Statutory Hierarchy for Serving Business Entities in Kansas (K.S.A. 60-304(e))
Under K.S.A. 60-304(e), service of process upon a domestic or foreign corporation, domestic or foreign limited liability company (LLC), domestic or foreign limited partnership, domestic or foreign limited liability partnership, or any other unincorporated association subject to suit under a common name must be made by one of three statutory methods:
1. Serving an Officer, Manager, or Managing/General Agent: Delivering a copy of the summons and petition to an officer, manager, partner, or a managing or general agent of the entity.
2. Leaving Copies at the Business Office with the Person in Charge: Leaving a copy of the summons and petition at any business office of the defendant with the person having charge thereof.
3. Serving the Resident Agent (Registered Agent): Delivering a copy of the summons and petition to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process—and if the agent is one authorized by statute to receive service and the statute so requires, by also mailing a copy to the defendant.
Notice the terminology used in the Kansas Business Entity Standard Treatment (BEST) Act, K.S.A. 17-7924 et seq.: Kansas statutes formally refer to a registered agent as a 'Resident Agent' and the registered address as the 'Registered Office.' Every domestic and foreign filing entity in Kansas must continuously maintain both a Resident Agent and a Registered Office within the state.
Serving Major Commercial Resident Agents in Topeka and Wichita
Thousands of national corporations, insurance carriers, financial institutions, and Kansas LLCs designate one of four major commercial resident agent hubs located in Shawnee County (Topeka) or Sedgwick County (Wichita). Our process servers execute daily hand-delivery runs to each of these verified hubs:
• The Corporation Company, Inc. / C T Corporation System (CT Corp): Located at 112 SW 7th Street, Suite 3C, Topeka, KS 66603. Note that in Kansas Secretary of State records, Wolters Kluwer's CT Corp frequently appears under its historic Kansas subsidiary name 'The Corporation Company, Inc.'
• Corporation Service Company (CSC): Located along the Wanamaker corridor at 1100 SW Wanamaker Road, Suite 103 (and 2900 SW Wanamaker Drive, Suite 204), Topeka, KS 66604.
• Registered Agents Inc. (RAI): Located at Office Park Plaza, 4601 East Douglas Avenue, Suite 150, Wichita, KS 67218.
• Northwest Registered Agent, LLC: Located at 4601 East Douglas Avenue, Suite 150, Wichita, KS 67218. IMPORTANT: Even though Registered Agents Inc. and Northwest Registered Agent both operate out of Suite 150 at 4601 E. Douglas Ave in Wichita, they are completely separate corporate entities. Before dispatching a server, always run a Kansas Secretary of State Business Entity Search (or authorize our team to run it) so the Return of Service accurately reflects the exact Resident Agent of record.
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Leaving Process with the 'Person in Charge' of a Branch Office (K.S.A. 60-304(e)(2))
Unlike states that require strictly exhausting registered agent service before visiting a branch office, K.S.A. 60-304(e) expressly permits serving a business entity by 'leaving a copy of the summons and of the petition at any business office of the defendant with the person having charge thereof.'
This provision is extraordinarily useful when serving a local Kansas retail store, construction contractor, medical clinic, bank branch, or property management office where the designated resident agent is an individual whose residential address is gated or outdated. When executing service under K.S.A. 60-304(e)(2), our process server identifies the store manager, branch manager, or office manager currently in charge of the business office during regular operating hours, confirms their supervisory role, delivers the suit papers in hand, and records their full name and title on the K.S.A. 60-312 Return of Service.
Substituted Service on the Kansas Secretary of State (K.S.A. 60-304(f))
What happens if a Kansas LLC or corporation has forfeited its charter for failing to file its information report, its resident agent has resigned, or the registered office address on file is an empty storefront or vacant residence? Under K.S.A. 60-304(f), whenever any domestic or foreign corporation, LLC, or partnership fails to appoint or maintain a resident agent in Kansas, or whenever its resident agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office, the Kansas Secretary of State is irrevocably appointed as the statutory agent upon whom process may be served.
To complete substituted service under K.S.A. 60-304(f), our Topeka couriers deliver duplicate copies of the summons and petition—together with the statutory SOS service fee—directly to the Business Services Division of the Kansas Secretary of State at Memorial Hall, 1st Floor, 120 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66612. Upon receipt, the Secretary of State immediately forwards a copy by certified mail to the entity's last known principal office or address of record, completing legally bulletproof statutory service.