Business and Company Registration Process In Kenya

February 18, 2020 Majira Media

Registering a company or a business in Kenya is done through the eCitizen portal.The platform allows individuals to carry out the entire process from name search to actual registration at your own convenience. As of October 15, 2017, manual registration was abolished. Here is how you can get your company registered.

Before you begin the registration process you must first come up with your business name or company name you wish to register. The name search and reservation must be done first before registering. This helps to determine whether your name is available or has been taken. If you do not have an ecitizen account you can easily create one by visiting www.ecitizen.go.ke

Business Name Search and Reservation

Log into your eCitizen account. If you don’t have an account already, click on the signup button to create an account.
After creating an account log in, to see the various government agencies you can interact with.
Click on the Business Registration Service button from the dashboard.
You will be redirected to a page that will prompt you to register your business name.
Enter your preferred name and the relevant details.
Once the details have been entered, pay a fee of Ksh 150 name search charges through Paybill number 206206.The account number will be generated by the system. You can pay with M-Pesa, Debit/credit/prepaid cards or eCitizen agent.
Choose your preferred payment method.
The name search results are usually available on the portal within one or two business days.
Once your business name is approved, you can now go ahead and register your business.

Now before you can begin the business registration process, you need to understand well the category under which your business or company lies. Here are various categories.

Business Entity Types

There are seven types of entities in Kenya, namely:

Private Limited Company (LTD): A company limited by shares.

Public Limited Company (PLC): Members can transfer shares as they wish.

Company Limited by Guarantee (LTD): Liability is limited by members’ contributions in case of a wound up.

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP): Combines elements of a company to those of partnership. Foreign company: An existing corporation registered in another state other than its origin country.

Sole proprietorship: A company owned by one individual

Sole Proprietorship Registration

Get the CR1 form (available for download on the portal).
Download the form and fill it manually
Upload scanned copies of ID card/passport, KRA PIN certificate and recent colored passport photographs.
Upload the filled CR1 form
Pay the application fee of Ksh.850.

Partnership Company Registration

Go to the Business registration tab and click on the partnership or sole proprietorship tab.
You will be redirected to an empty BN2 form which you will be required to fill with the relevant details.
Upload ID card/passport, KRA PIN certificate and recent colored passport photographs of sole proprietor or partners.
Pay the registration fee of 25,000

Private Limited Company Registration

There are documents you require in order to register your business on the eCitizen portal including;

A completed registration form CR1 (available for download on the portal).
Statement of capital.
Memorandum and article of association.
Shareholders details; you will be required to upload scanned copies of ID card/passport, KRA PIN certificate and recent colored passport photographs. The directors/shareholders have to be registered on the iTax platform.
Physical residential address of directors.
Company registration fee – Ksh 10,650