State Guide
Age of Consent in Kansas
A plain-English guide to the age of consent in Kansas, cited to K.S.A. 21-5507. Kansas has a genuinely named Romeo and Juliet law with an unusual constitutional history.
Named severity-reduction law, victim 14–15 onlyKansas at a glance
The core figures from this guide, in one place.
| Age of consent | 16 |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | K.S.A. 21-5507 (Unlawful Voluntary Sexual Relations) |
| Close-in-age mechanism | Named reduction to a lesser felony, not a full exemption |
| Conditions | Victim 14–15, offender under 19 and <4 years older |
| Related offense | Indecent liberties with a child — K.S.A. 21-5506 |
Overview
Kansas sets its age of consent at 16. Sexual activity with anyone under 16 is illegal regardless of apparent consent, and Kansas does not use the term “statutory rape”; it spreads age-based offenses across several separate laws instead.
K.S.A. 21-5507, unlawful voluntary sexual relations, is genuinely and officially referred to as Kansas’s Romeo and Juliet law, confirmed in the state legislature’s own testimony records. It does not make the underlying conduct legal. It creates a separate, lower-level felony charge in place of the more serious indecent liberties charge, when specific conditions are met.
Age of consent in Kansas
Kansas addresses age-based sexual offenses through three main statutes: K.S.A. 21-5503 covers a victim under 14; K.S.A. 21-5506, indecent liberties with a child, covers a victim 14 or 15; and K.S.A. 21-5507 provides the reduced charge described below for a narrower version of that same 14-15 age band.
Kansas’s Romeo and Juliet law
K.S.A. 21-5507 reduces the charge to unlawful voluntary sexual relations, a lower-severity felony with presumptive probation, where all of the following are true: the other person is 14 or 15; the conduct is voluntary; the older person is under 19; the older person is less than four years older; and the two people are the only parties involved.
Close-in-age rules in Kansas
This is a severity reduction, not an exemption. A conviction under K.S.A. 21-5507 is still a felony conviction, just at a lower level than indecent liberties with a child would carry for the same underlying conduct. Some secondary sources describe Kansas as having no close-in-age protection at all; this guide finds that description inconsistent with the officially documented, named statute described above, though the statute’s conditions are narrow and do not cover every close-in-age situation, such as two people both 16 or older interacting with a 15 year old outside these specific terms.
Applicable statutes
The codified Kansas law this guide is drawn from.
Practical examples
Example 1. A 15-year-old and an 18-year-old, a three-year gap, no one else involved. This fits all five conditions of K.S.A. 21-5507, so the reduced charge could apply instead of indecent liberties with a child.
Example 2. A 14-year-old and an 18-year-old, a four-year gap. Because the gap is not less than four years, K.S.A. 21-5507 does not apply, and the full indecent liberties charge applies instead.
Example 3. A 15-year-old and a 20-year-old. Because the older person is not under 19, K.S.A. 21-5507 does not apply regardless of the gap.
Frequently asked questions about Kansas
What is the age of consent in Kansas?
16. Sexual activity with anyone under 16 is addressed across several statutes, including K.S.A. 21-5506 and 21-5507, depending on the specific circumstances.
Does Kansas have a Romeo and Juliet law?
Yes, a genuinely named one: K.S.A. 21-5507, unlawful voluntary sexual relations. It reduces the charge to a lower-level felony rather than making the conduct legal.
What is the unusual history behind this law?
The statute originally required the two people to be of the opposite sex. Kansas courts ruled that requirement unconstitutional in 2005, but according to legislative testimony, the actual wording may not have been formally removed from the statute’s text for years afterward.
Does this law make the conduct legal?
No. It is still a felony conviction. The law only changes which specific charge applies and its severity level.
What are all the conditions that must be met?
The other person must be 14 or 15, the conduct voluntary, the older person under 19 and less than four years older, and only the two of them involved.
Official sources
Primary and official sources this guide is built from.
Reduced charge vs. the standard offense
Kansas’s Romeo and Juliet law changes the charge level, not the underlying illegality.
| Statute | Conditions | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| § 21-5507 (reduced) | Victim 14–15, offender <19 and <4 years older, two parties only | Lower-severity felony, presumptive probation |
| § 21-5506 (standard) | Victim 14–15, conditions above not met | Indecent liberties with a child, more severe |
About this guide
Who wrote it, who reviewed it, and when it was last checked.
RomeoAndJulietLaw.com Editorial Team
Drafted from the Kansas Statutes Annotated and official Kansas legislative testimony records, cross-checked against multiple independent legal references.
Pending attorney review
This guide has not yet been checked by a licensed Kansas attorney. It is sourced and cited, but should not be treated as attorney-reviewed until this line is updated with a named reviewer.
Primary source for this guide
Editorial notes
This guide reflects K.S.A. 21-5507 as of 26 July 2026. It has not yet been reviewed by a licensed Kansas attorney. A notable open question is flagged above: whether the statute’s originally unconstitutional opposite-sex requirement, judicially severed in 2005, has since been formally removed from the published statute text. This guide could not confirm the current status of that specific wording and treats the statute as enforced without it, consistent with the controlling court ruling.