Huduma Kenya confirms birth certificate fees remain despite waiver plans

Kenyans applying for birth certificates will still have to pay the current fees despite government plans to abolish the charges, Huduma Kenya has confirmed.

The clarification comes after members of the public sought answers on whether the announced waiver had already taken effect. According to Huduma Kenya, the existing fee structure remains in force.

Applicants are still required to pay Ksh250 for a new birth certificate, Ksh500 for late registration and Ksh1,000 for applications involving corrections.

“The cost for new certificates is Ksh 250, late registration is Ksh 500, and applications with corrections are Ksh 1,000,” Huduma Kenya said in response after being asked whether the charges were still effective.

The confirmation comes as many Kenyans await the rollout of reforms designed to improve access to civil registration services by removing some of the costs associated with obtaining official documents.

Earlier this week, Immigration Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang announced that the government intends to scrap birth certificate application fees as part of a wider digital transformation programme. The ministry has also introduced online access to the document through the eCitizen platform.

“If we are removing Ksh300 for IDs and Ksh1,000 for replacement, then we will also discuss removing the birth certificate fee to make it easy for Kenyans to get the documents they need,” Kipsang said while explaining the reforms.

Under the proposed system, children born in hospitals will automatically receive a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) at birth. Parents will then be able to print birth certificates through cyber cafés without visiting civil registration offices.

The reforms are also expected to cover death registration. The government says it is finalising a digital notification system that will automatically generate a registration number once a death is reported through hospitals and other relevant institutions.

For now, however, Huduma Kenya’s latest clarification means the current birth certificate fees remain unchanged until the government formally implements the proposed waiver.

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