A new law has come into effect that reforms existing laws regarding suspended licenses in Kansas. The reform came in early 2025 and helps drivers who are facing high fines and fees. For years, Kansas has had laws in place that strip people of their driver’s licenses if they are unable to pay fines when they receive a traffic ticket. Now, after many have criticized this system, change has been done to update the laws and provide more driver protections than before.

The law passed in 2024.

Essentially, the law that has been implemented into Kansas legislature creates more time in between when a person is unable to pay a ticket (or attend a court hearing) and when they have their license suspended or revoked. This law marks the first major law change in the state since 2021. Having passed in 2024, the law went into effect on January 1, 2025.

Since just the first of the year, the change has been noticed. Around 650 people have automatically been given the grace period privileges under the new law. Another near 500 people have applied for the benefit as well. While those who would be affected in the new year get the benefit of the new law, lawmakers are working to figure out a way to assist the nearly 250,000 who already had a revoked or suspended license due to the previous law structure.

Kansas has eight driving statuses with the change.

Most drivers who operate in the state have a valid driver’s license, meaning they have a good record and are able to drive legally in the same way they have been since first receiving the license. The other seven statuses you can be in as a driver are expired, suspended, restricted, revoked, cancelled, surrendered, and suspended (moped only licenses).

The law mainly affects people in the restricted, suspended, and revoked status.

Restricted licenses are able to drive to specific locations, even while handling legal issues. A suspended license prevents you from legally driving anywhere while legal issues are being resolved. Lastly, revoked licenses mean you lose your license for at least three years. Before the law reform, most who could not pay traffic tickets went right to suspended. Now, they are in the restricted point for much longer.

Records show that about 1 in every 15 drivers in Kansas had suspended licenses by the end of January of this year. While the suspension is only ever meant to be temporary, many suspensions lasted years and even decades. Many attorneys in the state have felt this was unfair and were the biggest advocates for reform.

One attorney explained the situation well.

Micah Tempel, an attorney who works for a nonprofit firm, previously testified to the state that the suspension system did not keep highways and roads safer in the state. Instead, Tempel explained that all it does is negatively impact low and moderate income drivers who are likely fine drivers that just cannot afford to pay a simple traffic ticket. Oftentimes, the tickets are for low offense issues, but the driver simply cannot pay. It can become a deadly cycle where people cannot pay for their ticket, so they have their license suspended and lose their job because of not being able to drive to work. Then, they struggle to break this cycle. This should now be resolved thanks to the reform.