Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Hays, Kansas, in Ellis County, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Kansas the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the Clerk of the District Court; the statewide criminal history kept by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation is open to anyone who asks. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Hays is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the crimes behind the records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Hays public records, Ellis County criminal records, Hays arrest records, Hays warrants, Hays inmate search, Hays court records, Kansas arrest records and Kansas inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Ellis County District Court
In Kansas the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Hays are heard by the Ellis County District Court, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case, and the file of each case is kept by the Clerk of the District Court.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at kscourts.gov/eCourt/District-Court-Records (page title: Search District Court Records | KS Courts), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
Statewide, Kansas District Court Public Access Portal is the Kansas courts' statewide case search.
The Kansas Criminal History and Your Own Copy
Kansas is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can order a name-based criminal history record check online, through the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The result is the repository record, what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Hays
The Ellis County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Hays (filed by the FBI as Hays Police Department) keep the arrest records in and around Hays: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Ellis County: Fort Hays State University (campus police); it keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the two agencies in Ellis County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,088 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Hays arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Hays in 2025
The agency that reports for Hays had 54 violent and 215 property crimes reported for 2025; each one is a report on file with it, and each arrest that follows is the start of a criminal record.
The County Attorney for Ellis County
Charges in Ellis County are filed by the County Attorney, which reviews the arrests of every agency in the county and brings the cases in the Ellis County District Court.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at directory-kard.kscourts.gov/Home/Details?regNum=28250 (page title: Attorney Details), phone 785-628-9405, 107 W 12th St, Hays, KS 67601, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
The Sex Offender Registry for Hays
Registered sex offenders living in Hays are listed on the Kansas Offender Registry, run by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at kansas.gov/kbi/ro.shtml. Sex, violent and drug offenders are all listed.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Ellis County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Kansas Open Records Act a county office must answer a request within 3 business days, and it may charge staff time and copying. The county records request page SearchSystems verified is at ellisco.net/637/Kansas-Open-Records-Act (page title: Kansas Open Records Act | Ellis County, KS).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Hays?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation: anyone can order a name-based criminal history record check online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Kansas Open Records Act.
Can I search Hays criminal cases online?
Kansas District Court Public Access Portal is the Kansas courts' statewide case search.
How do I get my own Kansas criminal history?
Through the same record check, run on yourself.
Who prosecutes crimes in Hays?
The County Attorney, reached at 785-628-9405, which files its cases in the Ellis County District Court.
Is this the official Hays website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.