NAIROBI, Kenya— The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has announced new measures to validate importation documents for used motor vehicles entering the country without a Certificate of Roadworthiness (CoR).
The new directive, which takes effect on July 14, 2025, aims to curb the influx of vehicles with forged or fraudulently acquired documentation.
Under the KS 1515:2000 Code of Practice, KEBS enforces that all imported used vehicles must be no more than eight years old from their Year of First Registration (YoR).
To ensure compliance, KEBS has partnered with Quality Inspection Services Inc. Japan (QISJ) to verify key documents such as logbooks, export certificates, and deregistration certificates at the point of entry.
“Validation of import documents is critical in protecting Kenyans from substandard or illegal vehicle imports,” said KEBS in a statement.
“Only vehicles with verified documents will be allowed to proceed to destination inspection.”
Importers of vehicles without a CoR will now be required to submit relevant documents for validation at local QISJ offices in Nairobi or Mombasa.
The validation fee is Sh12,000 per vehicle, and the process will be completed within four working days.
