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Tips, procedures and the fees required to start an NGO in Kenya

DEFINITION

A Non-Governmental Organization is defined under Section 2 of the Non-Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Act Cap 134 as;

 “Non-Governmental Organization” means a private voluntary grouping of individuals or associations, not operated for profit or for other commercial purposes but which have organized themselves nationally or internationally for the benefit of the public at large and for the promotion of social welfare, development charity or research in the areas inclusive of, but not restricted to health, relief, agriculture, education, industry and the supply of amenities and services”

REGISTRATION PROCESS

1.    Approval of names

The first step when registering an NGO, one must obtain approval from the Director of the Non-Governmental Organizations Board for the name of the NGO to be registered. The Board has the mandate to register NGOs in Kenya. The application is done via Form 2 which is accompanied by a reservation fee of Ksh. 1000/-

Upon receipt of the application and the fees, the Director will do a name search and thereafter notify the applicant whether the name has been approved or rejected, and the grounds of objection will be stated. If the name is approved it enters the reservation of names register for 30-60 days. This period commences from the date of notification of name approval to the applicant.

2.    Application for Registration

Once a name search has been conducted and a name reserved, an applicant files a formal application for registration.
 
DOCUMENTS/REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

The following are the basic registration requirements:

1. Name reservation by duly filling in Form 2 and payment of Kes.1000/= towards the same.
2. Duly filled Form 3 (two copies) in original forms providing Information on contact details of the proposed organization, details of the 3 top officials, the charitable objective of the organization and list of other board members.
3. Duly filled form 1 stating the organizations contact person. Form 1 and Form 3 are issued upon payment of Kes.400/= (all downloaded forms 1 & 3 shall only be accepted upon payment of Kes.400/=).
4. Two colored passport size photographs on a white background (2 by 2 inches) of the proposed 3 officials and two other board members with their names and organization written at the back.
5. Copy of ID/Passport and KRA PIN Certificates for the 5 proposed officials and Board members
6. At least One third (1/3) of all the board members MUST be Kenyan for all foreign based NGOs.
7. Copy of a valid police clearance (certificate of Good Conduct including the finger prints and receipts) for Kenyans and equivalent notarized clearance certificate for Foreigners from their Country of Origin.
8. Constitution of the proposed NGO/INGO which must be signed by both the proposed three (3) officials and the two (2) board members (Two (2) copies must be submitted).
9. Minutes authorizing the filling of the application with a specific agenda and resolution to register the organization as an NGO with the NGOs Board. Election of the interim officials MUST form part of the Agenda.
10. A Processing fee of KSH. 16,000/= for national NGOs and KSH.30,000/= for International NGOs
11. All applications MUST be accompanied with a proposed one year budget
12. All applications MUST contain ORIGINAL signatures of the officials and members as applicable
13. All applications should either be typed or filled in block letters.

FEES

Basic breakdown of the payments involved:

Name search: KSH1, 000/-
Form 1 & 3 fees: KSH 400/-
Processing fees

1. National NGOs: KSH 16,000/-
2. International NGOs: KSH  30,000/-

TIME

Approximately 3 months if payments/fees are promptly done and the registration documents duly presented to the Board as required by the Law.

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