Beginning July 14, 2025, all used vehicles imported into Kenya will be required to go through document validation before being subjected to inspection, in a move by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) aimed at curbing the use of fake or altered paperwork.

In a notice published in Tuesday’s My Gov, KEBS outlined the new directive that mandates importers of used vehicles to first validate their documents with an authorized and reliable database before the vehicles can be inspected.

This is part of efforts to uphold the KS 1515:2000 standard, which provides guidelines for the inspection of used road vehicles.

The standard specifies that any second-hand motor vehicle brought into the country should not be older than eight years from the date it was first registered.

The directive is expected to tighten checks around used car imports and ensure that only vehicles meeting safety and quality requirements are allowed into Kenya.

“To ensure that all vehicles imported into Kenya without a Certificate of Roadworthiness (CoR) meet this requirement at destination, it is important for the importers, traders or sellers to validate import documents such as logbooks, export certificates and/ or deregistration certificates with a reliable and authorized database,” the Bureau said.

To carry out the document validation, KEBS has engaged Quality Inspection Services Inc. Japan (QISJ), a company tasked with verifying the authenticity of import documents for vehicles that do not already have a CoR.

KEBS has stressed that this validation process is necessary to eliminate the use of forged or misleading documents that have previously been used to bring in vehicles that do not meet the required standards.

Only vehicles with verified documents will proceed to the required KEBS destination inspection.

Importers will be required to submit their documents to QISJ for verification. The process will cost Sh12,000 per vehicle, payable directly to QISJ’s local offices. According to KEBS, the service will be completed within four working days from submission.

QISJ has established a local presence to support this task.

The Nairobi office is located on the 3rd Floor of Flamingo Towers, Mara Road, Upper Hill, The Bureau emphasised that this directive is part of its wider responsibility to protect the rights of Kenyan consumers by ensuring that all imported vehicles meet safety and quality benchmarks.

“KEBS fulfils its role of safeguarding Kenyans’ rights to quality products by enforcing Kenya standards, which are periodically updated to stay current with technological progress and include developments that could impact product safety,” it said.

KEBS has urged all used car importers to adhere to the new requirements to avoid any setbacks or issues at the point of entry.

“Only used motor vehicles with validated import documents will be subjected to destination inspection by KEBS, effective July14, 2025,” the bureau reiterated.