How to apply for a business permit in Nairobi County
Nairobi County requires that all businesses acquire business permits from the Nairobi County government before they can start business operations. The process of applying for a business permit in Nairobi can be done online or manually.
Whether you are applying for a business permit for the first time or you are applying for renewal of your business permit. You will be required to pay an average of Ksh.15,000 for a single business permit in Nairobi county.
The amount payable may however vary depending on the type of business you are operating and the location of your business within Nairobi
A single business permit or a company business permit is a license to indicate that you are legally operating your business within Nairobi and that you have paid the tax due to the Nairobi county.
Types of business permits issued by Nairobi county
Weather you are applying for a single business permit or a company business license the following types of licenses are applicable within Nairobi
- Food and hygiene certificate license
- Trading License
- Advertising and signage license
- Fire clearance license
Nairobi business permit application process
There are various methods you can use to apply for a business permit in Nairobi. But the two main methods are;
- Online business permit application process
- Online business permit application process
Requirements during business permit application in Nairobi county.
Before you can begin the business permit application process, below are some requirements for carrying out the application process.
- Application fee Ksh 200
- Permit fee: for a small workshop of up to 5 employees -Ksh 15,000
The required documents include:
- Copy of certificate of Incorporation / Business Registration Certificate (For registered business)
- Copy of company Pin certificate
- The physical address, land zone, and plot number
- National ID/ passport number
If your business is not registered, you will not be required to submit company related documents above. However you will need to have a copy of your KRA PIN when applying for a single business permit.
If you wish to register your business first and have a business name. You can see the below article on business name registration procedure.
Now that you have the necessary documents for business permit application or renewal. Let us take a walk through on both manual and online business permit application process in Nairobi.
Nairobi county business permit application process (Manual)
Make sure you have the necessary documents listed above. Follow the following steps to apply for a business permit
Step 1. Start by paying a visit to the ward office to obtain a BR-1 form which you will fill in with the details. If you are applying for renewal of a business permit, you will have to enter details from your previous business.
Step 2. Hand over the BR-1 form. Your business will be visited by inspection officers. Usually someone will accompany you to your business premise for verification of the details you filled.
In some cases the inspection officers will visit you a day after you have returned the filled in BR-1 form. In their visit, they will check the type of business, the location and the number of employees you have.
The visit will determine the Nairobi City County single business permit charges you will have to pay for the permit.
Step 3. The Ward Licensing Officer shall give recommendation for issuance of the Single Business Permit (SBP) by indicating the appropriate fee to be charged, stamping and signing the BR-1 form. The Ward Licensing Officer swill then refer the client to licensing main office at City Hall Nairobi town for the next step.
Step 4. At licensing main office at City hall, the application form will be approved by the signatories before presenting to Data entry clerks for data capturing in the Single Business Permit database.
Step 5. After capturing the data, an invoice/bill is generated for you.
Step 6. You will be issued with an invoice upon which you will be required to make payment to Cash Office or via Paybill number and obtain original receipts.
Step 7. You will then present the application form and the original receipt to the license Reception Desk officer for recording the details in the register.
The Reception Desk Officer shall then take the application forms to the Single Business Permit (SBP) Printing Office for Printing of License. The Officer in charge shall print, record and take the printout to the signatories for final signature.
Step 8. Once signed by signatories, the Single Business Permit is received by Registry, where it is stamped again and taken to dispatch office for collection by the business owner or applicant.
Also Read:Nairobi Parking charges for various parking Zones
Nairobi county online business permit application process
Step 1. You will sign up on the Nairobi county self-service portal with your details if you do not have an account.
Step 2. Log in to your account, you will be directed to the homepage.
Step 3. Locate the Single Business Permit option on the homepage and click on it.
Step 4. If you are applying for the first time click on the register option. If you had applied before click on renew option. From here, you will be able to see the exact Nairobi City County business permit rates in that particular business year.
Step 5. Carefully check to make sure the option you select is related to your business and that you can confirm the charges.
Step 6. Now fill in the business ID which can be found on the previous business permits if you had applied before. On the business permit, the ID is on the top right side just below the ‘BID.’
Enter the year you want to renew, the amount you are going to pay and then click ‘check status’.
Step 7. If you are applying for the first time, then you will notice that your wallet is empty and therefore the message that your wallet does not have funds.
Just below the message is you will find another tab to top up your account.
Step 8. Upon clicking on top up, you will be lead to the Nairobi county E-wallet, add your phone number for Mpesa form of payment and click okay. You will receive a push notification for Mpesa payment. You can also use jambo Pay as an alternative payment option.
Step 9. Just enter your Mpesa PIN number to complete the transaction. If the push notification is not available, you will click the Mpesa option, and you will be lead to other options that are straightforward. Note the pay bill number and the account number assigned to you down.
You will also need to key in your pin or password. This is the same pin or password that you used to log in with.
Step 10. You will then receive a confirmation text from Nairobi county that your payment has been received.
Step 11. To finalize the process, you will then need to retype your pin and submit the details.
Step 12. The system will now prompt you with two links, one will be to print your business permit and the other one will be about printing the receipt.
Step13. From Here, you will print the business permit by clicking on the print permit link and then download it.
Also Read:Nairobi County Mpesa Paybill Number. How to pay for parking fee
Payment did not go through
If for one reason or another the payment did not go through due to system error, wrong account or insufficient amount in your mobile wallet, you will then be redirected back to the page where it said that you did not have enough funds, but this time, the system will prompt you to ‘proceed to complete payment’.
From here you can now go display your permit on the wall of your shop
You can always log into your account any day and reprint your certificate