Vehicle registration in Kenya

Vehicle registration is the process of adding a vehicle’s details to the Motor Vehicle Register. In the past, the process was often lengthy and hectic and one had to bribe the officers for faster facilitation but nowadays the procedure can take three days, or at most a week.

Registration of vehicles in Kenya is done by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), which is also responsible for issuing motor-vehicle number plates through its Road Transport Department (RTD). KRA offices are located in Nairobi Times Towers building on Haile Selassie Avenue.

The first motor vehicle registration in Kenya was issued in 1938 and currently the country is in the third generation motor vehicle number plate series introduced in 2007 which started from KBA001A and expected to end at KBZ999Z.

In order to facilitate faster registration you are required to have the following documents;

1. Duty and VAT receipts
2. Import entry form (Form 63)
3. Foreign log book translated into English
4. Port Release Order
5. Bill of Lading or Airway Bill
6. Clean Report of Findings (CRF)
7. Import Declaration Form (IDF)
8. Authority to enter goods for home use from the Commissioner of Customs & Excise
9. Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) if the vehicle is for commercial use.
10. A temporary Importation Document (Form C44A or C44)
11. Road manifest or Carnet de Passages in the case of vehicles imported by road
12. Foreign Vehicle Receipt/License
13. Personal Identification Certificate Number (PIN) card
14. Certified copy of national identity card of vehicle owner or valid Passport.
15. Insurance cover
16. A duly filled Form “A” personally signed by the Importer.

Golden Number Plates

You can do a booking of golden numbers in advance but you will have to pay more cash for that. Vehicle registration fee in Kenya is determined by several aspects which include the year the car was manufactured, the model and the type of vehicle i.e. if it’s personal or commercial.

Personalised Number Plates

Personalised number plates bearing individual names are no longer outlawed in Kenya as outlined in Section 12 of the Traffic Act but you have to part with a hefty fee to get a customised number plate.

The mark of distinction comes with either having a name inscribed on the metal plate at a price of Sh1 million or getting one that matches with your lucky triple numbers, which costs Sh30,000.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) allows only a maximum of eight and a minimum ( for personalised number plates) of three characters in capital letters only.

Currently, the number plates are manufactured locally and motorists keep hoping that in the near future number plates will have special features that will help curb, among other things, security threats facing motorists.

In the case of vehicles for temporary use in the country or for Transit vehicles, please obtain further information from the Registrar of Motor Vehicles in Times Tower, Nairobi, or the Mombasa office located in Customs house.