Staffing agency license in Kansas: a $25 license, PEOs and health care staffing
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Kansas never repealed its 1911 employment agency law. K.S.A. 44-401 to 44-412 still require a private employment agency to hold a license from the Kansas Department of Labor, and the department still describes the requirement on its website. But the license costs $25, the bond is $500, and the current definition, last amended in 1996, excludes firms paid by employers, so in practice it reaches agencies that charge job seekers. The live issues for most Kansas staffing firms are elsewhere: a quirk in the temporary help exclusion, PEO registration that moved to the Secretary of State in 2025, and a health care staffing registration that began in a budget bill.
This page covers all three, plus the employer accounts a staffing firm needs. For other states, see employment agency license requirements.
Not legal advice. This summarizes K.S.A. 44-401 to 44-412 and 44-1701 to 44-1711 as published by the Kansas Legislature, and Kansas Department of Labor and Secretary of State guidance, as of October 2026. Where I could not confirm something, I say so. Confirm your position with the agency or counsel.
Who needs the private employment agency license
Under K.S.A. 44-401(e)(1), a "private employment agency" is a business operated for profit in Kansas that secures employment, or advertises that it can secure employment or provide information leading to employment, for an applicant with an employer other than itself. Section 44-401(e)(2) then excludes:
- educational, religious, charitable, fraternal or benevolent organizations that charge no fee;
- government employment services;
- "any temporary help service that at no time advertises or represents that its employee may, with the approval of the temporary help service, be employed by one of its client companies on a permanent basis";
- newspapers, publications, radio and television stations; and
- "any employment service where the fee is paid by the employer."
The Kansas Department of Labor's workplace laws page puts it plainly: a private employment agency is one where the person seeking a job has to pay a fee, and temporary employment agencies that charge a fee to people seeking workers are not private employment agencies.
| Model | License under K.S.A. 44-402? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Contingency or retained search, employer pays | No | Employer-paid exclusion, § 44-401(e)(2)(F) |
| Temporary staffing, no temp-to-hire advertising | No | Temporary help exclusion, § 44-401(e)(2)(C) |
| Temp-to-hire staffing, client pays all fees | No, on the employer-paid exclusion | Temporary help exclusion may not fit; see below |
| Any fee charged to job seekers | Yes | Core of the definition |
The temp-to-hire quirk
The temporary help exclusion carries a condition most staffing firms break: it applies only to a firm that never advertises that its workers may be hired permanently by a client. If your website or job ads say "temp-to-hire" or "contract-to-perm," the temporary help exclusion is not the one to lean on. The employer-paid exclusion still covers you as long as the client pays every fee, including any conversion fee, and the worker pays nothing. Keep conversion terms on the client side of the contract; see temp-to-perm conversion fee for how those clauses usually work.
What the license requires
- License and fee. K.S.A. 44-402: no person may open, operate or maintain a private employment agency without a license from the state department of labor. The annual fee is $25. The license lasts one year from issuance; renewal is due at least 30 days before it expires.
- Posting. The license, with a copy of the act, must be posted conspicuously in each agency, and the license names the street address where the agency operates.
- Bond. K.S.A. 44-403: a $500 bond with sureties approved by the Secretary of Labor, conditioned on complying with the act.
- Application fee cap. K.S.A. 44-407: where an agency charges a fee for receiving or filing an application for employment, it may not exceed $75, and the agency gives a duplicate receipt stating the applicant, date, amount and the work sought.
- Penalty. K.S.A. 44-410: a violation is a class C misdemeanor.
Records, advertising and enforcement
The rest of the article is short but worth knowing if you hold the license:
- Applicant register. K.S.A. 44-406 requires a register of the name and address of everyone who applies for employment and the kind of work wanted, open at reasonable hours to the Secretary of Labor or a designee. In practice your ATS is the register; make sure it can produce that list on request.
- False advertising. K.S.A. 44-408 bars a licensed agency from publishing a false or fraudulent notice or advertisement, giving false information or making a false promise about work to an applicant, or making false register entries. Job ads for roles that do not exist are the obvious risk.
- Revocation. Under K.S.A. 44-405 the Secretary may revoke a license after a written complaint and a hearing under the Kansas Administrative Procedure Act.
- Prosecution. Under K.S.A. 44-409 the Secretary files complaints with the Attorney General, district attorney or county attorney, who bring the criminal case.
None of these duties apply to a firm that falls within an exclusion, but the false-promise rule describes conduct that would expose any recruiter to consumer and fraud claims anyway.
PEO registration: now with the Secretary of State
The Professional Employer Organization Registration Act, K.S.A. 44-1701 to 44-1711, has applied since January 1, 2014. A 2024 amendment (L. 2024, ch. 50, effective January 1, 2025) redefined "secretary" in K.S.A. 44-1702 as the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State's PEO page says PEOs must register with that office as of July 1, 2025.
- Who registers. Under K.S.A. 44-1704(a), anyone providing professional employer services through co-employment where all or a majority of a client's employees are covered employees. Unregistered firms may not offer the services or use names like PEO, staff leasing company or employee leasing company.
- Fees. The Secretary of State lists a $250 registration fee, due by October 15 every year. The statutory ceilings in K.S.A. 44-1705 are $1,000 for an initial registration, $500 for a renewal and $500 for a limited registration.
- Financials. An audit no older than 13 months at initial registration, then an annual audit no older than 12 months.
- Temporary help. K.S.A. 44-1702 defines "temporary help services" separately, and the act is aimed at co-employment of a client's workforce, not supplying temps.
Health care staffing: a budget-bill registration
As of July 1, 2024, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) began requiring supplemental healthcare services agencies, including temporary nursing staffing agencies and app-based platforms, to register and to report quarterly on the Medicare and Medicaid facilities they staff. According to KDADS's registration notice as indexed by search engines, the requirement came from a provision in the 2024 appropriations bill (House Bill 2551) for fiscal year 2025, with a fee of $2,035 per location. I could not open that notice directly, and I could not confirm whether later budget acts continued the requirement for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
A bill to put the regulation into permanent statute, Senate Bill 228 (2025), died without leaving committee. If you staff Kansas hospitals or adult care homes, ask KDADS in writing whether registration is currently required and keep the answer.
Employer accounts every Kansas staffing firm needs
- Unemployment insurance with the Kansas Department of Labor. The staffing firm is the employer of record for its temps.
- Workers' compensation under K.S.A. chapter 44, article 5. See staffing agency insurance requirements for what clients ask for on top of the statutory coverage.
- Withholding with the Kansas Department of Revenue, and Secretary of State registration for out-of-state entities.
- Local licenses. Check the city where your office sits.
The full setup sequence is in how to start a staffing agency. Across the state line, Missouri repealed its agency license in 1999 (see staffing agency license in Missouri), and Oklahoma repealed its license in 2017 but kept fee caps (see staffing agency license in Oklahoma).
A Kansas checklist
KANSAS CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]
Model:
[ ] Employer-paid only (incl. conversion fees): no 44-402 license
[ ] Temp staffing, never advertises temp-to-hire: excluded
[ ] Temp-to-hire advertised: rely on employer-paid exclusion;
confirm workers pay nothing
[ ] Any job-seeker fee: KDOL license ($25/yr), $500 bond,
posted license; application fee max $75
PEO / co-employment:
[ ] Secretary of State registration ($250, due Oct 15)
[ ] Annual audit filed
Health care facilities:
[ ] Written answer from KDADS on current registration
Employer accounts:
KDOL UI account; workers' comp; KDOR withholding [ ]
Next review: [date]Re-check if you start charging candidates anything, or if your marketing starts promising permanent hires through temp assignments, since either can move you from an exclusion into the license.
Questions people ask
Does Kansas require a staffing agency license?
Only for private employment agencies, which the Kansas Department of Labor describes as agencies where the job seeker pays a fee. K.S.A. 44-402 requires a $25 annual license and K.S.A. 44-403 a $500 bond. K.S.A. 44-401 excludes employment services where the employer pays the fee, and temporary help services that never advertise that workers may be hired permanently by clients.
Do temp-to-hire staffing firms lose the Kansas exemption?
Possibly, under the temporary help exclusion alone. K.S.A. 44-401(e)(2)(C) excludes only temporary help services that at no time advertise or represent that their employees may be hired permanently by a client. A firm that advertises temp-to-hire should rely on the separate exclusion for services where the employer pays the fee, and should make sure workers never pay anything.
Where do PEOs register in Kansas now?
With the Kansas Secretary of State. A 2024 law moved the Professional Employer Organization Registration Act, K.S.A. 44-1701 to 44-1711, to the Secretary of State, and the office says PEOs must register with it as of July 1, 2025. It lists a $250 fee, with registration due by October 15 each year.
Do health care staffing agencies register in Kansas?
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services began requiring supplemental healthcare services agencies to register, with quarterly reporting, from July 1, 2024 under a provision in that year's budget legislation. I could not confirm whether the requirement continues in later budget years, and a 2025 bill to put it in permanent statute died, so ask the department directly.