Quick Facts

Before You Apply

1. Search the Brand Database to check for conflicts.
2. Design your brand using the Approvable Character List. Your design must differ in at least two ways from any other currently registered brand at the same location.
3. Read the design rules below, along with the full Brand Guidelines, before you finalize your design.

Brand Design Rules

Not allowed:

• Single-letter or single character brands (must have at least 2 characters)
• More than 4 characters
• Slanting or tumbling letters/ numbers
• Two-digit number brands (reserved by law for licensed feedlot pens numbers)
• Cursive letters or scrolled fonts

Discouraged:

• Complex or intricate designs - if it can't be easily read or reported, it isn't functioning as a brand  
• Letters, numbers or symbols enclosed in a closed shape, for hot-iron branding - these tend to blotch (freeze branding handles closed shapes and find detail better  
• Lowercase letters - these conflict visually with other characters
• Broken bars - too many variations, can cause confusion

• Brands are registered to one of six locations: left/right hip, left/right rib, left/right shoulder. Each location is a separate registration, so up to six different owners can hold the identical brand design if each is registered to a different location.
• Brands may be applied by hot iron or freeze method.
• Brands may be used on both cattle and horses, provided the animal is branded at the registered location.

1. Print and complete the New Livestock Brand Application.
2. Mail the completed application with the $5.00 non-refundable application fee.
3. Allow 4–6 weeks for review.
4. If approved, submit the $70.00 registration fee per location (check payable to "KDA - Brands") within 45 days of your approval notice. Non-payment results in a denied application.

Registering Ownership

• Individual(s): List the legal names of all owners exactly as they should appear on the Certificate of Title.
• Company / LLC / Corporation: The business must be registered to do business in Kansas, and the name on the application must match the entity name on file with the Kansas Secretary of State.
• Trust: List the names of all trustees.
• Keep your address current with the Brands Office. Renewal notices are mailed or emailed to the address on file — an outdated address can result in a cancelled brand.

• A new brand may never overlap an existing brand. Knowingly branding another person's livestock, or altering a brand so as to disfigure it, is a felony under Kansas law.
• Kansas law does not specify iron size. Recommended sizing: each character 3½–4 inches at its highest/widest point, with the face of the iron at least ¼ inch wide.
• Age, herd, or serial-number brands may be used alongside a registered brand, but must be applied at least 6 inches away from it.
• When buying branded livestock, obtain a bill of sale showing your right to possession.

• A small or thin iron will not produce a readable brand — a thin iron cuts too deep or leaves a scar that fills in with hair.
• Never brand a wet or damp animal — it will scald, blotch, or leave no brand at all.
• Proper iron heat is the color of ashes; a red-hot iron risks starting a hair fire and produces a poor brand.
• Clip hair before branding. A correctly applied hot brand should come out the color of saddle leather.

Once your brand is registered, see Prevention Tips and Reporting a Stray or Stolen Animal for guidance on keeping your branded livestock safe and what to do if an animal goes missing.