- Remote setup
- Possible
- Visit, notary or lawyer
- Not required
- Local director
- Unclear
- Registered address
- Unclear
- Minimum capital
- Not stated
- Yearly upkeep
- Not stated
- EU member
- No
- IWG business address
- 22 centresfrom $30/mo
What the registry requires
| Company type | Private company limited by shares (Companies Act 2015) |
|---|---|
| Registry | Business Registration Service (BRS), via eCitizen |
| Government filing fee | Varies — BRS publishes a Companies Registry fee schedule, but brs.go.ke did not resolve during research and the amounts could not be read. |
| Registration time | No official processing time retrieved. |
| Resident director | BRS pages (extract) require a statement of proposed officers but say nothing reachable about director residency. |
| Visit, notary or lawyer | BRS: company registration is fully online on eCitizen; name reservation and registration are one merged step with three preferred names and electronic payment. |
| Registered address | Registered-office rule not readable on an official page during research. |
| Minimum capital | Not stated |
| Corporate tax | KRA: resident companies taxed at 30%; non-resident companies at 37.5%. |
| Every year | Annual-return fee sits in the unreachable BRS fee schedule. |
What it costs
- Government filing fee
- Varies
BRS publishes a Companies Registry fee schedule, but brs.go.ke did not resolve during research and the amounts could not be read.
- Every year
- Not stated
Annual-return fee sits in the unreachable BRS fee schedule.
- Not included
- Provider fees
Registered agent or address, notary fees, accounting and bank onboarding vary by provider — ask for a quote in the request form.
How to register a company in Kenya, step by step
- Create an eCitizen account for the applicant.
- Submit up to three preferred company names inside the single online application.
- Upload the memorandum of association, statement of capital and initial shareholdings, and statement of proposed officers.
- Pay the registration fee electronically (mobile money or card).
- Download the certificate of incorporation once BRS approves.
- Register with KRA for a company PIN and with NSSF and SHA as employer.
Corporate tax in Kenya
30%. KRA: resident companies taxed at 30%; non-resident companies at 37.5%.
Rates are the headline figures published by the tax authority; your effective rate depends on residence, activity and treaties. This is not tax advice.
Common mistakes
- Filing a stand-alone name search and waiting, when name reservation is now merged into the registration form.
- Exceeding fifty members, which breaks the private-company status.
- Ignoring the 37.5% non-resident rate when planning a branch instead of a local company.
Compare Kenya with alternatives
| Yearly upkeep | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 KenyaPrivate limited | Varies | Not stated | 30% | Unclear | Not required | Unclear | Not stated |
 AlgeriaSARL | DZD 4,000 | 2-3 weeks | 26% (19-26%) | Conditional | Notary | Required | Not stated |
 EgyptLLC | EGP 250 | 1 business day | Not stated | Unclear | Depends | Unclear | Not stated |
 GhanaPrivate limited | GHS 585 | Not stated | 25% | Resident director | Depends | Required | GHS 175 a year |
4 of 4 · official sources, checked September 27, 2026. Government fees only; agent and address costs are extra.≈ USD at ECB reference rates of September 25, 2026.
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Sources
- Online registration on eCitizen; merged name reservation; documents; max 50 members — brs.go.ke, checked September 27, 2026 (search extract)
- Companies Registry fee schedule (amounts not retrievable) — brs.go.ke, checked September 27, 2026 (search extract)
- Resident companies 30%, non-resident 37.5% — kra.go.ke, checked September 27, 2026
- Procedure 'Register a local company for foreigners' exists (content JS-only) — eprocedures.investkenya.go.ke, checked September 27, 2026
- Step 3 'Register your company': BRS, KRA, NSSF, SHA — investkenya.go.ke, checked September 27, 2026