Kenya - Renewal of Accreditation of Journalists

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Procedure

• An application for renewal of accreditation shall be made not earlier than thirty days before the expiry date.

Apply Online

1. An applicant can apply for renewal of accreditation as a journalist online by visiting the Media Council of Kenya (MCK’s) Website and make an application through MCK’s online portal through the following link: Online Accreditation Portal
2. Please visit to the Media Council of Kenya (MCK’s) Website homepage and scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Accreditation Icon to proceed to the accreditation portal.
3. Upon entering the accreditation portal’s homepage, click on the “Journalist” tab and then choose the “First time login?” option so as to begin your renewal process.
4. You will be taken to the next page once you click the “First time login?” option where you will be asked to provide your Press card number (MCK number) or the email address which you provided during accreditation and click on the “Send Reset Token”.
5. This will lead to a password reset token to be sent to you via email and a Short Message Service.

   • Use the token to reset your password.

6. Please use your email address and password to log into the portal. Here click on the “Membership Renewal” tab and select the “New renewal” Option to apply for accreditation.
7. Upon clicking the “New Renewal” Option, you will be taken to the next page where you have to choose the category of accreditation you want to renew: i.e.

   • National Journalists working in media enterprises
   • Freelance journalists
   • Foreign Journalist (Long term / Short term)
   • Students
   • Public Relations Practitioners
   • Media Trainers

8. Fill in the required information and click on the “Submit” button for review.
9. Proceed to the make the accreditation renewal payment through Mpesa using the instructions provided in the portal. The Payment instructions will be generated and displayed automatically in the portal.
10. Once you have made the payment a pdf copy of your Renewed Press Card will be availed in your MCK account , a hard copy of the Renewed Press Card can be picked in person from the Council’s Office at Britam Center, Upper-Hill, Nairobi.

    • You will be required to provide proof of identification while collecting the Renewed Press Card.
    • You will be also required to surrender the expired Press card to the Council.

Apply In-Person

1. An applicant can also apply for renewal of accreditation as a journalist in person by visiting the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) offices .The contact information of the MCK offices can be found in the “Office Location & Contact” Section of this page.
2. Here the applicant will be given an Accreditation Application Form to fill and submit. The application form can also downloaded from the MCK’s official website through the following link .
3. Fill in the application form and attach the required documents. A list of the required documents is mentioned in the “Required Documents” section of this page.

   • Note: make sure you choose the category of accreditation you want to renew on the application form: i.e.

   1. Local Journalist
   2. Foreign Journalist
   3. Student /Intern
   4. Other (Here specify any other category not mentioned above)

4. Submit the completed application form and all the required documents to the Media Council Of Kenya (MCK) Offices and proceed to pay the required renewal fees. Details of the required renewal fees for accreditation are provided in the “Fees” Section of this page.
5. Submit the renewal payment receipt to the MCK Offices for processing of your application to begin.
6. Once the renewal accreditation process is completed the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) will contact the applicant to collect the accreditation card in person.

   • Accreditation renewal is usually completed after a period of seven days.

7. The applicant will be required to produce proof of identity while collecting his renewed accreditation card (Press Card).

   • You will be also required to surrender the expired Press card to the Council.

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Required Documents

The Accreditation Renewal Requirements

• The following are the requirements for renewal of accreditation;

1. Local Journalists/Media Practitioners

• Press card
• A clear passport size digital photograph

2. Freelance Journalists

• Press card
• A clear passport size digital photograph

3. Foreign Journalists

• Press card
• A clear passport size digital photograph
• Valid Work permit
• Passport

4. Students

• Press card
• A letter from training institution indicating that the student is to go for internship
• Valid Student ID
• A clear passport size digital photograph

Office Locations & Contacts

Media Council of Kenya - Head Office
Address: Ground Floor, Britam Centre,
Mara/Ragati Road Junction,Upper Hill
P.O. Box 43132 00100 Nairobi
Kenya
Tel :+254 727 735252, +254 702 558233, +254 702 558234,+254 702 558453
MCK Website
contact details
Accreditation Portal

Eligibility

The following cadres of people are eligible for accreditation:

1. Accredited Journalists working in media enterprises whose permit is about to expire.
2. Accredited Freelance journalists whose press card is about to about to expire.
3. Accredited Foreign Journalist whose press card is about to about to expire.
4. Accredited Students pursuing media, journalism and communication studies whose press card is about to about to expire.
5. Accredited Public Relations Practitioners whose press card is about to about to expire.
6. Accredited Advertising Companies whose permit is about to expire.
7. Accredited Media Trainers whose press card is about to about to expire.

Fees

Accreditation Renewal Fees:

1. Local National Journalist: Ksh 2,000
2. Foreign Journalist: (Long Term more than 3 months) Ksh 10,000
3. Foreign Journalist (Short Term - Up to 3 Months): Ksh 5,000
4. Student: Ksh 300
5. Public Relations Practitioners : Ksh 2,000
6. Freelance journalists: Ksh 2,000
7. Media Trainers:Ksh 2,000

Validity

• Valid for 1 year.

Documents to Use

• Accreditation Form

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• The processing time is one week.

Related Videos

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'.

Instructions

Please provide other instructions related to the certificate/documents.
e.g. The state office holds birth records since january 1908.

Required Information

Personal Information

1. Full names
2. Date of birth
3. Nationality
4. Id/Passport number
5. Postal address
6. Telephone number
7. Mobile number
8. Email address

Need for the Document

• Any individual accredited journalist in Kenya shall have to renew their press hard after a limited validation period to continue their practice in journalism.

Information which might help

• Privacy of Accreditation Information: Once a journalist is accredited, they agree to disclosure of their accreditation status including when they were accredited, the organization they work for and their academic qualification
• The accreditation granted under this Regulation may be renewed on the receipt of an application in this behalf by the journalist or media practitioner to whom it was granted.
• An application for renewal of accreditation shall be made in writing in the Form set out in the prescribed form.
• On the renewal application, an applicant is required to surrender the expired press card to the council
• While submitting the renewal application, an applicant is required to surrender the expired press card to the council.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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

External Links

• Guidelines
• Guideline
• Service Charter
• Code of Conduct
• Media Council Act
• Proposed Subscription And Accreditation Fees
• The Media Practitioners’ Codes of Conduct

Others

• Pursuant to sections 4, 6(h), 23(c) and 46 of the Media Council Act no 46 of 2013, the Media Council of Kenya undertakes Annual Accreditation of journalists practicing in Kenya for purposes of compiling and maintaining a register of journalists, media practitioners, media enterprises and media training institutions in Kenya.
• One of its main aims is to improve professionalism among journalists as it ensures that all accredited journalists have the right skills to carry out their duties in a professional manner as accorded to by the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya. It also fulfills the Council’s mandate to compile and maintain a register of journalists, media practitioners, media enterprises and such other related registers.