The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has outlined new measures for car dealers and owners to verify that an imported vehicle's logbook from another country is legitimate before local registration.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

To facilitate easy verification, NTSA will integrate its systems with Kenya TradeNet and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) customs system. This is the first step in verifying documents for imported motor vehicles.

Kenya TradeNet is an electronic platform that allows traders and logistics companies to digitally submit documents, apply for permits, and process payments with various government agencies in one place.

According to NTSA, once an importer submits their import documents, the authority will validate the foreign logbook against approved sources before issuing a Kenyan e-logbook.

📌 What You Need to Know

Responding to concerns about whether the process could be circumvented, NTSA said, "This cannot be bypassed."

This comes as the authority prepares to migrate to the e-Logbook system, a new digital motor vehicle registration framework set to completely phase out physical, paper-based vehicle logbooks.

The system is officially scheduled to go live on June 10, 2026, shifting all vehicle ownership, management, and verification services to the cloud.

Under the new system, vehicle owners can view and download their digital logbooks at no cost via the eCitizen portal, eliminating the previous Ksh2,600 fee charged for physical duplicate or replacement logbooks.

The authority has also said that vehicle transfers will be completed within one working day.

NTSA says the e-Logbook will be central to all its interactions through the eCitizen platform. It will automate and provide instant updates for new vehicle registrations, transfers of ownership, vehicle inspection status, and changes to vehicle particulars such as colour modifications and engine swaps.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke