Kansas: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Sep 2026·Laws as cited·All 4 records checked Sep 2026
Public recordKS LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Kansas chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified Sep 2026.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Kansas?
#stove-installNONE- Credential
- Nothing statewide — no state trade licensing, no contractor board, and NO statewide building code (adoption is purely city/county; unincorporated counties may have no code or permit process at all), so the listing/manufacturer-instruction rule reaches only local-code jurisdictions; the LP Class 8 lane (Fire Marshal, per Pass 1) is propane-only — a wood/pellet stove or insert install touches no state credential at any price; CITY LAYER: Wichita/Sedgwick MABCD mechanical licenses + permits, Johnson County Class DM mechanical license — flagged, not exhausted; NFI FOOTNOTE: NFI's own jurisdiction list (re-read Sep 2026) still names Salina, KS and 'Lawrence' (rendered as 'Lawrence County, KS' — Kansas has no Lawrence County; the city of Lawrence is in Douglas County) among jurisdictions recognizing NFI certification for hearth installs (ordinance texts unfetched — local overlay confirmation pending); JoCo license classes include DM mechanical but no masonry/chimney class
- Issuing body
- n/a statewide; city/county building departments
- Statute
- absence verified — no statewide building-code or mechanical/hearth licensing statute exists to cite (rights research re-confirmed Sep 2026 + Pass 1); LP-only state lane = K.S.A. 55-1808 / K.A.R. 22-8-10(b) class 8
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- y — Wichita/Sedgwick (MABCD) + Johnson County mechanical regimes; Lawrence + Salina NFI-referencing local rules (per NFI, unconfirmed)
- Confidence
- high (absence); medium (Lawrence/Salina detail) · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
Chimney flashing: is a credential required in Kansas?
#chimney-flashingREGISTRATION- Credential
- THE ONE STATEWIDE CREDENTIAL IN KANSAS — the Kansas Roofing Contractor Registration Act (AG-administered since 7/1/2013): a 'roofing contractor' is anyone who for a fee engages in commercial or residential roofing services or 'offers to engage in or solicits roofing-related services, including construction, installation, renovation, repair, maintenance, alteration and waterproofing' (K.S.A. 50-6,122(a), fetched) — standalone chimney flashing/leak repair is roof repair/waterproofing → registered work at ANY dollar amount (no floor, and soliciting alone triggers it); verification-rich for a registration: certificate of liability insurance 'not less than $500,000' filed with the application, insurers must notify the AG of any cancellation or lapse (K.S.A. 50-6,125, re-read on ksrevisor.gov Sep 2026) + WC coverage or exemption affidavit/self-insurance + KDOR tax clearance; registration required by K.S.A. 50-6,123; fee set by AG, statutory cap $500 (K.S.A. 50-6,128); renewal-by-7/1 date and 'AG as certificate holder' detail from the AG contractor page (July) — not re-shown Sep 2026 — the rights file's '$1M general liability' error has since been CORRECTED there; civil penalties 'up to $10,000 per violation' — statute section not re-verified Sep 2026; EXEMPTIONS: employees/day laborers under a registered contractor, demolition/cleanup crews, and the two-path 'exempt general contractor' (roofing <= 50% of total project cost + no door-to-door sales, or an arms-length subcontract to a registered roofer, 50-6,122(e)); a mason REBUILDING a chimney is not doing roofing services but the flashing around its base is — service-menu wording decides
- Issuing body
- Kansas Attorney General (Licensing & Inspections Unit)
- Statute
- K.S.A. 50-6,121 through 50-6,138 (50-6,122 definitions + (e) exempt general contractor, 50-6,123 registration, 50-6,125 insurance, 50-6,128 fee cap)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- n — statewide registration; cities add permits only (JoCo also has its own DR roofing class)
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Kansas?
#gas-fireplace-serviceNONE- Credential
- NONE statewide for natural-gas appliance/fireplace work — Kansas has no state plumbing, HVAC, mechanical, or gas-fitter license and no state contractor board of any kind; absence verified against PHCC-Kansas licensing guide and MABCD/industry sources. LP-fueled work is the exception — see gas-log-install row
- Issuing body
- n/a — no state board exists
- Statute
- no enabling statute exists for NG trade licensing (checked K.S.A. chs. 12/58/75 landscape via PHCC-KS + trade sources); LP carve-out is K.S.A. ch. 55 art. 18
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- none statewide
- Local overlay
- YES — CRITICAL in KS: Wichita/Sedgwick Co. MABCD Mechanical Journeyman/Master certificates (re-read Sep 2026: ICC K9G/559 Journeyman Mechanical or IAPMO exam at 75% or better, 2-yr certificate, 6 hrs trade + 6 hrs general CE to renew; gas appears under the plumbing certificate 'K9R Plumbing with Gas'; the July row's separate 'Gas Fitter trade-contractor license' is NOT shown on the MABCD certificate page — unverified); Johnson County Contractor Licensing (covers most KC-metro suburbs) Class DM license — 'shall entitle the holder thereof to perform only HVAC, mechanical, and refrigeration services' (JoCo, Sep 2026; the ICC-exam/$1M CGL/CE details not shown on that page — unverified); no masonry/chimney class in JoCo; Topeka requires city HVAC/mechanical licensing (secondary source); Unified Gov't Wyandotte Co./KCK requires business license
- Confidence
- high (state absence); medium (local license details) · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
Gas log installation: is a credential required in Kansas?
#gas-log-installLICENSE- Credential
- Kansas LP-Gas Class 8 license — 'installation and service of liquefied petroleum gas systems' — required to install, maintain, or modify a residential or commercial LP gas distribution and UTILIZATION system; 'system' expressly includes appliances and all attachments (K.S.A. 55-1807(c)(5)), so LP log sets/hearth appliances on propane fall inside the lane. Exemptions: systems under 20 gal LP capacity or containers of 100 lb water capacity or less (K.S.A. 55-1808(b)). NG log sets: NO license (see gas-fireplace-service row)
- Issuing body
- Kansas State Fire Marshal, Prevention Division (Kansas Propane Safety and Licensing Act program)
- Statute
- K.S.A. 55-1807 (act + definitions, L. 2004 ch. 111); K.S.A. 55-1808 (license trigger); K.A.R. 22-8-10(b)(8) (Class 8); K.A.R. 22-8-13 (adopts NFPA 54-2006 + NFPA 58-2008 — edition cite not re-verified Sep 2026)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- No state-administered exam — proof of completion of fire-marshal-approved CETP/PERC courses: Basic Principles & Practices PLUS one of Installing Appliances and Interior Vapor Distribution Systems / Designing & Installing Exterior Vapor Distribution Systems / systems testing training (K.A.R. 22-8-11(d)(8)); refresher training for renewal (K.A.R. 22-8-12); license expires Sept 30 annually, renew by July 15
- Local overlay
- LP Class 8 is statewide; Wichita (MABCD) and Johnson County mechanical/fuel-gas permits and trade licenses still stack on top locally
- Confidence
- high on the Class 8 regime itself; medium-high on its reach to a hearth shop installing a log set on an existing propane system (text supports it via 'utilization system' + 'appliances,' but no agency guidance located saying so expressly) · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
What insurance does Kansas require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- license (LP lane only; otherwise none — no state credential exists to hang a requirement on)
- Liability minimum
- NONE statewide for general/chimney/NG-gas work (no credential exists). LP EXCEPTION: $1,000,000 continuous general liability — twice anchored: K.S.A. 55-1809(f) requires every LP marketer to maintain $1M continuous GL and ANNUALLY provide proof of insurance to the state fire marshal, and K.A.R. 22-8-10(a)(3)+(d)(3) extends the $1M proof-of-coverage requirement to EVERY license class at application AND renewal, including Class 8 installers — this is STATE-VERIFIED COI (filed with the fire marshal yearly), not mere attestation. Local overlay: Johnson County requires $1M CGL per occurrence (admitted KS insurer) + WC proof for contractor licenses; roofing AG registration ($1M GL) is the other statewide instrument but does not touch chimneys
- Bond
- NO state bond for any trade (verified absence — no board, no bond statute; LP act requires insurance, not bond). Local: check MABCD/Johnson County permit-bond specifics per city — UNVERIFIED whether either requires a surety bond vs. insurance-only (Johnson County publishes insurance, not bond)
- Guaranty fund
- NONE — no consumer guaranty/recovery fund in Kansas. DEBUNK: K.S.A. 75-3785 'construction defects recovery fund' sounds consumer-facing but is a state-treasury fund compensating STATE AGENCIES for defects in state buildings — zero homeowner recourse
- Workers' comp threshold
- PAYROLL-based, not headcount: exempt if total gross annual payroll was not more than $20,000 in the preceding calendar year AND employer reasonably estimates not more than $20,000 in the current year, for ALL employees (K.S.A. 44-505(a)(2)-(3), text fetched); KDOL guidance counts wages paid both inside and outside Kansas; family-member wrinkle: wages of employees related by marriage or consanguinity are EXCLUDED from the computation (statute text), and KDOL guidance says that exclusion does not apply to corporate employers; sole proprietors/partners are not 'employees' under the act (self-employed not covered — Allen v. Mills, 11 Kan. App. 2d 415, cited in 44-505 annotations); exempt employers may elect in via written election filed with the director or by joining a group-funded pool (K.S.A. 44-505(b)); penalty for required-but-uninsured: greater of 2x annual premium or $25,000 (KDOL employer guide)
- How to verify
- LP GL: annual COI filed with State Fire Marshal = STATE-VERIFIED. WC: KDOL free public coverage-verification lookup (search by business name or FEIN), powered by NCCI proof-of-coverage data — legacy URL www.dol.ks.gov/wc/html/wccoververifi_all.html, current portal dol.ks.gov/workers-compensation; KDOL WC Compliance 785-296-4000 opt. 4 / [email protected]
- Confidence
- high (LP $1M, WC statute text, guaranty-fund absence); medium (KDOL corporate-family interpretation — guidance not in fetched statute text; NCCI tool URL currency) · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Kansas?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.