| TOPEKA—Beginning today, people can search appellate cases using a public access portal that not only gives case information but also public case documents.
The Kansas Appellate Courts Public Access Portal is part of the Kansas eCourt project to centralize case information on a single web-based platform, transforming the way courts serve the people of Kansas. The multiyear project introduced a new case management system in district and appellate courts, making it possible to search statewide court case information online.
“We are thrilled to announce this much-anticipated milestone for the Kansas court system,” said Chief Justice Marla Luckert. “For the first time in the history of our courts, public case information and case documents in both district and appellate courts can be searched online without cost.”
Using the portal to search cases
Before searching cases on the Kansas Appellate Courts Public Access Portal, a person must register as a portal user. A link to the registration form is in the top right corner of the portal home page.
All registered users must abide by the Kansas Courts Public Access Portal User Agreement.
If a person is registered to use the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal, they do not need to register to use the Kansas Appellate Courts Public Access Portal. Their registration transfers to the appellate portal and their username and password are the same.
Case information and case documents
People who use the portal to search appellate cases will get information that includes party names and a register of events. It can also include case documents.
Only case documents filed after March 13, 2025, will be available on the portal. To access a public case document filed prior to March 13, 2025, a user would need to request it from the clerk of the appellate courts.
More information about the portal and what it offers is on the kscourts.gov webpage Search Appellate Court Records.
Some case information, documents not available
Sealed cases and sealed records are not public, and some cases are exempt from disclosure under the Kansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-221). Other records may be exempt by judicial rule, order, or caselaw.
Cases and records not available through the public access portal are identified in Supreme Court Kansas eCourt Rules (20–25).
Supreme Court Rule 22: Access to Public Electronic District Court and Appellate Case Records
Updated Supreme Court Rule 22
Administrative Order 2025-RL-027 signed and filed Friday, March 21, adopted modifications to Supreme Court Rule 22 that take effect today, March 24. Modifications to Supreme Court Rule 22 make more case types searchable through the district court and appellate courts public access portals.
Under updates to Rule 22, certain case types in the domestic, juvenile offender, and probate case categories become available on the public access portals effective today, March 24, 2025.
Searching these case types will give registered users access to case events but not case documents. To access public case documents, a user must visit a courthouse or the Kansas Judicial Center to use a computer terminal to search these case types.
Kansas eCourt case management system
Beginning in 2019, district courts were brought onto a centralized case management system following a statewide rollout plan. The last district court moved to the new system in November 2024.
The appellate courts began operating on the appellate version of the same case management system in June 2024. Additional time was needed to prepare to offer case information and documents online through a public access portal. |