Kansas Protection from Stalking, Sexual Assault or Human Trafficking Orders: Open to Anyone, Free to File

Q: Can I use a Kansas protection from stalking order against a coworker or neighbour?

The act has no relationship test. It opens "A person may seek relief", so a coworker, neighbour, former friend or stranger can be the defendant (K.S.A. 60-31a04(a)). The conduct must still be stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking as the statute defines it, and the court decides that.

Q: How do I choose between the Kansas stalking order and the abuse order?

Look at the relationship. The Protection from Abuse Act covers intimate partners and household members, meaning people who are or were dating, live or formerly lived together, or share a child (K.S.A. 60-3102(b)). If that describes the person, use the abuse act. Otherwise only the stalking act is open.

Q: Does Kansas count a GPS tracker or a drone as harassment?

Yes, the statute names both. The definition of harassment in K.S.A. 60-31a02(d)(1) expressly reaches drone surveillance, and K.S.A. 60-31a06(h) defines harassing conduct to include use of an electronic tracking system. Keep the device, photographs of where it was found, and a record of the dates.

Q: Can a Kansas stalking order be extended after one or two years?

Yes, by motion. On the plaintiff's motion the court may extend a final order by one to three years (K.S.A. 60-31a06(c)). Where the defendant violated a protection order or was convicted of a person felony against you, the court must extend it by at least two years, up to the defendant's lifetime.

Q: What happens if the other person ignores my Kansas protection order?

An order directs behaviour and carries consequences, but it cannot guarantee your safety. Report each violation and keep a copy of the order with you. A proven violation is also one of the grounds on which the court must extend the order by at least two additional years (K.S.A. 60-31a06(d)).

Q: Who pays the costs of a Kansas protection from stalking case?

You pay no docket fee. If the court issues an order it must assess costs against the defendant and may award you attorney fees. It may award the defendant attorney fees only if it finds the petition was without merit (K.S.A. 60-31a06(f)). Costs are decided at the end, by the court.

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Kansas · Last updated October 22, 2026

Kansas has no general harassment order. What it has is a protection from stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking order, and its grounds are a closed named set of three, so conduct that seriously alarms or annoys you but does not place you in reasonable fear for your safety falls outside the act (K.S.A. 60-31a02(d)). It is a civil court order directing someone you are not in a domestic relationship with to stop stalking you and stay away, available under K.S.A. 60-31a01 to 60-31a09. The act opens "A person may seek relief", where the Protection from Abuse Act opens "An intimate partner or household member may seek relief" (K.S.A. 60-31a04(a), 60-3104(a)). If the person is a dating partner, someone you live or used to live with, or the other parent of your child, this is the wrong order and you want a protection from abuse order instead (K.S.A. 60-3102(b)). Stalking means a knowing and intentional course of two or more acts that seriously alarms, annoys, torments or terrorizes you and places you in reasonable fear for your safety. You prove it by a preponderance of the evidence at a hearing held within 21 days of filing (K.S.A. 60-31a05). A final order runs not less than one year and not more than two (K.S.A. 60-31a06(b)). No docket fee is charged (K.S.A. 60-31a04(e)). This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Kansas

Who is harassing you?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Does Kansas have a general harassment restraining order?

No. Kansas offers a protection from stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking order under K.S.A. 60-31a01 to 60-31a09. Harassment counts only as part of stalking, meaning a course of conduct that places the person in reasonable fear for their safety (K.S.A. 60-31a02(d)). Whether your facts fit is the court's decision.

How long does a Kansas protection from stalking order last?

A final order is set for a fixed period of not less than one year and not more than two years (K.S.A. 60-31a06(b)). One year is therefore the floor, not the maximum. The plaintiff can later ask for an extension of one to three years, and some violations require a longer extension.

How much does it cost to file a Kansas protection from stalking order?

Nothing at all. K.S.A. 60-31a04(e) provides that no docket fee shall be required for proceedings under the act. If an order is issued, the court must then assess costs against the defendant, and it may award the victim attorney fees (K.S.A. 60-31a06(f)).

What must I prove at a Kansas protection from stalking hearing?

By a preponderance of the evidence, that stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking occurred. The hearing must be held within 21 days of filing (K.S.A. 60-31a05(a)). Stalking requires an intentional course of conduct that seriously alarms or torments you and places you in reasonable fear for your safety.

Kansas protection from stalking order rules at a glance

Kansas writes its two protective acts in deliberately mirrored language and then differs at every point a reader cares about. A protection from stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking order is a civil court order telling someone to stop stalking you and stay away, and the act that creates it begins "A person may seek relief". Its domestic counterpart begins "An intimate partner or household member may seek relief". That single difference gives a neighbour, coworker or stranger case an unambiguous home. The act has been renamed twice, adding sexual assault in 2017 and human trafficking in 2018, so many third-party guides still use a dead name. The legislature also treated stalking as the more serious conduct in one measurable way: the mandatory extension floor after a violation is two additional years, against one under the abuse act (K.S.A. 60-31a06(d)).

A Reno County feed-store owner and a hidden tracker under her truck

A Reno County feed-store owner ends a business partnership with a former friend, who then begins turning up at her loading dock, following her truck on rural roads and sending messages from new numbers. She later finds a small electronic tracking device attached under the truck. They were never partners or housemates, so the abuse act is not open to her, and the stalking act is. She files the verified PFSSAHT Petition, listing each dated incident, and asks for a temporary order. No docket fee is charged. The judge may enter one on a prima facie showing, and the hearing falls within 21 days. Whether the court finds stalking by a preponderance is its decision.

Relevant Laws

K.S.A. 60-31a01 (title and liberal construction)

Provides that K.S.A. 60-31a01 through 60-31a09 may be cited as the protection from stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking act, and that the act shall be liberally construed to protect victims and to facilitate access to judicial protection whether represented by counsel or proceeding pro se. The title was widened to add sexual assault in 2017 and human trafficking in 2018.

K.S.A. 60-31a02 (definitions of stalking, harassment and course of conduct)

Defines stalking as an intentional harassment of another person that places the other person in reasonable fear for that person's safety. Harassment is a knowing and intentional course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, torments or terrorizes the person and serves no legitimate purpose. A course of conduct is two or more separate acts over a period of time evidencing a continuity of purpose, and constitutionally protected activity is excluded.

K.S.A. 60-31a04 (petition, forms, service and fees)

Provides that a person may seek relief by filing a verified petition with any judge of the district court or the clerk, and lists what the petition must allege: the victim's name, the defendant's name, the dates, and the acts alleged. The clerk supplies forms prescribed by the judicial council. Service is personal, and no docket fee is required.

K.S.A. 60-31a05 (hearing within 21 days and temporary orders)

Requires a hearing within 21 days of filing at which the plaintiff must prove the allegation by a preponderance of the evidence. Allows temporary relief on good cause and provides that temporary orders may be granted ex parte on a verified petition supporting a prima facie case of stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking.

K.S.A. 60-31a06 (final orders, duration, extensions and costs)

Sets a final order at a fixed period of not less than one year and not more than two years, allows an extension of one to three years on the plaintiff's motion, and requires an extension of not less than two additional years, up to the defendant's lifetime, after a proven violation or a person felony against the plaintiff. Requires costs to be assessed against the defendant when an order issues. Subsection (h) addresses electronic tracking.

K.S.A. 60-3102 (Protection from Abuse Act definitions, the order you are routed to)

Defines abuse as attempting or causing bodily injury, placing another in fear of imminent bodily injury by physical threat, or nonconsensual sexual contact, occurring between intimate partners or household members. Subsection (b) limits those persons to people in or formerly in a dating relationship, who reside or formerly resided together, or who have a child in common. A petitioner inside that group uses the abuse act.

K.S.A. 60-3104 (who may petition under the Protection from Abuse Act)

Opens with the words "An intimate partner or household member may seek relief under the protection from abuse act", alleging abuse by another intimate partner or household member. Set against the stalking act's opening words, "A person may seek relief", this is the line that separates the two tracks.

K.S.A. 60-3107 (abuse act orders, for contrast on extensions)

Provides the abuse act's order terms and extensions. Its mandatory extension after a violation carries a floor of not less than one additional year, against the two additional years in K.S.A. 60-31a06(d) on the stalking side.

Kansas Judicial Council, protection from stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking forms

The Judicial Council's published form set for this act, which the clerk supplies under K.S.A. 60-31a04(d). The petition is identified by name and revision date as PFSSAHT Petition (11-2022), not by a form number. The set includes motions to extend a final order for one to three years and for two additional years or up to life.

Regional Variances

Kansas civil harassment order rules at a glance

Instrument name

Protection from stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking order, often abbreviated PFS or PFSSAHT, under K.S.A. 60-31a01 to 60-31a09. Kansas has no general harassment order. The Protection from Abuse Act is a separate statute with a separate petition and form set.

Who it covers, and the relationship test

No relationship test. The act opens "A person may seek relief" (K.S.A. 60-31a04(a)), where the Protection from Abuse Act opens "An intimate partner or household member may seek relief" (K.S.A. 60-3104(a)). A dating partner, a current or former housemate, or a co-parent belongs under the abuse act (K.S.A. 60-3102(b)).

The standard

Three alternative grounds: stalking, sexual assault or human trafficking. Stalking is intentional harassment that places the person in reasonable fear for their safety, built on a knowing and intentional course of two or more acts that seriously alarms, annoys, torments or terrorizes (K.S.A. 60-31a02(d)). Conduct that does not produce that fear for safety falls outside the act.

Burden of proof

Preponderance of the evidence at a hearing held within 21 days of filing (K.S.A. 60-31a05(a)). The abuse act, by contrast, turns on injury, fear of imminent injury or nonconsensual sexual contact between intimate partners or household members.

Temporary order

Temporary orders may be granted ex parte on a verified petition supporting a prima facie case, and the court may enter temporary relief on good cause. There is no fixed number of days; the hearing within 21 days is the clock (K.S.A. 60-31a05).

Duration

A final order is for a fixed period of not less than one year and not more than two years, so one year is a floor and not a cap (K.S.A. 60-31a06(b)).

Renewal

On the plaintiff's motion the court may extend the order for one to three years (K.S.A. 60-31a06(c)). After a hearing, the court must extend it for not less than two additional years, up to the defendant's lifetime, on a proven violation or a person felony against the plaintiff (K.S.A. 60-31a06(d)).

Court and form

Any judge of the district court or the clerk of the court. The petition is PFSSAHT Petition (11-2022), published by the Kansas Judicial Council. Kansas publishes no numbered form. The clerk supplies the forms (K.S.A. 60-31a04(d)).

Filing fee

None. No docket fee is required (K.S.A. 60-31a04(e)). If an order issues the court must assess costs against the defendant, and it may award the victim attorney fees (K.S.A. 60-31a06(f)).

Service

Personal service is required (K.S.A. 60-31a04(e)). No service fee is charged for the motion seeking the mandatory extension of at least two additional years (K.S.A. 60-31a06(d)).

Surveillance and violation

The statute names drone harassment (K.S.A. 60-31a02(d)(1)) and electronic tracking (K.S.A. 60-31a06(h)). A proven violation of a protection order is itself a ground for the mandatory extension. No order can guarantee safety; it directs behaviour and carries consequences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a Kansas protection from stalking order against a coworker or neighbour?

How do I choose between the Kansas stalking order and the abuse order?

Does Kansas count a GPS tracker or a drone as harassment?

Can a Kansas stalking order be extended after one or two years?

What happens if the other person ignores my Kansas protection order?

Who pays the costs of a Kansas protection from stalking case?

Does the Kansas stalking order cover annoying behaviour that never frightens me?

Other Kansas guides

Adult Guardianship in Kansas

Adverse Possession in Kansas: Fifteen Years, No Hostility Element, No Tax Element

Asset Protection Planning in Kansas (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Kansas (2026)

Delinquent Property Taxes in Kansas: The County Is the Only Bidder, and the Deadline Is a Court Date

Expunging a Criminal Record in Kansas (2026)

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