Apply In-Person:

1. To apply for a trade license in Kenya, the applicant has to contact the concerned trade licensing office in the county where the business intends to operate in. Contact information of County government offices can be found in the “Contact” section of this page or through the following links. link 1 and link 2
2. Here the applicant will be given an application form by a trade licensing officer to fill and submit.
3. Fill in the application and attach the required documents. A list of the can be found under the Required Documents" section of this page.
4. Proceed to pay the required application fees and attach the payment receipt to the application document. The application fees to be paid can be found under the "Fees" section of this page.
5. The applicant should note that the fees are paid upfront and are non-refundable
6. Submit the completed application form, requirements and payment receipt to the trade licensing officer for verification and approval.
7. At this point the trade licensing officer will issue the applicant with a provisional license to enable the trader to continue with operations of the business before the issuance of the main trade license.
8. The board will review the application regarding any areas of noncompliance with the license requirements which the applicant is required to address.
9. In addition, the board conducts a premise inspection to ensure that the applicant has adequate technical and administrative capacity to carry out the business for which the license is sought.
10. The licensing officer may require further details merited to finalize the application request.
11. Upon successful review and approval of the application the applicant will be advised by the board when trade license certificate is available for collection.
12. The whole process usually takes one month to complete.

• Completed Application Form and application fee
• Copy of Certificate of Incorporation for a company or registration certificate in case of individuals or partnership applicant.
• Proof of availability of business premises (written undertaking lease in lieu of agreement or tittle deed).
• Certified copies of valid ID for citizens, and passport for non-citizen Directors and Shareholders
• ertified copies of valid work and residence permits for non-citizen managers.
• A covering letter explaining how the business would operate and provide itemized list of goods or services.
• Satisfactory Physical Planners report for zoning of the plot.
• Clearance certificate from concerning state authorities (Health, Construction Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards. Etc.)

Department of Internal Trade - Head Office
Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development (MoITED)
Social Security House,
Block A, 17th, 23rd Floor
P.O. Box 30418-00100,
Nairobi, Kenya
Telephone: +254 20-2731531,
Fax: +254 20-2731511 Email: ps@industrialization.go.ke cs@industrialization.go.ke
Website: Link

• E-Citizen : Business registration services
  

• Individuals wishing to conduct business in Kenya are eligible to make the application.

• Licensing fees vary with the type of business to engage in. The applicant will be will be advised by the county licensing officer on the amount of fees to be paid.
• A list of Trade Licence Fees for Various Business can be found from page 16 to 25 of the following Document Link
• Licence fees payable for the grant of a business or trade licence for new businesses shall be calculated on a pro rata basis having regard to the period remaining in a calendar year after the date on which the trade licence was granted, unless it was granted on the first day of that calendar year.

• The validity of a license shall run from the date of grant thereof and be valid for the remainder of the calendar year and shall expire at midnight on the thirty first day of December in the same year.

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

• Once an application has been accepted the processing of application will take a maximum of 30 working days.

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M".

• A person shall be deemed to operate without a valid trade license upon non-renewal of a trade license.
• The Chief Licensing Officer shall grant an application for a trade license if
  • Satisfied that the applicant has complied with all laws relating to health, hygiene and safety applicable to the trade license applied for; and
  • the license fee has been paid to the receiver of revenue.
• A trade license shall be issued in the approved form and subject to specified
• A trade license shall itemize the nature and kind of business or businesses which the holder is allowed to undertake.
• A trade license may be granted for several related businesses being undertaken within the same premises provided that they are owned by the same proprietor and provided the owner has met all the conditions required for the conduct of the business.

• Applicant’s name and description of business, profession, trade or occupation to be conducted.
• Name under which business, profession, trade or occupation is or is to be carried on.
• If business is a partnership, give full names and addresses of all partners.
• Give any registration details of the business, profession, trade or occupation.
• Address at which the business, profession, trade or occupation is or is to be carried on.
• List PO Box address of the business, profession, trade or occupation and email and telephone contacts.
• Provide a description of the premises including address to which the license is to apply.
• Is the applicant a resident of Kenya?
• Is the applicant an undischarged bankrupt?
• State the date on which it is desired to begin conducting the business, profession, trade or occupation or the number of the previous license.

• Holders of a trade license are authorized to conduct business in Kenya.
• A person shall not conduct any business within the country without a trade licence.

• “Trade license” in relation to a business, means a license granted to contact the business in Kenya.
• Where a licence is not renewed after a period of thirty days after the expiry of such license, the owner of the business or trade shall be deemed to be operating without a license and shall pay in addition to the license fee, a sum prescribed under this Act.

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

• Nairobi City County Acts
• KENYA GAZETTE SUPPLEMENT VIHIGA COUNTY ACTS, 2017

More information which might help people.