By the 254.ke Newsroom. Updated October 14, 2026.
Kenya will begin replacing the paper birth notification with an electronic one in Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced on Tuesday, October 13. Two outlets put the pilot’s start at Mashujaa Day, October 20, 2026. Birth details recorded at a health facility will be sent digitally to civil registration officers, so parents no longer have to collect and carry a paper slip. The government says the system will later go nationwide.
What is the electronic birth notification?
A birth notification is the document a hospital issues to confirm a child was born there. Parents need it to apply for a birth certificate. Under the new “E-notification,” as Murkomen described it at a rally in Elgeyo Marakwet, the facility captures the same details and shares them with the civil registration authorities directly. Notifications are meant to be issued online immediately after birth.
The aim, according to Kenyans.co.ke’s account of the announcement, is to end repeat trips by parents to hospitals and Huduma Centres and to stop the loss of physical notifications, which it said frequently causes problems.
Key facts at a glance
- Announced by: Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, October 13, 2026
- Pilot counties: Nandi, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet (all Rift Valley)
- Pilot start: Mashujaa Day, October 20, 2026 (per TechTrendsKE and Kenya Today)
- Hospital rollout: SHA-contracted hospitals within three months, per Immigration PS Belio Kipsang
- Nationwide rollout: “Very soon,” no date given
- Fees: None mentioned in any report reviewed
When will it reach hospitals outside the three counties?
PS Kipsang said the Interior Ministry has finished talks with the Ministry of Health on linking the civil registration system to hospital management systems. He said the system would reach hospitals that benefit from the Social Health Authority (SHA) within three months, and that everyone covered by SHA would come under the E-notification process. On that timeline, SHA-contracted facilities nationwide would be connected by about mid-January 2027, though the government has not published a county-by-county schedule.
How do you get a birth certificate right now?
Nothing changes for parents outside the pilot counties until the rollout reaches them. The existing process runs through eCitizen. The Civil Registration Department’s online service involves these steps:
- Sign in to your eCitizen account.
- Choose the Civil Registration Department service and complete the application form.
- Upload supporting documents and pay any processing fee online.
- After approval, download and print the certificate.
Online applications launched in June 2026. In July, Huduma Kenya said applicants must still visit their birth district registry office to have the application processed. The new E-notification targets the earlier step, the hospital paperwork, rather than the registry visit.
What is still unclear?
The reports reviewed do not name the platform parents will use to view an electronic notification, say how a parent will access or print it, or state whether home births will be covered. They also give no pilot-specific procedure for parents who deliver at a facility not yet connected. Those details should come from the Interior Ministry when the pilot starts. Readers in the three counties can check with their hospital’s records office after October 20.
The announcement came during President William Ruto’s tour of the North Rift, which includes this year’s Mashujaa Day events. For venue details, see our report on Mashujaa Day 2026 in Eldoret. Earlier debate over costs is covered in MPs Push for Reduced ID and Birth Certificate Fees, and on identity documents in Govt Introduces New ID Vetting Guidelines. Official application services are on the eCitizen portal.
Frequently asked questions
Which counties get electronic birth notifications first?
Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet, beginning around Mashujaa Day on October 20, 2026.
Do I still need a birth certificate application?
Yes. The E-notification replaces the hospital’s paper notification, not the certificate. Applications still go through eCitizen and, according to Huduma Kenya, a registry office visit.
Will it cost anything?
No fee has been announced for the electronic notification.
When will it be available nationwide?
Murkomen said “very soon,” while PS Kipsang gave three months for SHA-contracted hospitals. No national date has been published.
Sources: Kenyans.co.ke (October 13, 2026), TechTrendsKE (October 14, 2026), Kenya Today (October 14, 2026), Kenyans.co.ke on Huduma Kenya (July 28, 2026).
