Government needs Sh4.2 billion to process and issue six million ID cards to Kenyans
Uncollected National Identity Cards at Bima Tower Buildings in Mombasa on January 16, 2017.
The government says that it requires at least Sh4 billion to process and issue over six million identity cards to Kenyans this year, following the repeal of a gazette notice that had imposed application charges on the critical government document.
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang made the revelations to the Administration and Internal Security Committee of the National Assembly, noting that the waiver of the Sh300 for first-time ID applicants and Sh1,000 for those seeking replacements has seen “an influx” of applications from Kenyans.
Read: Widowed, waiting and forgotten: Tanzanian woman in Kenya yet to hear of foreign spouse ID drive
“Many Kenyans were left out when a fee was imposed on the replacement of lost or damaged IDs. With the Interior Cabinet Secretary having de-gazetted the ID fees, we are going to witness an influx of applications from Kenyans for the document,” said Dr Kipsang.
Data from the National Registration Bureau, the department charged with issuing ID cards, indicates that of the 915,101 applications for IDs that were made in 2014, over 175,000 were rejected.
The waiver is set to last until after the 2027 general election to allow Kenyans of qualified age to register as voters.
The amount is expected to be factored into the supplementary budget for the 2025/26 financial year expected to be tabled in the National Assembly in the coming days.
But even as Dr Kipsang floated the amount required to process the IDs, he did not explain how the number of Kenyans seeking the document was arrived at, only saying that the projection was based on demand, which the committee members found to be inconclusive.
“I expected you to tell us that the projection is based on the data at the National Registration Bureau or the registration of births. But coming here to float the figures without supporting data casts doubts about the authenticity of the budget you are seeking,” said Suna West MP Peter Masara.
The degazettement of the ID application fees goes against the government’s own policy to impose the application fees so as to discourage “the culture of carelessness in handling national identification documents.”
Dr Kipsang revealed that it costs about Sh700 to process a single ID card, noting that since the imposition of charges on the replacement of the Identity Cards, the government realised Sh600 million.
In the gazette notice of November 7, 2023, the government announced the imposition of Sh2,000 to replace a lost or damaged ID card and Sh1,000 for new applicants, a decision that elicited uproar from Kenyans.
The imposition was done pursuant to Regulation 60 of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015, as the government was desperate to raise enough resources to finance its ambitious expenditure plans.
Previously, Kenyan citizens were charged Sh100 only to apply for a duplicate Identity Card and no charges for registration of a new Identity Card.
Read: Banisa by-election: Resident claims UDA candidate holds dual citizenship, wants clearance revoked
However, when the public anger grew over the imposition of the new charges, the government yielded ground, reducing fees payable by the first applicants to Sh300 and Sh1,000 for the replacement of lost and damaged Identity Cards.
But on October 5, 2025, at the Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) centenary celebrations in Nyang’ori, Vihiga County, President William Ruto set the motion for a cheaper application process when he announced the waiver of the ID card application fees.
“We will ensure that no one will be prevented from registering as a voter because of a lack of an Identity Card. For now, until after the 2027 general elections, replacement of IDs will be free,” the President said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.
