• October 6, 2025
company

Register a company and start your own business? anyone……In  a pandemic where people have lost jobs and their livelihoods you can stand out and try out something of your own.In kenya you can venture into business putting your dreams and ideas into action and watch them grow . Yes , it’s tough but it’s really worth the shot than sitting on the sidelines waiting for something to work out for you out of the blues.It’s better to try and fail than not do something at all.

lets dig in. Here are some of the simple steps on how to fully register a company….no matter how small it may be e.g sole proprietorship

The body tasked with registering companies in Kenya is the registrar of companies, all processes are controlled from it such as handing certificates of compliance and incorporation.

Requirements

  • National Social Security Fund (NSSF) card
  • Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) certificate
  •  National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) membership
  • A national ID or passport
  • An active email address Phone number
  • A passport-sized photo in soft copy format
  •  Business name Company details such as directors
  • Registration fee and a payment method such as a Visa card.

Step by step procedure

1.Access ecitizen

Register /login into citizen platform once you have logged on the platform head on to Bussiness registration services and click on to  Get-services

2.Choose type of company you want to start

Choose your company type namely:

  • Private Limited Company (LTD):
  • Company Limited by Guarantee (LTD):
  • Limited Liability Partnership (LLP):
  • Foreign company
  • Sole proprietorship

3.Register bussiness name

By  now you may have a  name  well thought out but you have to apply for Name Search and Reservation. as  applicants are needed to go through this procedure, which takes roughly takes one day. Search Fee of Ksh. 100 and Convenience Fee of Ksh. 50 is payable.But before all that kindly take this rules

  • Companies with an “Enterprise” at the end cannot use initials such as B.K, Ben, Kevin, or even Brian.
  • Names with “Foundation” suffix must be registered as Limited by Guarantee.
  • Names with “Projects,” “Groups,” “Holdings,” and “Universities” should be under limited.
  • Single words are rejected. For instance, you cannot name your organization, “Soko.”
  • Offensive words are unacceptable regardless of whether they are in your mother tongue or vernacular.
  • Political names such as “Kikuyu Youth Alliance” are forbidden. Numbers in the name are not accepted unless it’s the current year. For example, “Anti-Locusts limited, 2021.”
  • Names with a prefix “Kenya” are only used by government agencies.
  • Church, ministry or ministries are unacceptable.
  • Trust Foundation suffix is never allowed.
  • The registrar deals with companies only and not clubs or societies.
  • Welfare, organization, or association names are never accepted.
  • You cannot modify an existing company. For instance, changing Royco to Royco Kenya.

3.Filling CR1 form

AFter your name is approved  you can proceed  by  filling out  your firm’s name, location, type,  etc . Specify the business start date, number of employees, and accounting period. The contact address field is mandatory and should be filled correctly. Enter the details of all the directors and attach their KRA PIN certificates, Passport-sized pictures, and ID card. You should also make sure the company structure is well shown in the document as well as paid-up capital.

4.Filling CR8 form

A CR8. form captures  each of the directors’ residence information including  their legal names, home addresses, signatures, and dates.

5.Filling BN6 form

ABn6 form requires companies to abide by  KRA  and  declaringtheir capital holdings. On this document, fill in your approved firm name and your name.

6.Stamp duty payment

The amount paid is equivalent to 1% of your nominal capital. The minimum is Ksh. 2,140. You will also shell out Ksh. 100 for each document t that requires verification.

6.Draft the Memorandum and Articles of Association

These  documents outline your company’s objectives, rules, authorized capital share, and subscribers. Before filling your final paperwork, make sure these documents are well-written by an lawyer

7.File complete forms and pay the registration fees

All Forms above CR1, CR8, and BN6, as well as MOU and Article of Association, should be collected together. Relevant copies of the needed documents should be attached. and Sealed in a large envelope and addressed  to  registrar of companies. But before to finish up the registration you need to pay Ksh. 10,650 via the eCitizen portal.The envelope address shuld read.

  • The Chief Registrar of the Judiciary,
  • Supreme Court Building,
  • P.O BOX 30041 – 00100,
  • Nairobi,
  • Kenya.

8.Complete and Download cerificate

After a week or so  you can now logon  to ecitizen platform and download your certificate and  start your business venture worry free

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