Why Do IDs and Birth Certificates Matter? A Case Study of Kenya

Human Rights Research Center
Sep 18, 2025
13 min read

September 18, 2025

Members of the public queue at the Department of Immigration Services Passport control office at Nyayo House in Nairobi. Inset: Kenyan ID cards, a passport, and birth certificates. [Image credit: Nation Media Group]

In March 2025, the government of Kenya removed the 100 KSh fee required to get a first-time identification (ID) card. In Kenya, the national identification card was once known as “kipande,” which means “part of” or “a piece of.” It was first introduced by the colonialist regime. Millions of people—especially youth, women, children, and marginalized communities in arid and remote regions—face exclusion from essential services due to a lack of birth certificates and national ID cards. Without a legal identity, individuals are unable to access essential services like health care, education, social protection, financial services, and formal employment.

The Right to Legal Identity

The Maisha Namba project was rolled out as a way to provide universal personal identifiers at birth. The project works to collect identifiers like thumbprints and fingerprints. There has been a lack of citizen participation even though, as of 2022, the government was recorded to have spent 10.6 billion KSh ($81,861,817.80 USD). It has continuously raised concerns due to the use of data by privately contracted local IT firms. These contracts raise issues and increase risks, such as vulnerability to identity theft, identification without consent, identity correlation across domains, and illegal tracking of individuals’ data.

Getting an ID requires pursuing one of three possible methods:

1) You could have a birth certificate, meaning you were born in Kenya.

2) You can provide documentation showing that one or both of your parents has a Kenyan national ID.

3) You can obtain an ID if you can prove that you have married someone with a Kenyan national ID.

Currently, acquiring a new ID is free. Kenya removed the 100KSh registration fee ($0.77 USD). To replace a missing or mutilated card, the fee is 1,000KSh ($7.74 USD). According to the Daily Nation, 5,000 people apply for replacement IDs due to them being lost or damaged. Considering Kenya’s monthly mean household expenditure of 4,101 KSh in rural areas and 6,343 KSh in urban areas, the cost of replacing an ID and associated expenses becomes unaffordable.

The national identification document (ID) is the primary legal document for most Kenyans. When a Kenyan citizen becomes of legal age (18+), they can get this legal identification. Once they have their ID, they can open themselves up to a world of citizen rights, such as government services and other opportunities. They gain access to public services, are allowed to work legally, can get a driver’s license, and prove they are of legal age to give consent. In Kenya, Nairobi and Nyamira rank the highest in birth registrations, and, therefore, proper documentation to get an ID due to access to health services, high literacy levels among the population, and awareness of the need for birth registration. On the other hand, arid and semi-arid parts of Kenya show the lowest rates of birth registration due to experiencing poverty, having fewer registration points, and insecurities surrounding the need to register births.

Barriers to Registration

According to the United Nations (UN), 76% of children under the age of 5 are registered with the Civil Registration Authority (CVA). Only 34% of the children registered have a birth certificate, according to the latest Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) information from 2022. Only 15% of children under age one have birth certificates collected. Many birth certificates are left uncollected at the registrar's office due to a lack of access to pick-up points. Poverty levels and access to education also play a role.

Having a birth certificate is having a legal identity that is key to gaining access to rights. But, birth registration costs can be prohibitive for some Kenyans, considering their expenditures. Early birth registration costs 50KSh. Late birth registration costs 150KSh. The mean monthly expenditure in Kenya for rural and urban households is 4,101 KSh and 10,826 KSh, respectively. The national poverty line in Kenya is 3,947KSh and 7,193KSh per month per person (in adult equivalent terms) for rural and urban areas, respectively. There are also costs involved for the applicant to pick up the registration, which vary from one county to another.

Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) reports that over 2 million adults in Kenya were excluded from financial involvement by not having national identity cards, especially among urban and rural youth, due to a lack of phones. A third of them are young people aged 18-25, making up 57% of the financially excluded. Some of whom are workers, women, people who live in rural areas, and those in arid and semi-arid lands.

Regional Disparities

Individuals with no official national ID in Kenya have totaled to 5 million and will continue to be excluded even with the new Maisha Namba program. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Kenya has recorded 9,800 stateless individuals and counting. This figure includes migrants, stateless minorities, and people affected by discriminatory nationality laws, such as access to civil registration services. They have fallen through the cracks and landed in a place of exclusion and vulnerability, much as modern forms of slavery. These individuals include minority groups (like the Shona people), nomadic communities (such as those from Turkana and Wajir), orphans, and individuals in remote areas (such as Taita Taveta).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 14% of births are unregistered, mostly due to poorly functioning civil registration systems in Kenya. In Kenya, such access is often restricted, especially due to a lack of access to transport systems in arid and semi-arid lands. These areas include Mandera, Turkana, Wajir, Tana River, Marsabit, and Samburu. In a survey done by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Mandera County could not be visited due to security concerns. This area has also been identified as having the lowest level of birth certificate registrations (birth registration completeness). Less than 45% of births are registered as compared to the recommended 90% by the WHO. These areas often have the lowest number of people who register for IDs due to a lack of access to registration points. An example can be found in Turkana County, which serves 997,337 people with one registration point. Other reasons include insecurities, lack of awareness of the process and the importance of having IDs, and low levels of education.

Access to Formal Education

In Kenya, for one to register in school, it is mandatory to acquire a birth certificate and provide the guardian’s national identification documents. The school registration rules get stricter as the student advances to different examination classes. The Government of Kenya (GOK) acknowledges that the delay in the issuance of identity cards hinders youths’ access to loans for a university education in the North Eastern region of the country. Despite counties such as Mandera and Turkana being part of the highest increase in expected births in 2022, they still experience extremely low levels of birth registration completeness. This issue, along with lost IDs and system errors, means access to national IDs can be very dependent on the county. Aside from this, many paths to legal identity are laced with corruption and bribery in order to acquire the documentation or expedite the process with the CVA.

Access to Voting Rights

In Kenya, voting is linked to having legal identification. Over the years, ethnic profiling of the “Big Five” ethnic groups (Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Luo, and Kamba) has left minority ethnic groups struggling to vote for their leaders. Recently, Kenya has moved from a provincial divide, which was often linked to ethnic groups ruling over the areas where they had the highest population. This newer devolved government still mostly reflects the demographics of these regions. The UN outlines how larger ethnic groups in regions often influence small ethnic minority groups through illegal methods. These sometimes violent methods leave minority groups with no voice and no representation. This is the case of Marsabit and Garissa, where if one is lucky enough to be a voter, they align their interests with the politicians who offer the most reciprocity and access in exchange for their votes. Voting requires one to go to a polling station and wait for one’s turn. Some Kenyans have to consider security and adverse weather conditions before voting.

Access to Labor Markets

A key to labor market participation in Kenya is a national identity card. Lack of a national identity card in Kenya is associated with lower wages, no legal worker protections, and forced work. Research done in Kibera (an urban informal settlement of approximately 250,000 people) showed that more than half of the people with a national ID said they were earning money from work. But fewer than one out of three people without an ID said the same. Legal documentation is the vital foundation for labor market participation and formal job entry. This is often seen as an explicit obstacle for marginalized groups such as Nubians and ethnic Somalis.

Access to Financial Services

Access to financial services in Kenya is directly linked to having a national identification card. Registration systems require an ID to access bank services, different types of aid, and mobile loans or transactions. According to FinAccess’ Household Survey, in 2024, 84% of the adult population used mobile money for everyday transactions in Kenya. M-PESA is the most widely used mobile money company in Kenya—with 34 million users. Their users range from small business owners to those receiving financial aid. This transaction tool is not only used privately but also to aid the most vulnerable populations, including those who receive humanitarian aid given directly through cash transfers. Access to mobile money has a positive impact on enhanced household consumption, financial inclusion, and market transactions. In rural and urban-slum settings in Kenya, women run small-scale agricultural activities and businesses that require mobile money transactions and access to credit facilities, such as soft loans. In recent years, most humanitarian aid has been dispensed through cash transfers, where individuals are given SIM cards. What about the individuals in need of these resources who lack identification to have a SIM card or access to financial services? Trust is mandatory for the systems to work, but these ID requirements leave some groups excluded.

According to the World Bank, 91% of adults have identity cards in Kenya. 42% of adults without a bank account reported identity documentation requirements as a barrier to account ownership. Additionally, barriers to accessing collection centers for identification cards was another reason why they lack these documents.

Access to Health Care

Birth certificates and ID systems are linked to a lack of access to universal health care. These documents are required since they show proof of parentage and the child's age. Kenya’s Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) government services are universally provided but require national identification cards to access. According to the World Bank, Kenya's health coverage improved to 26% in 2022. These are people mostly located in urban areas. This can be compared to other marginalized areas, such as Tana River and Mandera counties, where between 5% and 6% of the population have a form of health insurance. These are the lowest areas of national health coverage, respectively. The average annual cost of health care per person in Kenya is 2,828KSh ($2.89 USD) as per current World Bank reports. 20.2 million people lived below the absolute poverty line in Kenya in 2022. Counties in marginalized areas, such as Turkana and Wajir, persistently have the lowest incidence of live births delivered by a skilled provider, lag around 30 percentage points behind the national average in primary school enrollment, and are behind in those transitioning to secondary school.

Social Exclusion

Proof of citizenship (parents’ national identification) and age (birth certificate of the child) are required for anyone who wants to get an ID. Orphans and those under state care face a huge challenge in the bureaucracy of state systems. They are expected to go to the community where they grew up and ask for a letter from the Chief of the location confirming their lack of parents to get any form of national identification. This is a long and tedious process that has been reported as difficult by the GOK. This also affects refugees who are required to go through a 90-day process that restricts their access to local economic participation.

Access to Protection from Human Trafficking

Kenya has seen a rise in human trafficking from a reported 201 victims in 2021 to 556 victims in 2022. According to the human trafficking non-profit, Terres des Hommes, an estimated 35,000-40,000 people in Kenya have been victims of human trafficking—19,000 of whom are children. In Marsabit County, Terres des Hommes asked parents for signs of child trafficking in their community. 22% noted a lack of identification documents as a sign.

Kenya is Tier 2 in combating human trafficking. Despite legislative efforts, a majority of Kenyan assistance efforts go to survivors of human trafficking when they actually want efforts to be made to prevent human trafficking. Over the years, Kenya has consistently increased government expenditures from the National Assistance Trust Fund on post-care of victims of human trafficking from 7.6 million KSh ($49,040 USD) in 2021 to 7.9 million KSh ($50,862 USD) in 2022. Lack of identification documents is seen as a red flag when screening for human trafficking. Most human trafficking screening tools review freedom of choice, living conditions, identification, forced labor or sexual activity, and safety. Screened individuals are often asked if they have access to their identification documents. Most of the time, their identification documentation has been confiscated. Kenyans placed for work in the Gulf region tend to have their passport confiscated at the point of entry. This violates international human rights and labor standards. The cost of replacing a passport when in a different country is currently set at 22,563 KSh ($174.80 USD). This restricts their opportunities to access any protection services due to a lack of identification and the fear of being labeled an illegal immigrant if they report. These circumstances can lock victims into unregulated, underpaid job sectors, such as sex work.

Currently, the government of Kenya is keen to promote ID uptake nationwide. Despite having removed the fees for ID registration, they forget the many excluded communities due to travel constraints, weather, and the number of registration locations. Kenya’s free national identification drive is focusing their efforts in counties that have better political standing and voting patterns for 2027. Unfortunately, the counties proposed to start are amongst the best performing when it comes to having IDs. Alternatively, Kenya should heavily focus on communities that are underserved and marginalized.

Recommendations

Reducing the age of issuing a national identity card for newborns or those 12-16 years of age would increase the number of Kenyans who have a national ID. This would reduce the barriers associated with getting a national ID as an adult, and it would lessen the likelihood that the child’s birth certificate is missing. In addition, it would assist orphans and those being fostered by the state. Setting education standards for all counties across Kenya would allow more people to be informed on the process and streamline these efforts.

Even as the government continues to roll out these identification systems (Digital ID or the UPI), they need to pick one by considering multi-layered factors and looking at a cost-benefit analysis to pick the best fit for Kenya. More Kenyans with a national ID would enable everyone to have access to opening bank accounts, social services, registration services, and the right to vote. Consistent budgetary allocation of resources towards these civil registration services is not only a need but a basic right according to the Constitution of Kenya. Mobile clinics in marginalized communities would reduce transportation costs and increase access for those in areas without many registration centers. Mobile clinics would also be more inclusive since the in-person registration would work to counter the huge digital divide in the country. Use of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) allows citizen data to be collected, processed, analyzed, and shared while protecting data confidentiality and privacy. Rebuilding trust in government systems requires not only expanding access to the excluded but also holding institutions accountable for the misuse, inefficiency, and profit-driven practices within low-uptake identification schemes.

Glossary

Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) - Defined as dry regions.
Birth Certificate - A document that proves a person’s birth details.
Cash Transfer Programs - Aid programs that provide direct money to poor households.
Civil Registration - The official recording of births, deaths, and marriages by the government.
CVA - Civil Registration Authority - Issues birth, death, and marriage certificates in Kenya.
Digital Divide - The gap between those who have access to digital tech and those who don't.
Digital ID - A virtual representation of your physical ID. It typically includes information such as personal attributes, credentials, and authentication methods.
FSD - Financial Sector Deepening - An organization focused on research and initiatives to promote financial inclusion.
GOK - Government of Kenya.
Human Rights - Fundamental rights and freedoms to which every person is entitled, including access to legal identity.
Human Trafficking - The unlawful act of transporting or coercing people to benefit from their work or service, typically in the form of forced labor or sexual exploitation.
ID / I.D. - Identification Document - An official document proving identity.
Identity correlation across domains - The study and management of a single identity's consistency and connections across different life areas (like family, work, or online platforms) or across different network systems.
Informal Sector / Informal Livelihoods - Unregistered employment lacking legal protections.
KDHS - Kenya Demographic and Health Survey - A national source of health and population data.
Maisha Namba - The unique personal identification number assigned to every Kenyan citizen upon registration, usually at birth.
MCH - Maternal and Child Health - Government programs offering health care to mothers and children.
National poverty lines - Country-specific monetary values defined by a government to measure poverty within its own borders, representing the minimum income needed for a household to meet basic food and non-food needs.
PETs - Privacy-Enhancing Technologies - Used to protect personal data.
Provincial divide - Significant differences or disparities between different provinces within a country, often seen in economic conditions, employment levels, or social outcomes.
SHA - Social Health Authority - Kenya’s public health system.
Social Protection - Programs (like cash transfers) to support vulnerable populations.
Stateless Person - Someone not considered a national by any country under its laws.
Tier 2 - Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the trafficking Victims Protection Act minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - United Nations agency mandated to provide international protection to refugees, find durable solutions for them, and assist people displaced by violence, persecution, or disaster, as well as stateless people.
UPI - Unique Personal Identifier - It’s associated with the Maisha Namba (Life Number) system, which is a digital identity system assigning a lifelong 14-digit number to citizens at birth to serve as a consolidated identifier for all government services.
WHO - World Health Organization - United Nations agency that coordinates international responses to public health issues, works to achieve the highest level of health for all people, and leads global efforts to prevent and control diseases.

Sources

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Why Do IDs and Birth Certificates Matter? A Case Study of Kenya

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