The government is considering abolishing application fees for birth certificates in a move aimed at increasing civil registration and ensuring more Kenyans access essential identification documents.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen revealed the proposal on Wednesday, January 28, during the commissioning of the Assistant County Commissioner’s office in Inoi Division, Kirinyaga County.
According to Murkomen, President William Ruto will make the final decision once ongoing consultations with key stakeholders are concluded.
“The President is carefully weighing this matter, and once consultations are complete, a final pronouncement will be made,” Murkomen said.
He explained that the move mirrors the government’s earlier decision to waive national identity card application fees—a measure that significantly increased registration across the country.
“This will be done the same way we waived ID registration fees, to enable us to document more births in line with the government’s manifesto,” he added.
Murkomen noted that high costs and long distances to registration centres have historically prevented many Kenyans, particularly those in rural areas, from obtaining birth certificates.
To address accessibility challenges, the Interior CS announced that the government has approved the decentralisation of civil registration services to bring them closer to citizens.
Under the new arrangement, civil registration offices will be established within Constituency ID registration centres, allowing Kenyans to apply for birth and death certificates at locations closer to their homes.
“We have agreed to decentralise civil registration services across all constituencies to ensure more people can access these critical documents,” Murkomen said.
The proposed changes are expected to ease access to documents required for school enrolment, healthcare services, employment, and other government-related services.
Currently, under the Births and Deaths Registration Rules gazetted by the Ministry of Interior, the fee for a standard birth certificate stands at KSh200, up from the previous KSh50.
Death certificates are charged at the same rate.
Late registration—defined as applications made more than six months after birth—attracts a fee of KSh500. The same charge applies to late death registrations.
For re-registration services, including replacing lost certificates or correcting details such as names, applicants are required to pay KSh1,000.
In October last year, the government announced a six-month waiver on fees for replacing national identity cards and making corrections to personal details, in a broader effort to ease access to identification documents for citizens.
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