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.
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 (Fort Hall), 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, ie 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 (below) and a serial letter A-Z, not using letters I or O.
Other number were issued
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 (KS), Mombasa (KT) and Kisumu (KU) were issued, KW (1984) being the first number that was never used regionally.
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.
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
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.
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.
There are other number sequences that are used in Kenya.
The diplomatic number given to the embassies were assigned in the order that they recognized Kenya’s independence, with Germany (then West Germany) as the first country to recognize Kenya's independence having the diplomatic plate 1 CD.
As of 2008, 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 (The Vatican)
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 (UNDP)
41 UN - World Health Organization (WHO)
42 UN - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
43 UN - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (The World Bank)
44 UN - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
45 UN - World Food Programme (WFP)
45 CD - Romania
46 CD - Thailand
47 CD - The African Union (A.U)
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 (DRC)
58 CD - Eswatini
59 CD - Sri Lanka
60 CD - Iraq
61 CD - Rwanda
62 UN - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees / UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
63 UN - United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Eastern & Southern African Regional Office
64 CD - Iran
65 CD - Cyprus
66 CD - Argentina
67 UN - United Nations Information Centre (UNIC)
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 (Consulate)
77 CD - Bangladesh
78 CD - Saudi Arabia
79 UN - United Nations Office for Project Services / (UNOPS)
80 CD - Libya
81 CD - Ireland (Consulate)
82 CD - United Nations Centre for Human Settlements / UN-Habitat (Kenya Mission)
83 CD - Algeria
84 CD - Palestine
85 CD - Uganda
86 CD - Mexico
87 CD - Morocco
88 CD - Costa Rica (Consulate)
89 CD - Gabon (Consulate)
90 UN - United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Kenya Country Office (Unused)
91 CD - Indonesia
92 CD - Portugal
93 CD - Venezuela
94 CD - Zimbabwe
95 CD - International Civil Aviation Organization (I.C.A.O)
96 CD - Asian Development Bank
97 CD - Tanzania
99 CD - Peru
100 CD - International Finance Corporation (I.F.C)
101 CD - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Norwegian Mission
102 CD - Mozambique
103 CD - South Africa
104 CD - Eritrea
105 UN - United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON)
106 CD - Czech Republic
107 CD - The Aga Khan
108 UN - UNFPA
110 UN - UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization)
112 UN - International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
113 UN - United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
115 CD - Ukraine
116 CD - Sahrawi
117 CD - Djibouti
118 CD - Sierra Leone
121 CD - South Sudan
123 CD - United Arab Emirates