How to apply for a lost birth certificate in Kenya

If you have lost your birth certificate you might want to replace it as soon as possible. Your birth certificate if the first identification document to enable you to access some services at the government.

Once you reach 18 years, you can then apply for a National Identity card, but you’ll still need your birth certificate to do this.

Having your birth certificate can help ease the application of other important documents you might require in life such as passport, visas, ID or in some other cases, applying for a school.  

So, if you’ve lost your birth certificate as an adult, here are two ways you can apply for one.

Physical application

For you to apply for the birth certificate, you’ll first be required to have a copy of your birth notification or the birth certificate. In case you don’t have a copy, you’ll be required to go to the Civil Registry in your County to retrieve one.

If you were born within Nairobi County, you can visit the Office of the Registration of Births and Deaths or visit the Huduma Centre. Here, you can present the notification slip, which simply validates your date of birth, and once validated, you can then fill a form (B1) and submit it to the civil registration officer.

If you were born outside Nairobi, visit Hass Plaza, 4th Floor at Lower Hill Road. The processing fee is usually about Sh50 to Sh180. You will then receive a notification of when you can collect your birth certificate.

To make this application, you’ll require the following documents;

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-        <!--[endif]-->National Identity Card

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-        <!--[endif]-->Original ID Card/Passport/Births Certificate of both parents. In case one of the parents is dead, you’ll be required to present the death certificate.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-        <!--[endif]-->A baptismal card

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-        <!--[endif]-->School leaving certificate

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-        <!--[endif]-->In case you don’t have the parent’s ID, you can visit the National Registration Bureau for printout.

Online application

To apply for your birth certificate online, go to the ecitizen portal and if you don’t have an account, you’ll have to create one.

Once you’ve logged in at the portal, scroll down to the civil registration department and click on the ‘get service button.’ After that, click on the ‘make application’ and select birth certificate. You can follow the instructions thereafter then submit. You’ll have to pay a fee of Sh180, which can be paid through Lipa na Mpesa.

For the processing to begin, submit a copy of the ecitizen invoice to the ACK Bishop House located at Bishop’s Road off Ngong Road. When submitting to ACK Bishop House, remember to present the documents as mentioned in the physical application above.