How to Start a Machine Shop or Aerospace Parts Supplier in Kansas: Registrations, FAA and Quality Standards

Wichita is one of the main centers for aircraft manufacturing in the United States, and that creates steady demand for machine shops that hold tight tolerances. Kansas manufacturing totaled $35.1 billion in 2025 (BEA), and the state's other transportation equipment manufacturing line, which includes Wichita aircraft work, came in at $6.8 billion. If you want to learn how to start an aerospace parts business in Kansas, the state side is simpler than most people expect. Kansas has no state license for a machine shop. The real hurdles are federal rules, a quality system your customers will audit, and the registrations that let you bid on government work.

This guide covers those steps in the order most shops handle them. It is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Aerospace rules and customer contracts vary, so talk with a licensed attorney and a CPA before you form the business or sign a supply agreement.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these before you file anything. Most delays come from one missing item.

• A business name that meets Kansas rules, confirmed by searching the Secretary of State business database
• A Kansas resident agent and a Kansas street address for the registered office (no PO box)
• Articles of Organization, Domestic (Kansas) Limited Liability Company (Form DL), or Articles of Incorporation, Domestic (Kansas) Corporation (Form AI)
• A federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS
• A written equipment list and inspection plan, including your calibration records process
• Insurance quotes for liability, property and workers' compensation
• A site that zoning allows for machining, plus a startup budget that covers several months of operating costs

Item	Cost	Agency
LLC formation (Form DL)	$85	Kansas Secretary of State
Corporation formation (Form AI)	$85	Kansas Secretary of State
Name reservation (120 days)	$35	Kansas Secretary of State
Biennial Information Report (Form ILC or IFP)	$90 every two years	Kansas Secretary of State
Kansas sales tax registration	Free	Kansas Department of Revenue
State machine shop license	None exists	Not applicable

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Pick Your Entity Type

Most small shops start as an LLC. An LLC is a pass-through entity for Kansas income tax, so members report their share on individual returns at 5.2% on up to $23,000 of Kansas taxable income for single filers ($46,000 for married filing jointly) and 5.58% above those thresholds. Kansas has no LLC franchise tax. A corporation, or an LLC taxed as a corporation, pays the 3.5% normal tax plus a 3% surtax on Kansas taxable income over $50,000. Ownership plans and customer insurance requirements can change the choice, so confirm it with a CPA.

Step 2: Check and Reserve Your Name

Search the Secretary of State database first. An LLC name must include L.L.C., L.C., LLC, LC, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY or LIMITED COMPANY. If a similar name is already registered, you may need a Consent to Use of Similar Business Name (Form CN) under K.S.A. 17-7918. A name reservation holds the name for 120 days for $35. Kansas has no state DBA filing, so a shop name that differs from your legal name needs city and county checks. If you want protection for that name, look at a Secretary of State trademark or service mark registration.

Step 3: Appoint a Resident Agent

Kansas uses the term resident agent. The agent must be an individual, a business registered in Kansas, or the entity itself. The registered office must be a Kansas street address where the agent can be regularly present, with building number, street, city, state and ZIP code. A PO box is not allowed. Update the state record whenever the agent or address changes.

Step 4: File Your Formation Document Online

File through the Secretary of State's Business Services portal at sos.ks.gov Business Services login. Online filings process within minutes, and you can print the certified copy right away. Mail filings go to the Topeka office and take longer. The filing fee is $85 online or $90 on paper for either entity type. General business information is at sos.ks.gov/business.

Step 5: Register for Taxes with KDOR

Kansas issues no general business license. You register for the taxes that apply to you with the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) at ksrevenue.gov business registration. Registration is free. A shop that sells parts needs a sales tax permit. The state rate is 6.5%, and local rates can add to it. Whether a particular sale is taxable, or needs a resale or exemption certificate, depends on the transaction, so ask KDOR before your first invoice. If you will have employees, confirm which other accounts apply, such as withholding. The KDOR business page is at ksrevenue.gov/business.

Step 6: Open a Kansas Department of Labor Employer Account

If you plan to hire, register as an employer with the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) for unemployment insurance and related reporting. Confirm the current steps and forms on the KDOL website, since they change.

Step 7: Clear Zoning and Local Permits

Your real local licensing happens at the city or county level. Kansas has 105 counties and 624 cities, and every incorporated place is a city, so your address decides which zoning code and permit office apply. A shop just inside Wichita city limits faces different rules than one in unincorporated Sedgwick County or a nearby city. Ask about industrial zoning for machining, noise and waste rules, building and occupancy permits, and fire inspection before you sign a lease. If you build out the space, cities and counties license general contractors, electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors. Kansas has no statewide license for those trades, so confirm what your jurisdiction requires of the people doing the work.

Step 8: Check Industrial Incentives Early

STAR bonds and industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) are tools some cities and counties use to support qualifying projects. Each has its own application and eligibility rules, and some require approval before work starts. Check with the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County or the Kansas Department of Commerce before you commit to a site. Do not assume you qualify.

Step 9: Register in SAM.gov for Federal Work

To bid on federal contracts, you need an active registration at sam.gov. Registration provides a Unique Entity ID and, typically, a CAGE code. Prime contractors and defense buyers often check SAM.gov before they award subcontracts, so set it up early even if your first work is commercial. An expired registration can stop an award.

Step 10: Determine Your FAA Role

FAA requirements depend on what you do. If you repair or overhaul aircraft components, you need a repair station certificate under 14 CFR Part 145, with ratings that match your work, a repair station manual and a quality control system. If you machine parts to a customer's drawing, you usually operate under the customer's approved design and quality system. Your job then is to document traceability and deliver the airworthiness paperwork the customer expects. Get that expectation in writing, and confirm your role with the FAA before you bid on flight hardware.

Step 11: Build an AS9100 Quality System

AS9100 is an aerospace quality standard built on ISO 9001. It is a customer-driven requirement, not a state one, and accredited registrars certify it. Ask target customers whether they require AS9100 or only their own supplier quality manual before you spend on certification. Your system will need document control, calibration records, material traceability, corrective action and first article inspection reports (AS9102 is the usual format). Get written quotes from registrars, since costs and schedules vary.

Step 12: Register Under ITAR If You Make Defense Articles

Manufacturers of defense articles must register with the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), even if they never export. Check whether your parts are on the U.S. Munitions List before you bid, using the DDTC site at pmddtc.state.gov. Some work falls under other export rules, so have an export attorney review your product list.

Step 13: Set Up a Compliance Calendar

The Kansas Information Report is biennial, not annual. LLCs file Form ILC and corporations file Form IFP. Each carries a $90 online fee ($110 on paper) and is due by April 15. Businesses formed in an even year report in even years, and those formed in an odd year report in odd years. A three month delinquency window follows the due date before forfeiture. Also calendar name reservation expirations, insurance renewals, calibration intervals and customer audit dates.

Tips and Common Mistakes

• Treating the Secretary of State filing as a license. The filing creates your entity. It does not authorize shop operations.
• Putting a PO box on the resident agent or registered office. Kansas requires a street address.
• Confusing Kansas City, Kansas with Kansas City, Missouri. They are different cities in different states. Only Kansas City, Missouri has a city earnings tax, so check the exact address before you sign a lease.
• Looking for a state DBA filing. Kansas has none. Check city and county rules instead.
• Buying equipment before zoning clears the use. Confirm the site first.
• Skipping SAM.gov and ITAR because your first job is commercial. Registration gaps can cost you a bid later.
• Signing a customer quality agreement without reading the flowdown clauses. These can impose records, standards and audit access you have not priced in.
• Letting the biennial report slip past April 15. Put the date on your calendar the day you file.

Expected Results

Filing the entity and tax registrations is usually the quickest part of this process, and the online Secretary of State filing processes within minutes. Qualifying with aerospace customers typically takes longer. Results depend on your equipment, your quality system, the certifications your customers require and your local approvals. This checklist cannot promise a contract, a certification date, an incentive award or a revenue level. Treat it as a way to avoid preventable delays, not as a guarantee of results.

Where to Get Help

The Kansas Small Business Development Center offers business advising at kansassbdc.net. The U.S. Small Business Administration's Wichita district office serves the area at sba.gov/district/wichita.

This article is informational only. It is not legal, tax or regulatory advice. Entity choice, FAA status, export control and customer contract obligations depend on your facts. Consult a qualified attorney and a CPA before you form the business or sign aerospace contracts.