State abolishes authentication fees for birth certificates

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen leading the country in celebrating Identity Day in Homa Bay County/MINA

Kenyans applying for national identity cards and passports will no longer be required to pay authentication fees for birth certificates, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced.

Speaking in Homa Bay County during celebrations marking International Identity Day 2025, Murkomen said the move eliminates an unnecessary financial burden and is part of the government's broader effort to simplify access to legal identity documents.

“The ministry is reviewing this policy with a view to making issuance of these certificates free of charge, to ensure every child born in Kenya has access to a birth certificate regardless of income or location,” said the CS.

Currently, while birth and death registration within the first six months is free, applicants must pay a fee to obtain the official certificate and an additional charge for authentication—the process of verifying the document’s validity.

The removal of authentication fees is expected to ease access to legal documentation, especially for low-income and marginalised families.

Murkomen also announced a comprehensive policy review aimed at recognising and documenting small and unrecognised communities, many of whom face systemic barriers in obtaining identification documents.

“We will be introducing user-friendly systems, allowing citizens to initiate and track their applications online. Kenyans should have real-time information on the progress and status of their national identification applications,” he added.

During his speech, the CS emphasised that identity is a fundamental human right, and reaffirmed the government's commitment to achieving universal birth registration coverage.

He revealed that the Ministry of Interior is expanding Civil Registration Services to ensure all 290 constituencies are served by 2027.

“Every child must have access to birth registration services as close to their place of birth as possible,” he noted.

As part of its identity management reforms, the government also launched a real-time biometric ID verification system during the event, intended to strengthen document integrity and streamline verification across agencies.

International Identity Day, observed annually, serves as a global reminder of the importance of legal identity — affirming every individual's right to be recognized, counted, and to belong.