Does Kansas require an operating agreement?
Yes. An operating agreement must be entered into or otherwise exist before, after or when the articles of organization are filed, but it may be written, oral or implied, and members and managers are bound by it whether or not they sign it (K.S.A. 17-7673(c), 17-7663(m)). Use the form above to write it, and have every member sign it.
The Kansas Revised Limited Liability Company Act lets the agreement be oral or implied as well as written (K.S.A. 17-7663(m)). A signed, written agreement is still the only kind a bank, a court or a new member can read.
Kansas's LLC law and this template
Kansas LLCs are governed by the Kansas Revised Limited Liability Company Act (K.S.A. 17-7662 through 17-76,155) (K.S.A. 17-7662 et seq.). Where your agreement is silent, the act's default rules apply. Where the act lets an operating agreement change one of its rules, your agreement controls.
Choose Kansas in the form and the agreement names the State of Kansas as the LLC's home and governing law, refers to the Articles of Organization filed with the Kansas Secretary of State, and defines “the Act” as the Kansas Revised Limited Liability Company Act. Everything else adapts to your answers: one member or several, run by the members or by managers, with or without a buyout when a member dies.
What the Kansas agreement covers
The agreement follows the order most operating agreements use: formation, name, principal office, registered agent, purpose and term; each member's contribution and, with several members, capital accounts and percentage interests; how profits, losses and cash are shared; management by the members or by managers, with the major decisions that need every member's consent; taxes, books, records and a separate bank account; transfers, new members, withdrawal and what happens when a member dies; and dissolution. Schedule A lists each member's contribution and share.
Forming and keeping a Kansas LLC
The operating agreement stays with the LLC's records; these are the filings that go to the state. Check that the name is free first with our Kansas LLC name search.
| Kansas | |
|---|---|
| Forming the LLC | Articles of Organization, $85 online ($90 by mail), filed with the Kansas Secretary of State |
| Name must end with | “L.L.C.”, “L.C.”, “LLC”, “LC”, “limited liability company”, “limited company” |
| Recurring report | Information report every two years (unconfirmed) |
| Newspaper notice | Not required |
| Name reservation | $35, 120 days |
| Good standing certificate | Certificate of Good Standing, $10 online (unconfirmed) |
How to finish your Kansas agreement
- Type the LLC's name exactly as it appears on its Articles of Organization, ending included.
- Fill in or strike out anything left as a blank line, and make Schedule A's percentages add up to 100%.
- Have every member read and sign it. Electronic signatures count, and members can sign separate copies.
- Keep the signed agreement with the LLC's records; don't send it to the Kansas Secretary of State. Give each member a copy.
For an LLC with one owner, see the single-member operating agreement; with partners, the multi-member version explains shares, voting and buyouts.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-08 against the state's own pages:
- https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch17/017_076_0062.html
- https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch17/017_076_0073.html
- https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch17/017_076_0063.html
- https://www.sos.ks.gov/businesses/register-a-business.html
- https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch17/017_076_0139.html
- https://sos.ks.gov/businesses/information-reports.html
- https://sos.ks.gov/publications/register/Volume-45/Issues/Issue-07/02-12-26-53865.html
Common questions
Does Kansas require an LLC operating agreement?
Yes. An operating agreement must be entered into or otherwise exist before, after or when the articles of organization are filed, but it may be written, oral or implied, and members and managers are bound by it whether or not they sign it.
Do I file the operating agreement with the Kansas Secretary of State?
No. The Kansas Secretary of State receives the Articles of Organization; the operating agreement is an internal document that stays with the LLC's records.
Is this Kansas operating agreement template free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and no email address, and the agreement is built in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us.