In order to drive any vehicle in Kenya, you must be 18 years of age and hold a valid driver’s license. Without the latter, you stand to face a fine of up to Ksh 1000. Furthermore, you should always stick to driving the vehicle classes indicated on your driving license. Even with a valid license, driving outside your authorized vehicle classes can attract a fine of approximately Ksh 7000. It is therefore important to always have your driving license on you whenever you are on the road. Here is a guide on how to renew your driving license in Kenya.

What you will need

• An eCitizen account.
• Working internet connection.
• Cash on your MPESA according to your preferred length of renewal. You have the options of renewing for one (Ksh 650) or three (1450) years.
• Cash for transaction – approximately Ksh 30.
• Cyber charges Ksh 150-300 depending on your location.
• Printer, if you are doing the application from home/office.
• Glue and scissors.

Steps to renewal

1. Log into your eCitizen account on your phone or browser. If you are using your phone, try to find a different one to make the payments with in order to avoid technical hitches.
2. On the dashboard, find the National Transport and Safety Authority tab and click on ‘get service’ button.
3. This prompt will lead you to the NTSA services dashboard. Find and click on the ‘Make application’ button.
4. A menu of further options will appear. Choose the type of application you want to make. Be very careful to choose the one that you want to avoid wrong charges and other challenges further down the process.
5. Once you have chosen your preferred length of renewal, a confirmation page will appear. Read through the details and once you are certain of everything, click on the ‘apply now’ button.
6. You are now on the payment step. eCitizen offers a list of available payment methods. However, the most efficient channel is MPESA. Therefore, choose this option to continue. A list of steps to follow plus the business and account numbers to use will appear.
7. Get your phone and go to the MPESA application.
8. Choose Lipa na Mpesa.
9. Choose PAYBILL.
10. Enter the business and account numbers provided by the eCitizen application.
11. Enter the amount applicable.
12. Put in your pin and confirm that the details entered are all correct before completing the transaction.
13. Wait for your MPESA message and for the browser to confirm the payment.

After application

• If the payment is successful, eCitizen will automatically reload and redirect you to a new page where you can download your invoice and the renewed driving licence.
• Print these two and cut out the license along the marked scissor dots.
• Glue this cut out on top of your old licenses and you are good to go!

Bonus Information

• Make sure you log out your eCitizen account if you are using a public computer.
• If using a public computer, make sure the eCitizen account you log into is yours. Do this especially before making an application. Due to the huge traffic that eCitizen gets at any one time, the portal sometimes logs in the last account thus causing confusion and errors.
• Sometimes the NTSA/eCitizen portal goes down because of maintenance or excess traffic. If you realize any delays during your transaction, do not go through with it because your payment might not process successfully thus causing you to be at a loss.
• If you have any issues with your eCitizen portal or driving license, visit an NTSA office or Huduma Centre near you.