The first step to registering your sole business is by securing your business name which is done online using e-Citizen platform, whether the intended business is a partnership, a sole proprietorship or a limited company.
Name searches are processed in 24 hours, and only one name can be submitted at a time. This is done daily from Monday to Friday between 8 am to 5 pm excluding weekends and public holidays.
Once your submission is approved, the preferred business name will be reserved for 30 days.
In case the application submitted is rejected, then it means that the name you selected has already been used or is contrary to public policy and therefore you will be required to make another application with a different name.
This is the first step before starting a business registration in Kenya.
Once the submitted name is approved, you now proceed to registration where the following is required:
In addition to the above, the following documents are also required:
For the case of a proprietorship or partnership, a form BN2 is filled and submitted.
For a limited company,details of shares held are also filled where the following are signed and submitted:
Once all the above is filled in the e-citizen portal, it takes around 3-5 working days for the registration to be approved