If your Kansas partnership pays employees more than 20,000 dollars in total a year, yes, it must carry workers compensation, because Kansas requires coverage once your gross annual payroll passes that line. The partners themselves are a different story: Kansas leaves a partner off the policy by default, and a partner who wants their own injuries covered has to opt in by filing an election. So a partnership made up only of partners, with no employee payroll over the line, generally has no mandatory coverage until it hires and pays staff past 20,000 dollars.
Who this is for: Kansas general partnerships and multi-owner firms, including professional practices, family partnerships, and partnerships about to add paid staff.
The short version
- A partnership must carry workers comp once its employee payroll passes 20,000 dollars a year.
- Working partners are left off the policy by default in Kansas, so they are not automatically covered.
- A partner elects in by having the insurer file a written statement of election with the state director.
- A partner's own draw is not employee wages, so it does not count toward the 20,000 dollar line.
- This is the opposite of a corporation, where officers are covered unless a 10 percent owner opts out.
How Kansas treats partners
Kansas does not automatically put partners on the workers comp policy. Under the Act's definitions, a partner is not an employee unless a valid election has been filed to bring them in, made by the insurance carrier or its agent filing a written statement with the director of workers compensation. Until that election is on file, a partner has no comp coverage for their own on-the-job injuries. That matches how the state treats sole proprietors and LLC members, and it is the reverse of a corporation, where officers are covered unless a 10 percent owner opts out. Your staff is the constant: once employee wages pass 20,000 dollars a year, those workers must be covered.
What applies to your partnership
| Your setup | Is comp required? | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Partners only, no employee payroll over 20,000 dollars | Not mandatory on the partners | Each partner is off by default and may elect in; a policy still helps for contracts |
| Employee payroll over 20,000 dollars a year | Yes | Employees covered; partners stay off unless they elect in |
| A partner who wants coverage | Optional for that partner | Have the carrier file a written election with the director |
Electing in, partner by partner
Because Kansas partners start off the policy, each partner decides individually whether to elect in. A partner who wants comp to pay for their own on-the-job injuries has the carrier file the written election, and their pay is then counted in the premium. A partner who would rather rely on personal coverage simply stays off. Many partnerships that hire staff cover the employees and then choose partner by partner whether the owners elect in. Keep in mind that partners are personally the business, so if the partnership skips required coverage for its employees, the partners can be personally exposed to the penalties and to the state recovering what its fund pays an injured worker.
A Manhattan example
Illustrative, not a quote. A Manhattan accounting partnership has three partners and two bookkeepers paid a combined 70,000 dollars a year. Because that staff payroll is over 20,000 dollars, Kansas requires a policy covering the two bookkeepers. The three partners mostly do desk work and decide their personal injury risk is low, so they stay off the policy rather than electing in, while keeping the staff fully covered. If one partner later wants coverage, they can have the carrier file an election at any time. See our workers comp for accountants and bookkeepers page.
Real questions Kansas owners ask
Does our Kansas partnership need workers comp?
Once your employee payroll passes 20,000 dollars a year, yes. A partnership made up only of partners, with no staff payroll over that line, is not required to cover the partners, because Kansas leaves working partners off by default.
Are we covered as partners in Kansas?
Not by default. Kansas leaves a working partner off the policy unless you elect in by having the partnership's carrier file a written statement of election with the state director. Until then you have no comp for your own injuries.
Does a partner's draw count toward the 20,000 dollar threshold?
No. A partner is not an employee unless they elect in, so a partner's draw is not employee wages and does not count toward the threshold. It is your staff's wages that decide whether the partnership must insure.
How does a partner get covered?
By electing coverage. The insurance carrier files a written statement of election with the director of workers compensation, and once it is on file the partner's pay is counted in the premium and their injuries are covered.
What changes when we hire staff?
Once your employees' wages pass 20,000 dollars a year, coverage for them is mandatory, whether they are full time, part time, or seasonal, even if the partners themselves stay off the policy.
Is a partnership treated like a corporation for this?
No, the opposite. Partners are off the policy by default and elect in, while a corporation's officers are on by default and only a 10 percent owner can opt out. Confirm your business type before deciding who is covered.
Are partners personally on the hook if we skip coverage?
They can be. Partners are personally the business, so if the partnership fails to carry required coverage for its employees, the partners can face the penalties and the state recovering what its fund pays an injured worker.
Why Kansas owners choose Morrow
- We shop the right market for you. In Kansas you buy workers comp on the open, competitive market from any private insurer licensed in the state, because there is no state fund, and if no carrier will take you the state's assigned risk plan, run by the national rating bureau, is the guaranteed backstop, so we can shop your rate freely and still have a fallback for hard-to-place work.
- We catch pricing mistakes. Your price depends heavily on the category your work falls into for pricing (the class code). Put people in the wrong category and you overpay for years. We review your payroll and classifications before you buy.
- Proof of coverage, fast. Need a certificate (proof of coverage) for a general contractor or a landlord before Monday? We turn those around the same business day for most carriers.
- We help lower the score that drives your price. Insurers give you a score based on your past claims that raises or lowers your cost (the experience modification rate). We review it each year, flag errors, and connect you with return-to-work and safety resources that bring it down.
- Real people when a claim happens. When someone gets hurt, we stay involved through the life of the claim, not just at renewal.
Related Kansas guides
Every Kansas business is set up a little differently. These companion guides answer the same question for other situations, plus the national explainers behind the terms used here.
- Business insurance in Kansas (start here)
- Workers comp: the owner's overview
- I own an LLC: do I need workers comp?
- I'm a sole proprietor: do I need workers comp?
- I own a corporation (C-corp or S-corp): do I need it?
- We're a nonprofit: do we need workers comp?
- My workers are 1099: do I still need it?
- Only part-time or seasonal staff: do I need it?
- I only employ family: do I need workers comp?
- Remote or out-of-state staff: do I need coverage?
- What happens if I don't carry workers comp?
- How much does workers comp cost?
- How do I get workers comp (even if turned down)?
- What insurance do I need for a contractor license?
- Workers compensation insurance, explained
- What workers comp costs (national guide)
- Do sole proprietors need workers comp?
- Hiring your first employee: what changes
- Kansas accountant workers comp
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Kansas rules and penalty amounts can change, so verify current requirements with the Kansas Department of Labor, Division of Workers Compensation or a licensed advisor before you rely on them. Last updated: July 2026.