Kansas Payment Bond Claim — No Notice Required, but Only Six Months From Completion to Sue (K.S.A. 60-1111, 2026)
✓ Verified against Kansas statutes · Reviewed October 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Kansas mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
Warning statement — Included in contract
Mechanics Lien
4 months (owner) / 3 (sub) — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
1 year — From filing
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Why Kansas Public Work Runs on a Bond
On a private Kansas job, an unpaid subcontractor or supplier files a lien statement with the clerk of the district court within three months of its last furnishing under K.S.A. 60-1103, or within five months on non-residential work if it files a notice of extension in time. The Kansas pre-lien notice guide covers that process. A school addition in Olathe, a Wichita water main, a county jail in Topeka or a university lab in Lawrence works differently. On a bonded public job the claimant’s security is the payment bond. Kansas’s bond statute is one of the shortest in the country, and also one of the simplest. It has no notice step at all. It has one deadline: six months from completion of the public improvement. Anyone owed for labor or material who has not sued by then has no claim on the bond. The Mechanics Lien Management Method treats a Kansas public job as a six-month suit file . The bond copy goes in the file early. The completion date is tracked from the first sign that the job is closing. When a balance is past due, the plan is a lawsuit, not a letter campaign.
The Bond: Full Contract Sum on Jobs Over $100,000
Under K.S.A. 60-1111(a), whenever a public official contracts for more than $100,000 to make a public improvement, construct a public building or make repairs on one, the official must take a bond to the State of Kansas, with good and sufficient sureties, in a sum not less than the contract total . The bond is conditioned on the contractor or its subcontractor paying everything owed for labor, materials, equipment or supplies used or consumed on the work. The same subsection forbids a contract or a public official from requiring that the bond come from a specific surety, agent, broker or producer. Subsection (b) requires the bond to be filed with the clerk of the district court of the county where the improvement is made. That is where to ask for a copy. Filing the bond has a second effect. Once it is filed, no lien attaches under the Kansas lien article, and liens filed before the bond are discharged. On a bonded job, the bond is the remedy and a lien statement is wasted effort.
What K.S.A. 60-1111(b) Actually Says
Three things are missing from that sentence, and each one matters: No notice does not mean no paperwork. A written demand to the contractor and the surety, with invoices and the bond number, is often the fastest way to get paid. Just do not let it take the place of the lawsuit, which is the only step that preserves the claim.
The Completion Problem
The statute does not define completion . It is not the date the public owner pays the final pay application, and it is not your last day on site. For a sitework subcontractor that left the job a year before the ribbon-cutting, the window can be long. For a flooring or landscape subcontractor that finished in the last month, it can be only a few months from its own last work. Because the date is set by the project, ask the public owner, in writing, for its substantial completion, final completion and acceptance dates, and count six months from the earliest date that could qualify. If you are inside 60 days of that date with an unpaid balance, the file belongs with a Kansas construction attorney now.
KDOT Highway Jobs: A Sworn Statement, Then One Year
Highway contracts let by the Kansas Department of Transportation run under K.S.A. 68-410. The contractor posts a surety bond approved by and filed with the Secretary of Transportation, in a sum the Secretary fixes but not less than the contract price. The bond covers supplies, materials and labor, and the statute names fuel, lubricating oils, greases and similar items used directly on the contract. Once it is approved and filed, no mechanic’s lien attaches for unpaid items. The claim procedure is stricter than the general statute. No action may be brought on the bond unless, within six months after the contract completion date shown in the Secretary’s records , the claimant files with the Secretary an itemized statement of the debt, sworn to and acknowledged before a notary . Suit must then be brought within one year of the completion date, in any county where part of the contract was performed.
State Contracts Secured by a Certificate of Deposit
On contracts for the state or a state agency let under K.S.A. 75-3739 or 75-3741, the director of purchases may accept a certificate of deposit equal to the contract price instead of a surety bond (K.S.A. 60-1111(c), 60-1112). A claimant on one of those jobs makes its claim with the director of purchases. The state must hold the deposit for at least six months after final acceptance, may pay undisputed claims from it, and may interplead disputed claims in the district court of a county where the work is located. The statute sets no claim form or deadline, so file the claim as soon as the balance is past due and well before the deposit can be released.
Every Kansas Public-Project Claim Deadline in One Table
The Mechanics Lien Management State System calendars the six-month suit bar from the completion date you enter. Private-work rules are on the Kansas lien statutes page, with the calculator on the Kansas mechanics lien hub . The last row covers federal prime contracts in Kansas, such as Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth, McConnell Air Force Base and the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan. Those run under the federal Miller Act , which does require a 90-day notice from second-tier claimants. A Kansas supplier working both kinds of jobs follows two opposite rules.
Track Completion and Get the Suit Filed
Kansas Public Works Workflow Pull the bond from the clerk of the district court, send a demand with your invoices to the contractor and surety, and calendar six months from the earliest possible completion date (or the KDOT sworn-statement date on highway work). Pair it with these resources: Because the claim is a lawsuit, connect early with a Kansas construction attorney through the Mechanics Lien Management network, or request a formal attorney review of the claim file.
Six Months Goes Fast. Calendar It Now.
The Mechanics Lien Management deadline calculator tracks the six-month suit bar and the KDOT sworn-statement date for every Kansas public job. Miss the deadline and you lose your claim rights entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for a Kansas payment bond claim?
Six months from completion of the public improvement. Under K.S.A. 60-1111(b), any person owed for labor or material may sue on the bond, but no action may be brought on the bond after six months from the completion of the public improvement or public building. The clock runs from completion of the project, not from the claimant's own last day of work.
Do you have to send a notice before a Kansas bond claim?
Not under K.S.A. 60-1111. The statute contains no notice to the prime contractor, the surety or the public owner, for any tier of claimant. The claim is made by filing suit on the bond within the six-month window. Many checklists repeat a 90-day notice for Kansas, but it does not appear in the statute. Sending a written demand to the contractor and surety is still good practice, because it often produces payment without a lawsuit.
Where is a Kansas public works bond filed?
With the clerk of the district court of the county in which the public improvement is made, under K.S.A. 60-1111(b). That makes the bond a court record you can request from the clerk. Once the bond is filed, no mechanic's lien attaches under the Kansas lien article, and any lien filed earlier is discharged, so the bond becomes the claimant's security.
How are KDOT highway bond claims different in Kansas?
Highway contracts let by the Kansas Department of Transportation follow K.S.A. 68-410. The bond is approved by and filed with the Secretary of Transportation. No action may be brought on it unless, within six months after the contract completion date shown in the Secretary's records, the claimant files with the Secretary an itemized statement of the debt, sworn to before a notary. Suit must be brought within one year of the completion date, in any county where part of the contract was performed.
Which Kansas public jobs require a payment bond?
Under K.S.A. 60-1111(a), a public official who contracts for more than $100,000 for a public improvement, a public building or repairs on one must take a bond to the State of Kansas in a sum not less than the contract total. The bond covers labor, materials, equipment and supplies used or consumed on the work, whether owed by the contractor or its subcontractor. Contracts of $100,000 or less are not covered by that requirement.
What if the state accepted a certificate of deposit instead of a bond?
On some state and state-agency contracts, the director of purchases may accept a certificate of deposit equal to the contract price instead of a surety bond, under K.S.A. 60-1111(c) and 60-1112. A claimant then makes its claim with the director of purchases. The state holds the deposit for at least six months after final acceptance, may pay undisputed claims from it, and may interplead disputed claims in district court. Get the claim to the director well inside that six months.
When is a Kansas public improvement complete for the six-month deadline?
Section 60-1111 does not define completion, and it is not the same as the claimant's last day. A subcontractor that finished early on a long job may have more than six months from its own last work; a finish-trade sub may have much less. Because the date is set by the project, not by you, ask the public owner for its completion and acceptance dates and count from the earliest date that could qualify.