Kansas City, Missouri has its own local rules on criminal history. Code § 38-104 applies to public and private employers with six or more employees in the city. They may not ask about criminal history until an applicant is found otherwise qualified and has been interviewed, and any decision based on a record must weigh how often, how recently and how seriously it occurred and whether it relates to the job. In January 2025, Ordinance 241074 added criminal history status to the city's civil rights protections, including in housing.
For renters, that ordinance means a Kansas City, Missouri landlord may not refuse to rent solely because of a past conviction or arrest without weighing additional information. Missouri law changed in a different direction in 2025: House Bill 595 made local rules that bar landlords from refusing tenants who pay rent with housing assistance, like the one Kansas City adopted in 2024, unenforceable. These local rules do not reach the Kansas side of the metro. There, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas removed the conviction question from its own job applications in 2014, a rule that covers only its own hiring.
On both sides, the FCRA requires background and tenant screening companies to use reasonable procedures for accuracy, and employers must give you a copy of a report before acting on it. Cases from the Missouri counties are filed in the Western District of Missouri in Kansas City or St. Joseph. Cases from the Kansas counties are filed in the District of Kansas in Kansas City, Kansas.
Where Kansas City FCRA cases are filed
FCRA claims are federal, so they go to a United States District Court. Cases from Kansas City are heard in 2 federal districts:
- Western District of MissouriJackson, Clay, Cass, Lafayette, Ray and Bates counties (Western Division, Kansas City) and Platte, Clinton and Caldwell counties (St. Joseph Division). Courthouses: Kansas City, St. Joseph.Filed with local or cooperating counsel
- District of KansasJohnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Miami and Linn counties in Kansas. Courthouses: Kansas City, Kansas.Filed with local or cooperating counsel
Our attorneys are licensed in Texas, California, and Georgia. Where they aren't admitted in your local federal court, we work with local or cooperating counsel who are. You may also be able to sue where the company that reported you is based, in a court where our attorneys are admitted:
- Checkr: HQ in N.D. California
- First Advantage and Sterling: HQ in N.D. Georgia
- RealPage: HQ in N.D. Texas
Which court is right depends on your facts. We'll tell you at your free case review.
Local and state rules in Kansas City
- Kansas City, Missouri criminal records in employment ordinance (Kansas City, Mo., Code of Ordinances § 38-104 (Ord. No. 180034))
Applies to public and private employers with six or more employees in Kansas City, Missouri. An employer may not ask about criminal history until the applicant is found otherwise qualified and has been interviewed, and may base a hiring or promotion decision on a record only after weighing its frequency, recency and severity and whether it reasonably relates to the job. Jobs where law requires excluding people with certain convictions are exempt. Read it - Kansas City, Missouri criminal history status protections in housing (Kansas City, Mo., Code of Ordinances § 38-105, as amended by Ord. No. 241074 (passed Jan. 16, 2025))
Ordinance 241074 added criminal history status to the city's civil rights protections. A housing provider may not refuse to rent solely because of prior convictions or arrests without also weighing additional information, such as how recent and serious the offense was, its circumstances and evidence of rehabilitation. Denials required by law or based on an order of protection are exempt. Read it - Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas ban-the-box ordinance (Unified Government Board of Commissioners ordinance adopted Nov. 6, 2014)
Removed the criminal conviction question from job applications for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, with standard background checks still run before hiring. It covers Unified Government jobs only, not private employers or landlords. Read it
State laws also apply: see Background Check Error Lawsuits in Kansas and Background Check Error Lawsuits in Missouri.
Common background check errors
- Someone else's criminal or eviction record matched to you by name
- Dismissed, sealed or expunged cases still reported
- Charges reported as convictions, or misdemeanors as felonies
- The same case listed several times
- Eviction filings reported without the dismissal or outcome
Learn how these cases work on our background check lawsuits page, or read our lawsuit guides for Checkr, Sterling, HireRight, First Advantage, RealPage, SafeRent, RentGrow and TransUnion Rental Screening.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Kansas City, Missouri employer ask about my record on the application?
Employers with six or more employees in the city generally may not ask until you are found otherwise qualified and have been interviewed. They then must weigh the record's frequency, recency, severity and relation to the job. Jobs where law requires excluding certain records are exempt.
A background check reported an arrest that never led to a conviction. Can that be reported?
Under the FCRA, arrest records generally may be reported for up to seven years, or longer if the statute of limitations runs longer. The report must still be accurate and complete, such as showing that a charge was dismissed. In Kansas City, Missouri, local law also limits how employers and landlords may use arrest records.
A screening company reported someone else's eviction on my rental application. What can I do?
You can request your file from the screening company named in the denial notice and dispute the entry. Matching records by name alone is a known cause of mistakes. A company that fails to use reasonable procedures may be liable under the FCRA.
How long do I have to file an FCRA lawsuit in Kansas City?
FCRA deadlines are the same everywhere: generally two years from when you discover the violation, and no more than five years from when it happened (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). Waiting can cost you the claim.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals (Vintage 2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, CBSA delineation files and principal cities (July 2023)
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
- 28 U.S.C. § 105 (Missouri judicial districts and divisions)
- 28 U.S.C. § 96 (Kansas judicial district)
- Kansas City, Mo., Code of Ordinances, Chapter 38 (Civil Rights)
- Kansas City, Mo., Ordinance No. 241074 (criminal history status)
- News Tribune, Bill overturning protections for Section 8 renters (HB 595, July 2025)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681c (time limits on reporting)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681e (accuracy procedures)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (reinvestigation of disputes)
- 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n, 1681o (damages)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681p (where and when to sue)
- National Employment Law Project, Ban the Box: Fair Chance State and Local Guide (Oct. 2021)
- FOX 4 Kansas City, Wyandotte County commissioners vote on Ban the Box (Nov. 6, 2014)
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.