To register a business entity, you will need to first have an E-Citizen Account. Every Kenyan citizen with a National Identity Card, Foreign Residents with a valid foreigner certificate or Business entities registered in Kenya can open an E-Citizen account.

Once you have registered an E-citizen account, log in to your account then proceed to the Department indicated as “Business Registration Service.”

The following are various entities that once can register:

1. Business Name under the Business Names Act, Cap 499
2. Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) under the Limited Liability Act, 2012
3. Private company under the Companies Act 2015
4. Public company (PLC) under the Companies Act 2015
5. Company Limited by Guarantee under the Companies Act 2015
6. Foreign Company under the Companies Act 2015

Once you have identified which business entity you want to register, check for the availability of the name that you intend to register, conduct a Name Search by first logging into E-Citizen portal. Choose the business entity you want to register and then proceed to make an application for the name that you intend to register. If the name is available for registration, it will be reserved for 30 days and can be extended for another 30 days. If the name is not available, the applicant will be required to a conduct a fresh name search.

It costs Kshs. 150/= for each name search which is paid via well outlined procedures as per the payment.

To register a Business Name, log into your E-Citizen account. Then click on MY APPLICATIONS and there will be link prompting you to register the Business Name. Click on it and you will be required to fill in the details as per the webpage fields. The details include; the name(s) of the partner(s)/proprietor(s), ID Number, KRA PIN Number, email address, mobile number, the physical address on the Business Name and the nature of the business. Each of the partner(s)/proprietor(s) will be required to attach a copy of their KRA PIN(s) and a passport photo(s).

Once you have filled in all the details, the system will generate a form called Statement of Particulars BN/2 that you will be required to download and print. Once printed the form must be signed by each partner/proprietor and then scanned and re-uploaded back onto the system. You will then be required to pay Kshs. 850/= via well-outlined procedure as per payment page and submit.

The application will be processed from our back end and within 24 hours, you will log into the system and download the Certificate of Registration. 

To register a company, log into your E-citizen account, click on the reserved name and there will be link prompting you to register the company. You will be required to fill in the following:

• Details of the Company’s address (Section 46 of Companies Act, 2015 makes it a requirement for a company to have a registered office address).

• Particulars of the Appointed director(s)  (at least 1 director for a private company and at least 2 directors for Public Company). In addition, one director has to be a natural person. The Director must be at least 18 years (Section 131 of Companies Act, 2015) and not one who has been disqualified from being a director by a court order (as provided in Part X of Companies Act, 2015.)

• Particulars of the Appointed secretary: Generally, you do not need a secretary for private company  (a company secretary is only required if the company has a paid up share capital of 5 million shillings or more – Section 243 of Companies Act,2015). How its mandatory for a Public companies to have a Company Secretary.

• Details of the company’s shares and shareholders.

Once you have filed the necessary fields, you will be required to download the system generated forms and to sign them then upload the signed forms in the ecitizen system. You will then be required to pay Kshs. 10,650 /= via well outlined procedures as per the payment then click the SUBMIT button.

The application will be processed from our back end within 3-5 working days. You will log onto the E-citizen system and download the Certificate of Registration and Status Report (formally referred to as CR12).

To register a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), log into your E-Citizen account, click on the reserved name and there will be link prompting you to register the LLP. Click on it and you will be required to fill in the details on the link. The details include; the name(s) of the partner, ID Number, KRA PIN Number, email address, mobile number, the physical address of the LLP and the nature of the business. Each of the partners/proprietors will be required to attach a copy of their KRA PINs and a passport photo.

Once you have filled in all the details, the system will generate a form called Statement of Particulars (LLP1) which you will be required to download and print. Once printed, the form should be signed by each partner and then upload the signed form back onto the system. You will then be required to pay Kshs. 25,000/= via well-outlined procedures as per the payment and then submit the application.

The application will be processed from our back end and within 1-2 working days, you will log onto the E-citizen system and download the Certificate of Registration.

Any individual intending to be a director of a company can log in to their E-Citizen account and lodge an application for the registration of a company on his/her behalf and that of the co-directors. The applicant must be keen on the details and the mandatory fields that need to be filled.

An advocate of the High Court of Kenya who is registered with the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) or a Company Secretary registered by the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries (ICPSK).

Each of the directors and shareholders of a company should attach a scanned copy of the directors or shareholders Kenyan National Identity Card or a valid Passport, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Personal Identification Number (PIN) (for citizens and residents) and a scanned passport photo.  

For an individual who is not a resident in Kenya, they must attach a scanned copy of their passport bio data page and a passport photo.  

Yes, an individual can register a single member company as provided under Section 103 of the Companies Act 2015.

Section 128(1) of the Companies Act 2015, provides that a private company is required to have at least one director who must be a natural person. There is no limit to the number of directors but the maximum number of shareholders is 50 for private company. 

No, Section 131 (1) of the Companies Act 2015, a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years cannot be appointed as a director.

Link a business is a feature that seeks to eliminate the issue of missing files and conveyancing of wrong information to the Registrar. This is a free service.

Link a business further enables the company owner to make sure that the company complies with law such as filing of Annual Returns and make any necessary changes in the company without physically visiting the company registry.

The "link business" option requires clients to provide details for their business entities and we, in turn, verify the details against the data that we have. This essentially means that only the proprietor, directors/shareholders or a Certified Company Secretary (CPS) can utilize the "link business" option.

The procedure is as follows

• Log in to the directors, director-shareholder or Appointed company secretaries account,
•  The ecitizen account in question could be:
• A citizens account
• A foreign residents account
• A linked active business account
• select "Link  Business" where you will be prompted to enter the name or registration number of the business.(We recommend that you search by NAME, as registration numbers may differ from what you have)
• Select your business from the list of results displayed and confirm the name matches that which appears on your certificate.
• Proceed and indicate the capacities of all current Directors, Director-shareholders, shareholders and appointed secretary if any.

NB!! Should your company be a Public limited company you may omit the shareholders information. Enter only Director and Director-shareholder details.

• Enter the registered office address of the entity.
• Submit the application (This is a free service)

NB!! It is recommended that you ensure your manual records of registration held at the company registry are up to date prior to linking the business as per your current company status. This is to facilitate prompt action by our backend team

• Upon submission, the backend process involves verifying information received against our manual records.
• Once approved, Entity will appear as a VERIFIED and published entity in each of the directors, director-shareholders and or company secretaries account by default.
• Any of the above upon logging in to their eCitizen account will be able to see the active business by clicking on BUSINESSES in their menu.
• Clicking VIEW against the Active Status allows you to enter and view the business account where you can maintain your accompany as you wish e.g., File for changes, Annual returns etc.

In order to effect changes, you have to use the “LINK BUSINESS” feature on the eCitizen portal.

• Once you have linked the business and the Registrar has verified the business, your business will appear under the title category of “My Businesses”;
• Click on the “VIEW” button;
• Business details page will appear showing the following details:

1. Summary
2. Addresses

• Directors/Shareholders

1. Share information

• Click on “MAINTAIN A COMPANY”
• From the website page that appears, you will be able to do the various changes. For instance, If you want to allot/transfer shares or to make changes to the directors, you will click on “DIRECTORS/SHAREHOLDERS” and then click on “CHANGE PARTICULARS” where you shall effect the prerequisite change.
• How do I file my annual returns?

Currently, Annual Returns are filed online. You will be required to log into your E-citizen account. If you registered the company online, you will click on the company name then click on VIEW button. You will be directed to a webpage where you click on the MAINTAIN A COMPANY icon then you click on ANNUAL RETURNS. You will be able to upload the ANNUAL RETURNS (Form Cr 29) then click SUBMIT button. However, if you registered your company manually, you will be required first to link the business and then follow the above cited procedure.

Currently, Annual Returns are filed online. You will be required to log into your E-citizen account. If you registered the company online, you will click on the company name then click on VIEW button. You will be directed to a webpage where you click on the MAINTAIN A COMPANY icon then you click on ANNUAL RETURNS. You will be able to upload the ANNUAL RETURNS (Form Cr 29) then click SUBMIT button. However, if you registered your company manually, you will be required first to link the business and then follow the above cited procedure.

No, all payments are made through the well outlined procedures on the e-citizen payment gateway.

In order to obtain a Status Report (CR12) one must link a business then the status report (CR12) will be automatically generated by the system.

An Individual submitting a request for a file perusal must have an E-citizen account. The type of account could either be:

• Kenyan citizens account:
• Foreign Residents Account:
• Visitor(eVisa) Account:
• Linked Business Account.
• For File perusal follow these steps:

1. Log in via ecitizen.go.ke on your browser
2. Click on Business Registration Service
3. Click on “Make application”
4. Click on the option: “PERUSAL”
5. Click on APPLY NOW to proceed
6. Search for the entity by entering the NAME OF BUSINESS ENTITY (as it appears on the certificate of registration/certificate of incorporation)
7. Select the business entity from the list that populates
8. Click on next to proceed then click on SAVE AND CONTINUE.
9. Confirm that the information you are submitting is true and correct.
10. Choose your mode of payment and make payment.
11. Confirm your payment and view your application status by clicking on Application History
12. Once the application status changes to PROCESSED. You may now visit the company registry with your reference number and hardcopy of the Payment receipt. You will be able to peruse the file.

• Log onto www.kra.go.ke/portal, open tax payer registration link and on the right-hand side under Online Services, click on Taxpayer Registration.
• Choose either New Taxpayer (if you don’t have a PIN) or existing taxpayer(if you already have a PIN)
• Fill in all mandatory fields with asterix (*) then confirm correctness and submit.
• KRA will respond through your e-mail address providing you with a PIN number, Password and Security Stamp.
• Go to Taxpayer Registration fill in the PIN, password and security stamp then log in.
• Change your password (please remember this for security reasons) to a password of your own choice (six characters with 2 numbers) as instructed.
• Choose Main Menu, Enquiry then Print your Taxpayer Registration Certificate. You may refer to the “Step by step guide” which is on the KRA portal