How To Apply For New Digital Number Plates In Kenya. The ‘smart’ plates’ monospaced letters and numbers are slightly disproportionate to prevent easy modification and to improve machine readability.
The National Transport and safety Authority was established through an Act of Parliament; Act Number 33 on 26th October 2012. The objective of forming the Authority was to harmonize the operations of the key road transport departments and help in effectively managing the road transport sub-sector and minimizing loss of lives through road crashes.
The government says the plates incorporate microchip technology and several anti-counterfeit security features that render them practically impossible to imitate.
The new plates have a specially-imprinted national flag, a hologram of the Big Five animals and a watermark. They also have unique and different serial numbers – for both the rear and front plates – that are linked to the vehicle’s chassis number.
Police will also be able to get key motor vehicles information such as the year of manufacturer, type and colour of vehicle, engine number, transmission type, date and place of manufacture, and insurance details from just the plates.
The Interior Ministry last year said once a vehicle is imported into the country, it will be fixed with the plates at the point of entry, where information about it will be synchronised with NTSA and Kenya Revenue Authority systems to curb tax evasion in the car import business.
New Digital Number Plate Replacement Fees
The new generation plates cost Ksh.3,000 and can be acquired online through the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) portal.
One will need to pay an additional Ksh.50 service fee.
Motor vehicles: Ksh 3,000
Motorcycles: Ksh 1,500
How To Apply For The New NTSA Digital Number Plates In Kenya
- Log in to https://timsvirl.ntsa.go.ke
- Click on Vehicle Registration
- Select Reflective No. Plate
- Click Apply for Reflective No. Plate
- You will be redirected to your list of vehicles, choose the one you want to apply a number plate for
- Verify the vehicle details and click next
- Select the reason for applying for the Reflective plate i.e new generation plate.
- Choose the notification method; email or SMS
- Choose the type of Front and back number plate i.e Oblong or Square
- Choose the plate counter collection office
- On the Lost/Defaced Number Plate & Tape Lifting Report sections attach a scanned copy of the original logbook and an image of the number plates in pdf on both slots. A tape lifting report is not required when applying for the new digital generation number plates.
- Confirm the vehicle particulars and pay. If paying via Mpesa, you will be charged Ksh 3,050.
- NTSA will alert you via SMS or Email when the number plate is ready for collection. It takes 7 days to get the new number plates.
Once your plates are ready, you will receive a notification to go and collect them at your chosen centre.
NTSA says motorists can expect them in around a week.
NTSA Contacts
- National Transport and Safety Authority
- 0709 932 000
- [email protected]