Every step to bid in Kenya.

This guide is the checklist behind a Kenyan public bid: each document and step, grouped by the point in a procurement when it is asked for, with who can lawfully do it. For how Kenyan procurement works overall (the law, e-GP, thresholds, reservations, preferences, payment and reviews), see How to bid for government tenders in Kenya.

Before you bid

Your company and tax records

1. Business Registration Service (BRS) registration. Your legal registration in Kenya, made through eCitizen. e-GP validates your registration number against BRS, and no contract can be awarded to a foreign supplier without it.

• Cost and time (foreign company): Ksh 7,550, in 3–5 days according to the BRS fee schedule.
• Valid: ongoing, subject to annual returns.
• Who does it: an advocate or company secretary prepares and files the eCitizen application under their own eCitizen account; your directors sign the forms.
• From abroad: you register as a foreign company (branch) and receive a certificate of compliance. The filing includes forms FC2, FC4 and FC6, the certificate of incorporation, the constitution, notarised memorandum and articles, and an acceptance letter from your local representative, whom you nominate.

2. KRA PIN. Kenya’s tax identification. e-GP checks the PIN against iTax when you register, for the business or the Authorized Person.

• Cost and time: free; the same day online.
• Valid: permanent.
• Who does it: a KRA-licensed tax agent prepares the iTax registration. The iTax password stays with you, and you confirm the OTP sent to your registered email or phone.
• From abroad: non-residents with Kenyan tax obligations can register for a PIN on iTax.

3. Records that match. e-GP validates your account against BRS, KRA iTax and IPRS and rejects mismatches, so update the three until the names and details agree exactly. Your tax agent or company secretary makes the changes under their own licence; you confirm them.

4. CR12. A BRS extract listing your current directors and shareholders. Tenders and AGPO ask for a current one, with the procuring entity setting how recent, to confirm ownership and signatories. An advocate or company secretary requests it on eCitizen under their own account and sends you the PDF. Foreign branches get a foreign-company search instead, and a tender may accept your home-country register extract.

Your e-GP account

5. The Authorized Person. Every e-GP supplier account is run by one Authorized Person: the owner, a director or partner, or an individual appointed by a power of attorney or board resolution, certified by an advocate, a commissioner for oaths or a company secretary (board resolutions come with certified minutes). An advocate drafts and certifies the instrument; your directors sign it. Choose carefully: the supplier is liable for all of the Authorized Person’s actions. A bid consultant can hold the role only if you appoint them this way.

6. e-GP supplier registration. The National Treasury account at supplier.tenders.go.ke, used to download tenders and submit bids, mandatory for national-government and most state-corporation tenders (counties lag).

• Cost: free; no fee is published, and Reg. 55(12) bars fees for electronic tender documents.
• Time: approval follows email verification; several days is typical.
• Valid: ongoing.
• Who does it: the Authorized Person registers under their own ID and uploads the registration certificate, the KRA PIN certificate and their ID; the account data can be pre-filled for you.
• From abroad: a foreign supplier not yet registered with BRS can register through an Authorized Person; their ID is checked against IPRS (a Kenyan ID).

Status and sector registrations

7. Citizen-contractor status. Where a tender is reserved for citizen contractors, tenderers prove their ownership with the CR12 and IDs. Screen each tender’s funding source and value against your ownership before you start; foreign firms can join only through a Kenyan-majority partner’s bid, where the tender allows.

8. AGPO certificate (youth, women, persons with disability). National Treasury registration that opens the reserved share of procurement and lets target groups bid with a Tender-Securing Declaration instead of security. It needs at least 70% ownership by Kenyan youth, women or persons with disability.

• Valid: 2 years, renewable every two years up to 10 years (Reg. 156).
• What goes in: ID scans, the BRS certificate, the CR12 or CR13 or a partnership deed, the TCC, the NCA certificate for construction, and an affidavit where names differ between documents.
• Who does it: the documents can be assembled for you, but the owners create the agpo.go.ke account and attend a Huduma Centre AGPO desk with their original IDs.

9. NCA contractor registration and practising licence (NCA1–NCA8). All contractors doing construction works must be registered with the National Construction Authority in the right category, and tenders state the minimum category.

• Cost: application Kshs 5,000; registration from Kshs 100,000 (NCA1) down to Kshs 5,000 (NCA8); annual licence from Kshs 30,000 (NCA1) to Kshs 2,500 (NCA8).
• Valid: the practising licence is annual.
• Who does it: an engineer helps prepare the application (personnel, equipment, financials) on the NCA contractor portal; you submit it from your own portal account and sign the declarations. Foreign contractors use project registration instead (see below).

10. ICT Authority accreditation. ICT tenders (goods, cabling, software, consultancy) often require ICTA accreditation of the vendor, contractor or professional. It takes 2–4 weeks according to the ICTA FAQ. The category application and evidence can be prepared for you; you submit through your own account on the accreditation portal and sign the declarations.

With your bid

11. KRA Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC). Proof that the business has filed and paid its taxes: a mandatory responsiveness document in almost every tender, and an AGPO requirement.

• Time: emailed immediately to compliant taxpayers; otherwise issued once liabilities are cleared.
• Valid: 12 months.
• Who does it: a licensed tax agent brings returns, eTIMS registration and payments up to date. You apply on iTax from your own account (Certificates > Apply for TCC), or your licensed tax agent applies under the agent’s authority, and the certificate is emailed.
• From abroad: whether a non-resident must provide a TCC depends on the tender document; many international tenders accept a home-country tax certificate.

12. Power of attorney for the tender signatory. Preliminary evaluation checks that the tender is signed by the person lawfully authorised through a power of attorney; without it the bid is non-responsive. Sole proprietors are exempt unless they appoint someone.

• Time: 1–3 days.
• Valid: as stated in the instrument.
• Who does it: an advocate drafts the POA naming the signatory and certifies it, and it is attached to the Form of Tender. Your directors execute it.
• From abroad: executed abroad, notarised and legalised through the Kenyan mission, because Kenya is not a party to the Apostille Convention.

13. The forms and evidence you’ll be asked for.

14. Tender security, where the notice sets an amount. Security is optional and at most 2% of the estimate, but many tenders require it. It can be a bank guarantee, a guarantee from an IRA-licensed insurer on PPRA’s list or from a CBK-licensed financial institution, or cash.

• Cost and time: the issuer’s commission; 1–5 business days.
• Valid: the bid validity plus any period the tender adds.
• Who does it: you apply to your bank or insurer on the tender’s own form and give the collateral or counter-indemnity. Check the wording, amount and validity, then deliver the original.
• The original matters: for an electronic bid the scan is uploaded, and the original must reach the procuring entity before closing, or the bid is disqualified.
• From abroad: foreign bank guarantees are usually acceptable only if confirmed by a Kenyan bank, depending on the tender.

Tender-Securing Declaration. Target-group bidders in reserved (AGPO) tenders sign this Fourth Schedule declaration instead of posting security. It is free, done the same day, and lasts until the bid’s validity ends; your authorised signatory signs, and breaching it leads to debarment.

15. Digital signature. Reg. 55(13)-(14) require electronic bids to be signed with a digital signature certificate from a certification service provider licensed by the Communications Authority of Kenya. The certificate belongs to your authorised signatory personally, so the prepared bid files go to them to sign. A foreign signatory needs a certificate e-GP accepts.

16. Submit on e-GP, or manually where allowed. Bids are uploaded in PPRA standard formats, signed electronically and can be modified until the deadline; there is no fee for electronic tender documents. The Authorized Person logs in under their own identity and submits, with the tender security original delivered physically. Since September 2025 entities must also accept manual bids, so follow the notice.

If you’re in line for award

Performance security is waived or capped at 1% for reserved groups. The NCA foreign-contractor certificate and licence are specific to that contract, and you complete at least one CPD training (10 points) each financial year; the affidavit is sworn before a commissioner for oaths or notary. The 14-day standstill after notification runs while you assemble these.

Notarising and legalising foreign documents. Kenya is not a party to the Apostille Convention. Foreign powers of attorney, incorporation documents and BRS papers are notarised by a notary in your country, before whom you execute the originals, and then legalised through your foreign ministry and the Kenyan embassy or high commission. You or an agent holding the originals completes the chain.

Who does what

The professionals involved

Banks, CBK-licensed financial institutions and IRA-licensed insurers on PPRA’s list (overseen by the Central Bank of Kenya and the Insurance Regulatory Authority) issue tender security, and banks issue performance security.

If your company is from abroad

You can register on e-GP from abroad through an Authorized Person, but you must register a branch or company with the Business Registration Service before you can be awarded a contract; which tenders are open to you is explained in How to bid for government tenders in Kenya. For the paperwork:

Register with BRS as a foreign company to receive a certificate of compliance, and get a KRA PIN on iTax if you have Kenyan tax obligations. A tender may accept your home-country register extract in place of a CR12, and many international tenders accept a home-country tax certificate in place of the TCC. Powers of attorney and incorporation documents are notarised and legalised, not apostilled. Your home-country audited accounts, accredited ISO certificates and foreign references count, with English translations where needed. A foreign bank guarantee usually needs confirmation by a Kenyan bank. Your 40% local-sourcing schedule decides whether the bid survives preliminary evaluation, and a written JV or subcontract with a Kenyan-majority firm can also earn the 10% margin of preference. For works, NCA registration is per project, after the award letter. AGPO and the Tender-Securing Declaration aren’t open to you.

Pitfalls

• Pick the Authorized Person carefully. They must be your owner, director or partner, or appointed by a certified POA or board resolution, and the supplier is liable for all their actions.
• Never share a login or OTP. e-GP, iTax, eCitizen and portal credentials stay personal; advisers act under their own accounts.
• Make BRS, KRA and IPRS records match before registering; e-GP rejects mismatches.
• Check the TCC’s expiry (12 months) before each submission.
• Attach the signatory POA and every standard form. Missing any makes the bid non-responsive.
• Get the tender security original in before closing. An e-bid is disqualified if the physical original arrives late.
• You can’t guarantee your own bid. A tenderer may not issue a tender security to guarantee itself (Reg. 45(2)).
• Check the tender is open to you before pricing: fully Kenyan-funded tenders below KES 500 million (goods and services) or KES 1 billion (works) are for citizen contractors only, and AGPO tenders need at least 70% youth, women or disability ownership and Kenyan IDs.
• Foreign bids must show at least 40% citizen-contractor sourcing, or they fail preliminary evaluation.
• Don’t plan on the PPAD (Amendment) Bill 2024. It was referred back by the President in 2026 and is not law.

Doing it with askTender

In Kenya, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on the e-GP system and works under their own login (we confirm this with the portal before your first bid). You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign: the instrument appointing your Authorized Person, the signatory power of attorney, the standard forms and declarations, the digital signature on the bid and the contract. The askTender Desk prepares the forms, schedules and evidence, assembles the bid and coordinates the certificates and securities; askTender Partners, such as an advocate, a licensed tax agent, a commissioner for oaths or a notary, do the steps their licence covers.

Questions

Sources

• National Treasury: e-GP supplier sensitisation
• Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Regulations, 2020
• Business Registration Service: foreign companies
• KRA: Tax Compliance Certificate
• KRA: becoming a tax agent
• AGPO: frequently asked questions
• National Construction Authority: schedule of fees
• National Construction Authority: foreign contractors
• ICT Authority: accreditation FAQs
• KRA tender document with PPRA standard forms (2024)
• HCCH: Apostille Convention status table

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.