KS public official bonds.
0.35% of the bond amount, from $100.

Kansas conditions a great many public offices on a faithful-performance bond filed before the officer takes up the duties of the office — county officers under K.S.A. 19-4201, municipal court clerks under K.S.A. 12-4108, commission-form mayors and commissioners under K.S.A. 15-1404. Premiums cost 0.35% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum. The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score.

Runs to the State of Kansas and the county, city or district you serve — the public is the protected party
The county commissioners or city governing body fix the amount — K.S.A. 19-4201 and 12-4108 leave it to them
The subdivision pays the premium under K.S.A. 78-111 — the officer is rarely out of pocket
From $1000.35% of the bond amount, $100 minimumSoft pullnever a hard inquiry1–3 yrterms available
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NYCEDC
BDG
Capital
McKinney
Terra
JLL
Triple Five
Georgetown
How it works

Apply to filed in one sitting.

Most of these are needed inside the ten days between selection and the oath, so nothing here waits on an underwriter’s desk. Here is the whole thing:

TODAY · ONLINE

Apply online

The office, the penal sum your board or council set, and the effective and expiration dates of the term you are being bonded for. That is the application.

INSTANTLY

Priced and issued

The premium is calculated from the amount you entered and the bond issues at checkout. The credit consent on the form authorizes a soft inquiry only, which never touches your score.

SAME DAY

File and take the oath

The executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email for approval and filing — with the county clerk, the city clerk, or wherever your governing statute or ordinance directs. Wet-ink original mailed on request.

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

What a public official bond actually guarantees

A public official bond is a faithful-performance bond, not a licence bond and not insurance for the officer. The officer is the principal; the surety stands behind them; the obligee is the State of Kansas together with the county, city, township or district the officer serves. It answers for public money and public duty: money that comes into the officer’s hands and is not paid over according to law, books and papers not delivered to a successor, and losses the subdivision suffers from neglect of duty or misfeasance in office.

The amount is almost never in the statute. K.S.A. 19-4201 has each elective county officer give corporate surety to the State of Kansas and the county “in an amount and upon terms and conditions as may be specified” by that county’s commissioners, or be covered by a blanket bond the county buys under the same act; K.S.A. 19-4206 pulls every county officer and employee bond under that one purchasing authority. On the city side K.S.A. 12-4108 has the clerk of the municipal court — or the judge, where no clerk is appointed — execute a bond to the city within 10 days of selection “as the governing body may require,” approved by the governing body and filed with the city clerk. So the number you enter comes from a resolution, an ordinance, or your appointment letter, not from us.

You are usually not the one paying. Under K.S.A. 78-111 the premium on a licensed company’s bond for a public officer, deputy or employee is allowed and paid by the county, township, municipality, school district or other political subdivision the person serves; K.S.A. 12-4108 and 15-1404 say the same thing for their offices. Match the bond term to the term of office — the application asks for the term’s effective and expiration dates precisely so the bond does not run out mid-term — and take a 2 or 3-year term where the office runs that long.

K.S.A. 19-4201 (county) · K.S.A. 12-4108 (city)Kansas has no single public official bond statute; the requirement follows the office. K.S.A. 19-4201 requires each elective county officer, before entering upon the duties of the office, to give corporate surety to the state of Kansas and the county through a surety company qualified under the state’s insurance laws, in an amount and on terms specified by the county commissioners, unless covered by a blanket bond purchased under the act — and K.S.A. 19-4206 transfers to the commissioners the authority to buy any official, surety or blanket bond on a county officer or employee. K.S.A. 19-502 sets the condition language for the county treasurer: faithfully and promptly perform the duties of the office, pay according to law all money coming into the treasurer’s hands, render accurate accounts, and deliver all money, books, papers and office property to a successor. Under K.S.A. 19-805 the sheriff and the sheriff’s sureties answer on the sheriff’s official bond for the default or misconduct of the undersheriff and deputies. For cities, K.S.A. 12-4108 requires the clerk of the municipal court (or the judge if no clerk is appointed) to execute a bond to the city within 10 days after selection, in the amount the governing body requires, approved by that body and filed in the office of the city clerk, conditioned on faithful performance and on the faithful application and payment of all money reaching the clerk’s hands, with the city paying the cost. K.S.A. 15-1404 requires the mayor and commissioners of a commission-form city to give a surety bond from a company authorized in Kansas, payable to and for the use and benefit of the city, in a sum of not less than $2,000, conditioned on faithful discharge of the duties of office and on saving the city harmless from loss caused by neglect of duty, misfeasance in office, or willful unlawful expenditure of city money. K.S.A. 78-111 puts the premium on the political subdivision. State officers and employees are handled separately, through the Committee on Surety Bonds and Insurance under K.S.A. 75-4101 et seq. Confirm your penal sum against the resolution, ordinance or appointment letter for your office.

You need this bond if you are

Newly elected or appointed to a Kansas county office — treasurer, sheriff, register of deeds, clerk — and must file before entering on the duties
A city clerk, treasurer, municipal court clerk, mayor or commissioner whose ordinance, resolution or governing statute names a bond
A township trustee, clerk or treasurer or an officer of a school, drainage, cemetery or improvement district
Renewing for a new term or replacing a bond a prior surety declined to renew

One application, priced on the spot.

These are the actual issuing fields, including the term dates for the office. The credit consent authorizes a soft inquiry only — it never affects your score.

Start the application →
FAQ

Common questions.

How much is a Kansas public official bond?Premiums cost 0.35% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum — one of the lowest rates on the board, because the loss experience on faithful-performance bonds is small. Most offices are bonded at a figure that lands at the minimum. Enter your penal sum and the exact price appears at the application.
Who sets the bond amount?Your county or city does. K.S.A. 19-4201 leaves the amount and terms for an elective county officer to the county commissioners; K.S.A. 12-4108 leaves the municipal court clerk’s bond to whatever the governing body requires. K.S.A. 15-1404 is one of the few that names a floor — not less than $2,000 for a commission-form mayor or commissioner. Use the figure in the resolution, ordinance or appointment letter.
Who pays the premium?Almost always the public body, not the officer. K.S.A. 78-111 provides that the premium on a licensed company’s bond for a public officer, deputy or employee is allowed and paid by the county, township, municipality, school district or other political subdivision. K.S.A. 12-4108 and 15-1404 say the city bears the cost for their offices. Buy the bond, then submit the receipt with your expense claim.
What term should the bond run for?The term of the office. The application asks for the term’s effective and expiration dates so the bond cannot quietly expire mid-term, and 1, 2 and 3-year terms are available — take the longer one where the office runs four years and file a second bond for the balance, or renew on the anniversary.
Is there a credit check?The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score. No hard inquiry ever runs on this bond.
Related bonds

Other Kansas bonds.

Bonded before the oath.

Enter the penal sum your board set, take the executed bond to the clerk, and hand the premium receipt to the treasurer. Free until issued.

Your premiumfrom $100
Apply now →