Vehicle registration plates of Kenya


The current series of vehicle registration plates in Kenya are on a white plate with black lettering and look quite similar to UK suffix style registrations. The format is LLL NNNL, where ‘L’ denotes a letter and ‘N’ denotes a digit. The older series of number plates were black with white or silver lettering. Later in the older series the front plates were reflective white with black lettering and the rear plates were reflective yellow with black lettering. According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics there are over 1,626,380 vehicles in Kenyan road as at 2011.

1920-1989

It is not known when the first vehicle was registered in Kenya, but it is thought to be before 1920. Single letters were attributed to each of the 14 registration districts i.e. N=Kiambu, E=Kisumu, J=Kitale, B, H, T, W=Nairobi, A=Mombasa, C=Nakuru, D=Kericho, F=Eldoret, G=Nyeri, K=Muranga, L=Kisii, Q=Machakos, S=Lamu, V=Isiolo, Y=Nanyuki. A serial number of 1-999 followed, on white on black plates, save for public transport vehicles, i.e. buses, taxis and hire cars, which used black on white.
The 1950 K-prefix series was a change to a three-letter numbering system, necessitated by the increasing number of vehicles being registered. It was introduced on a regional basis as follow;
All plates began with K, followed by the regional code and a serial letter A-Z, not using letters I or O.
  • Nairobi - KB, KF, KG, KH, KK, KM, KN, KP, KQ, KR and KV
  • Mombasa - KA, KJ, KT
  • Nakuru - KC, KL, KS
  • Kisumu - KD, KU
  • Nanyuki - KE
Other number were issued
  • Some KC and KL numbers were issued to Eldoret and Kitale.
  • KBA was issued to Nyeri, the first Nairobi number being KBB. Nyeri then followed with KFE and KGT.
  • Kericho was issued with KDB then KDK which were used up to 1969.
  • Kisii was issued with KDE then shared KDK with Kericho.
  • Kakamega used KDL between 1962 and 1967.
The numbering system was centralised in 1980 and after that date all Kenya numbers are in sequence. Between 1980 and 1984 the unused numbers from Nakuru, Mombasa and Kisumu were issued, KW being the first number that was never used regionally.

1989-2007

After the registration of vehicle KZZ 999, the second generation was started in 1989. The series follow KAA 001A to KAZ 999Z The present KAA xxx A series had, the advantage being that each third letter of the number provided for 23,976 registrations instead of the previous 999. Hence for the series to be finished about 575424 vehicle will be registered. KAF, KAO, KAI were omitted.

2007-2014

After the registration of vehicle KAZ 999Z, the third generation was started in mid 2007 as KBA 001A. The series ran from KBA 001A to KBZ 999Z
In 2014, the government announced a revamp of the registration plates to a new look, featuring electronic chips

2014-2020

After the registration of vehicle KBZ 999Z, the fourth generation was started in 2014 as KCA 001A. The series ran from KCA 001A to KCZ 999Z.

2020-Present

After the registration of vehicle KCZ 999Z, the fifth generation was started in early 2020 with KDA 001A. The series will run from KDA 001A to KDZ 999Z.
A new look of the Vehicle registration Plates was launched in August 2022. These new plates incorporate microchip technology, various anti-counterfeit features and a FE-Schrift font. The plates also include an imprinted Kenyan Flag, a hologram, watermark and a serial number linked to the vehicle chassis number.
In March 2024, the government of Kenya unveiled a new series of license plates that will be used by owners of electric vehicles and electric motorcycles. These place will have a white font on a green background. The reason behind this is to help in identifying electric vehicles and motorcycles. This is an effort by the Kenyan government to promote green economy in the transport industry. The new license plates will start from EVA 001A for electric vehicles and EMAA 001A for electric motorcycles.
]

Other Plates

  • Motorcycles now use KMCA series;
  • Heavy Machinery uses "KHMA" series;
  • Tricycle uses KTWC series.
  • NGO - KX; The Plates are red with white letters and numbers
  • Vehicle Dealers Number plate series - KD, while assemblers and fabricators use KG. The plates have green background with white letters.

Governmental Plates

There are other number sequences that are used in Kenya.
  • The Kenyan Government uses GK;
  • The Kenyan County Governments use CG, for example Nairobi County vehicles are 47 CG;
  • Governors use GVN followed by their county code;
  • The Speaker of National Assembly uses SNA;
  • The Speaker of the Senate uses SS;
  • The Chief Justice uses CJ;
  • Kenya Army - KA;
  • Kenya Air Force - KAF;
  • Kenya Navy - KN;
  • Kenya Agricultural Institute - KAI;
  • Parastatals use blue plates with white letters and numbers

Diplomatic and United Nations codes

The diplomatic number given to the embassies were assigned in the order that they recognized Kenya's independence, with Germany as the first country to recognize Kenya's independence having the diplomatic plate 1 CD. They are Red number plates front and back with white letters and numbers.
As of August 2025, the diplomatic / UN sequence assignation was as below:
1 CD - Germany
2 CD - Russian Federation
3 CD - Ethiopia
4 CD - China
5 CD - Norway
6 CD - Hungary
7 CD - Egypt
8 CD - Serbia
9 CD - Italy
10 CD - France
11 CD - Slovakia
12 CD - Denmark
13 CD - Japan
14 CD - Sudan
15 CD - Austria
16 CD - India
17 CD - Australia
18 CD - Canada
19 CD - Holy See
20 CD - Finland
21 CD - Switzerland
22 CD - Britain
23 CD - Liberia
24 CD - Israel
25 CD - Nigeria
26 CD - Ghana
27 CD - Netherlands
28 CD - Malawi
29 CD - USA
30 CD - Belgium
31 CD - Sweden
32 CD - Pakistan
33 CD - Poland
34 CD - Korea
35 CD - Bulgaria
36 CD - Greece
37 CD - Cuba
38 CD - Kuwait
39 CD - Spain
40 UN - United Nations Development Programme
41 UN - World Health Organization
42 UN - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
43 UN - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
44 UN - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
45 CD - Romania
46 CD - Thailand
47 CD - The African Union and its missions
48 CD - Colombia
49 CD - India
50 CD - Somalia
51 CD - Brazil
52 CD - Turkey
53 CD - Lesotho
54 CD - Zambia
55 CD - Madagascar
56 CD - Malaysia
57 CD - D.R. Congo
58 CD - Swaziland
59 CD - Sri Lanka
60 CD - Iraq
61 CD - Rwanda
62 UN - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees/UN Refugee Agency
63 UN - United Nations Children's Fund
64 CD - Iran
65 CD - Cyprus
66 CD - Argentina
67 UN - United Nations Information Centre
68 CD - Philippines
69 CD - Burundi
70 CD - Chile
71 CD - Oman
72 CD - League of Arab States/Arab League
73 CD - European Union
74 CD - Yemen
75 CD - Kenya Mission to UNEP
76 CD - Côte d'Ivoire
77 CD - Bangladesh
78 CD - Saudi Arabia
79 UN - United Nations Centre for Human Settlements/UN-Habitat
80 CD - Libya
81 CD - Ireland
82 UN - United Nations Centre for Human Settlements/UN-Habitat
83 CD - Algeria
84 CD - Palestine
85 CD - Uganda
86 CD - Mexico
87 CD - Morocco
88 CD - Costa Rica
89 CD - Gabon
90 UN - UNICEF Kenya Mission
91 CD - Indonesia
92 CD - Portugal
93 CD - Venezuela
94 CD - Zimbabwe
95 UN - International Civil Aviation Organization
96 CD - Asian Development Bank
97 CD - Tanzania
99 CD - Peru
100 UN - International Finance Corporation
101 UN - United Nations Environment Programme Norwegian Mission
102 CD - Mozambique
103 CD - South Africa
104 CD - Eritrea
105 UN - United Nations Office at Nairobi
106 UN - International Organization for Migration
106 CD - Czech Republic
107 CD - International Monetary Fund
110 CD - Botswana High Commission
110 UN - United Nations Industrial Development Organization
111 UN - United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
112 UN - International Fund for Agricultural Development
113 UN - United Nations Office for Project Services
114 UN - United Nations Resident Coordinator
115 UN - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Office for Eastern Africa
116 UN - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
117 UN - UN WOMEN
118 UN - United Nations Support Office in Somalia
119 UN - United Nations Offices of High Commissioner for Human Rights
115 CD - Ukraine
116 CD - Sahrawi
117 CD - Djibouti
118 CD - Sierra Leone
119 CD - Order of Malta
120 CD - Congo-Brazzaville
121 CD - South Sudan
122 CD - International Criminal Court
123 CD - United Arab Emirates
124 CD - QATAR
125 CD - SENEGAL
126 CD - ANGOLA
127 CD - Africa Development Bank
128 CD - Jordan Embassy
129 CD - Burkina Faso
130 CD - Tunisia Embassy
131 CD - Belarus Embassy
132 CD - Palestine Embassy
133 CD - Cameroon Consulate
134 CD - Barbados
135 CD - Azerbaijan
136 CD - The Intergovernmental Authority on Development