Kenya company search: Business Registration Service (brs.go.ke)

TL;DR. Kenya’s Business Registration Service (BRS) site at https://brs.go.ke is titled Business Registration Service | Doing Business Made Easier. Its Fee Schedule - Companies Registry lists Official Search (Companies) at 650, document CR12, timed as immediate for verified companies and 3-5 days for non-verified ones; Official Search (Business Names) at 250, document CR13. The same table also lists Official Search (Companies) at 600 and Official Search (Business Names) at 200. The fee page says those services have to be done on the E-Citizen platform, with payment by electronic means such as mobile money, credit or debit cards. https://accounts.ecitizen.go.ke/ and https://brs.ecitizen.go.ke/ blocked automated checks, and https://businessregistration.go.ke no longer resolves.

What is the official Kenya business registry?

The Business Registration Service (BRS) is Kenya’s statutory company registry, established under the Business Registration Service Act, Cap. 14H of the Laws of Kenya. It operates under the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice and administers the Companies Act No. 17 of 2015.

The agency site is https://brs.go.ke. Its Companies Registry page states that the registry administers the Companies Act 2015, the Registration of Business Names Act Cap. 499, and the Limited Liability Partnerships Act No. 42 of 2011. Core functions listed there include registration of companies, LLPs, and business names; registration of debentures and charges; maintenance of statutory records; and enforcing compliance.

Transactional search and payment are described on the fee schedule as E-Citizen platform work. https://accounts.ecitizen.go.ke/ blocked automated checks, so the search screen behind it could not be reached.

The BRS registers private companies limited by shares, public limited companies, companies limited by guarantee, unlimited companies, foreign companies (branches), limited liability partnerships (LLPs), limited partnerships (LPs), and business names (sole proprietors and partnerships).

Kenya is a member of the East African Community (EAC) and a founding member of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

What can you search?

The BRS site is an agency and fees site rather than a company-name search form. Official Search products on its fee table:

• Official Search (Companies): fee 650, document issued CR12. The table times it as immediate for verified companies and 3-5 days for non-verified ones. A later row on the same table lists Official Search (Companies) at 600, timed as immediate.
• Official Search (Business Names): fee 250, document issued CR13. The table times it as immediate for verified businesses and 3-5 days for non-verified ones. A later row lists Official Search (Business Names) at 200, timed as immediate.

Director and shareholder field lists could not be reached on eCitizen, and no free name search is confirmed here; confirm at source.

Kenya’s Companies Act 2015 (as amended) requires companies to maintain a register of persons with significant control (PSC). Public searchability of that PSC register is not described on the BRS site; confirm at source.

How much does it cost?

Source: https://brs.go.ke/fee-schedule-companies-registry/. No other shilling extract figures appear on that table. Incorporation fees on the same table, for example Private Limited Company Kshs 10,650, are registration products rather than search products. The US dollar figures above are approximate conversions rather than BRS quotes. The fee page states payment is by electronic means such as mobile money, credit or debit cards, on the E-Citizen platform.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Yes for the transactional path described on the live fee schedule (E-Citizen platform). The BRS home includes links to accounts.ecitizen.go.ke/login. That login host blocked automated checks, so the passport as against national-ID registration steps could not be confirmed; confirm at source.

Is the website in English?

Yes. https://brs.go.ke and the fee schedule are in English. eCitizen could not be reached, so its language is not confirmed.

What’s the turnaround time?

The BRS fee table times Official Search (Companies) as immediate for verified companies and 3-5 days for non-verified ones. That timing applies to the Official Search product only, not to other BRS products. eCitizen fulfilment could not be reached; confirm at source.

Is there an API?

No public API for company data queries is published on the BRS site. Automated bulk access to registry data is not permitted.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) at kra.go.ke offers a PIN verification service for tax compliance. That is a separate system from the BRS company registry.

What you legally cannot do

Kenya’s Data Protection Act 2019 governs the processing of personal data. Director names, shareholder details, and addresses extracted from BRS records constitute personal data under the Act when processed by a private entity. KYC and AML compliance constitute legitimate processing purposes, but redistribution of personal data from BRS records for commercial resale requires an appropriate legal basis under the Act and registration with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) at odpc.go.ke.

Automated scraping of the eCitizen portal and BRS registry is prohibited under the system’s terms of use.

Kenya’s AML/CFT framework is administered by the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) at frc.go.ke, established under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA) 2009.

For broader due diligence on Kenyan counterparties, the Global Business Due Diligence Guide covers Kenya’s risk positioning in the Africa compliance tier.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• Use the company registration number as the primary search key. Kenyan company names can be similar across many entities.
• Official Search is a paid CR12/CR13 product on the fee table. BRS search is not a free lookup.
• eCitizen blocked automated checks. Order fulfilment could not be confirmed from outside Kenya.
• Distinguish companies from business names. A business name (BN) registration is not a separate legal entity.
• FATF enhanced due diligence. Kenya has been on the FATF grey list since February 2024. Verify current status at fatf-gafi.org.

Alternatives if you cannot access BRS directly

• Aggregator search (indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes BRS filings but may lag official data.
• Commercial data suppliers (see section below): packaged company intelligence combining BRS data with credit and risk scoring.

Local data suppliers

• Dun & Bradstreet East Africa (dnb.com). Global data provider with East Africa coverage.
• Creditinfo Kenya (creditinfo.co.ke). Kenya-licensed credit bureau operating under the Central Bank of Kenya’s bureau framework.
• Metropol Corporation (metropol.co.ke). Kenya-based credit reference bureau licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya.

Use BRS for the authoritative company registration record. Use a credit bureau when you need payment behavior, financial health, or director-linked risk scoring on top of the registry extract.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Kenya BRS registry directly?

The BRS agency site is reachable. Official Search is listed as an E-Citizen platform service. accounts.ecitizen.go.ke and brs.ecitizen.go.ke blocked automated checks. The immediate timing applies only to the verified Official Search rows on the fee table.

What is the company registration number format in Kenya?

The primary company identifier in Kenya is the company registration number issued by BRS. Formats such as CPR/YYYY/NNNNNN have been reported; confirm at source.

What entity types are registered with BRS?

The BRS registers private companies limited by shares, public limited companies, companies limited by guarantee, unlimited companies, foreign companies (branches), limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships, and business names. Co-operative societies are registered with the Commissioner for Co-operatives, not BRS.

Does Kenya have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

The Companies Act 2015 (as amended) requires a PSC register. Public searchability is not described on the BRS site, so PSC data is not a public search product here; confirm at source.

How current is the data in the BRS registry?

Data freshness is not stated on any reachable search-results page, because eCitizen blocked automated checks. Official Search for non-verified companies is listed at 3-5 days on the fee table.

Is Kenya on the FATF grey list?

Yes. Kenya was added to the FATF Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring (grey) list in February 2024. Confirm current status at fatf-gafi.org.

What is the difference between BRS company registration and Kenya Revenue Authority tax registration?

BRS issues the company registration number upon incorporation. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) issues a separate PIN for tax purposes. For complete due diligence, verify both BRS status and KRA compliance.

Last verified: September 2026. Sources: brs.go.ke and brs.go.ke/fee-schedule-companies-registry/, which carries the Official Search 650/250 and 600/200 rows; accounts.ecitizen.go.ke and brs.ecitizen.go.ke, which blocked automated checks; businessregistration.go.ke, which no longer resolves. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.