The government is planning to abolish the KSh200 fee charged for birth certificates in a sweeping reform aimed at making vital registration documents easier and faster to access for millions of Kenyans.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The move, which is part of a broader digital transformation programme, could completely change how Kenyans obtain birth and death certificates by eliminating long queues, middlemen, and endless trips to registration offices.

Officials say the changes are designed to simplify access to critical documents while reducing the burden on ordinary Kenyans already struggling with the rising cost of living.

“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,” Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said while explaining the reforms.

📌 What You Need to Know

Under the new system, children born in hospitals will automatically receive a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) at birth, allowing parents to print birth certificates directly from cyber cafés without physically visiting civil registration offices.

This follows after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen confirmed the developments on Monday, June 22, stating that Kenyans can now download the document online and print it without visiting Huduma centres or other civil registry officers to obtain it.

Murkomen's announcement followed after a high-level consultative meeting was held at Nyayo House, Nairobi, between the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services and senior government officials, where progress on service delivery reforms was reviewed.

According to Murkomen, the new system is part of broader efforts to streamline access to civil registration documents and reduce the time, cost, and bureaucracy traditionally associated with obtaining them.

Now, once a child is born, the hospital captures the baby’s details alongside the parents’ information in a digital system connected to a national identity database. The system then automatically generates a Unique Personal Identifier for the newborn.

With that number, parents will no longer need to search for birth notification documents or queue for processing at civil registration offices, instead, they will simply visit a cyber café and print the birth certificate.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke