facility for a violation unless the person already had at least one prior assignment to a community correctional services program for the same crime (22-3716(c)(2)). A new crime committed while on felony probation is served consecutively (K.S.A. 21-6606(c)).

Recent changes to Kansas sentencing law

• 2026 sentencing grid amendments (in force July 1, 2026). The Revisor's 2026 listing of new and amended statutes shows K.S.A. 21-6804 amended by 2026 HB 2413, HB 2444 and HB 2501 and reconciled by 2026 HB 2029 (2026 Session Laws chapter 155), and K.S.A. 21-6805 amended by 2026 HB 2501, all effective July 1, 2026. They include the supervision rule in 21-6804(dd) from HB 2444 (above); HB 2501's new 21-6804(h)(2), which raises the sentence for a nonperson felony one severity level when the trier of fact finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the firearm used had a suppressor or was a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches; HB 2501's new 21-6805(g)(2), which makes the same one-level increase for a drug felony not covered by the 21-6805(g)(1) add-on; and HB 2413's new 21-6804(cc), which raises an offense committed with intent to commit transnational repression one severity level for levels 2 to 10, with a separate rule for level 1.
• Other 2026 amendments. 2026 HB 2444 amended K.S.A. 21-6818 (the departure limit described above) effective July 1, 2026; 2026 SB 459 amended K.S.A. 22-3717 effective April 16, 2026; 2026 HB 2552 amended K.S.A. 21-6813 and 2026 HB 2747 amended K.S.A. 21-6811, both effective April 16, 2026; and 2026 HB 2192 amended K.S.A. 21-6824 effective July 1, 2026.
• No class changes. No 2025 or 2026 act amended K.S.A. 21-5102, 21-6602, 21-6608, 21-6611 or 22-3716, so the felony definition, misdemeanor classes, fines, probation lengths and violation rules above are unchanged.

Federal firearm consequence

Federal law bars firearm possession by anyone convicted of "a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)), but that phrase excludes "any State offense classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less" (18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20)). Kansas misdemeanors carry at most one year (K.S.A. 21-6602). Separately, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9) bars possessing a firearm or ammunition after a conviction in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, as 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33) defines it, whatever the misdemeanor's maximum sentence. The state-by-state hub explains the federal rules.

Related legal issues

How a particular offense lands on the grid depends on its own statute: see the Kansas theft laws for how theft is ranked by value and the Kansas assault and battery laws for how those offenses are graded. Clearing a conviction is covered on the Kansas expungement laws page.

Related

• Felony and misdemeanor classes by state
• Kansas expungement laws
• Kansas theft laws
• How long is a life sentence in Kansas
• Missouri felony and misdemeanor classes
• Nebraska felony and misdemeanor classes

This article provides general legal information about Kansas law as of 2026-10-17. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Kansas.

Last updated: 2026-10-17.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor in Kansas?

Under K.S.A. 21-5102, a felony is a crime punishable by death or by imprisonment in a state correctional institution, or one the law defines as a felony. Apart from traffic and cigarette or tobacco infractions, every other crime is a misdemeanor, served in county jail for up to one year at most for a class A misdemeanor (K.S.A. 21-6602).

Does Kansas have class A, B or C felonies?

Not for felonies committed on or after July 1, 1993. Kansas ranks those felonies by severity level on a nondrug grid (levels 1 to 10) and a drug grid (levels 1 to 5), plus off-grid crimes and a few felonies sentenced outside the grids under their own statutes (21-6804(i)); the letters A, B and C are used for misdemeanor classes (K.S.A. 21-6602, 21-6802(c), 21-6804).

How much time is a severity level felony in Kansas?

The presumptive range comes from the grid block where the severity level meets the person's criminal history score, and the judge may sentence anywhere within that range or depart from it (K.S.A. 21-6804(d)-(f)). Repeat-offender, weapon and sex-offense rules can raise the term or presume prison.

What is a class A misdemeanor in Kansas?

It is the highest misdemeanor class: a definite county-jail term of up to one year and a fine of up to $2,500, unless the statute defining the crime sets a different penalty (K.S.A. 21-6602(a)(1), 21-6611(b)(1)).

What is an off-grid crime in Kansas?

Off-grid crimes, including first-degree murder under K.S.A. 21-5402, sit outside the sentencing grids and carry life imprisonment without probation, except as other listed sections provide (K.S.A. 21-6806(c)). Certain sex crimes by an adult against a child under 14 are also off-grid (21-6806(d)).

Is a traffic ticket a crime in Kansas?

K.S.A. 21-5102 classifies traffic infractions as one of the four kinds of crimes, but a traffic infraction is punished by a fine only, up to $500 (K.S.A. 21-6611(d)).

How long is probation in Kansas?

Misdemeanor probation is up to two years, renewable in two-year periods (K.S.A. 21-6608(a)). Felony probation runs 36, 24, 18 or 12 months depending on severity level, with a general limit of 60 months or the maximum prison term, whichever is longer, except that it can continue while child support or restitution is owed and can be extended on the findings the statute requires (21-6608(c)).

What happens if you violate probation in Kansas?

The court holds a hearing where the state must establish the violation. For most felonies the court may continue or modify probation, impose two- or three-day jail sanctions totaling no more than 18 days, order up to 60 days in county jail on each violation finding, and revoke after a prior sanction or on the particular findings the statute lists (K.S.A. 22-3716).