How to check a Kenyan company before you ship

To check a Kenyan company, confirm that it is on the official register kept by the Business Registration Service (BRS), that the name and registration number match your contract, and that the person you deal with can act for it. The official search is an application you make online and pay for. No single search proves a buyer is safe.

Key facts

• BRS runs the Companies Registry, and its fee schedule says company registration processes "have to be done on the E-Citizen platform" (BRS fee schedule).
• The fee schedule lists KES 650 for an official search of a company (certificate CR12) and KES 250 for a business name (CR13); a later line of the same schedule shows KES 600 and KES 200 (BRS fee schedule).
• BRS describes a company background check as an application you make after logging in to eCitizen (BRS FAQ).
• BRS's FAQ says a business name "is not a legal entity" (BRS FAQ).

What should I check first?

Check that the legal entity exists and matches the name on your contract. A shop sign, a website or a business card is not a legal entity. Ask the buyer for the registered company name and the registration number, and compare them with every document and invoice you receive.

Ask whether the buyer is a limited company or a business name. BRS's own FAQ says a business name is not a legal entity (BRS FAQ), so a contract signed by a business name alone may leave you without a company to hold to it. Ask a lawyer how this affects your deal.

How do I run the official company search?

You run it yourself through eCitizen, the online platform that BRS points to. The steps in BRS's FAQ ("How to conduct a background check of a company") are: log in to eCitizen, select "make application", choose "Official Search (CR12)" for private limited companies, enter the registration name or number, select the company, give your contact details if asked (the FAQ asks for them when the company's status is "Verified"), and pay (BRS FAQ). The BRS portal address given in the FAQ is brs.ecitizen.go.ke.

The same FAQ says the official search is a computer-generated certificate addressed to the person or business logged in, and that "Only Verified companies will generate an automated official search" (BRS FAQ). The fee schedule lists the search as instant for verified companies and 3 to 5 days for non-verified ones (BRS fee schedule).

How much does a Kenyan company search cost?

BRS's FAQ gives KES 650 for the company search (BRS FAQ), and the fee schedule lists the same KES 650 for a company and KES 250 for a business name (BRS fee schedule). A later line of the same schedule, below the foreign-company entries, shows KES 600 and KES 200 with an instant turnaround, so treat the amount shown when you pay as the one that applies.

What does the certificate tell me, and what does it not?

The BRS pages we opened do not list what a CR12 contains, so read the certificate you receive and compare each line with what the buyer told you: registered name, number, status, registered address and listed officers, if shown. A certificate shows what the register holds on the date it was issued. It does not show whether the buyer pays on time, owns what it offers, or is the person you are talking to.

BRS also publishes a notice in which the Registrar says it "has formed a reasonable belief that the companies listed in the search below may not be conducting business or operating", and you can search it by company name or registration number (BRS compliance check). Search it for the buyer. Being on the list is a reason to ask questions before you ship.

How do I check sanctions and other records?

Screen the company and its directors against the sanctions lists you are legally required to use, which depend on your own country and business. See our guide to sanctions screening for South African trade for how the lists work, and ask your compliance adviser which ones apply to you. Also compare the buyer's website domain, email domain and company name, and ask your bank how it would verify the buyer's account.

What are the red flags?

These patterns appear often in trade fraud and are reasons to slow down, not proof of wrongdoing:

• The buyer says money must be paid first for "court approval" or a "registration fee" before the order can proceed.
• The registered name or number does not match the one used in emails and invoices.
• Bank details change during the conversation, or the account is in a different name or country from the buyer.
• The contact uses only a free email address, or the domain is very new.
• The buyer pressures you with urgency or offers unusually large orders without detail.

Where does this guide stop?

This guide covers public steps you can take yourself with the Kenyan registry. It does not describe a B2B.Africa service. To compare the registries of South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, see the guide to verifying a company in Africa. Get advice from a lawyer or your bank before relying on any single check. This article is general information, not legal advice.