| Vehicle age limit | Eight years, counted from the year of first registration under the national standard, not from the year of manufacture. From 31 December 2025 vehicles registered in 2018 and earlier are rejected, and from 1 January 2026 only vehicles registered on or after 1 January 2019 are accepted. Build a stock rule on the registration year and delete anything earlier from the Kenya list |
|---|---|
| Steering side | Right-hand drive, without exception in the normal import categories. A left-hand drive vehicle cannot be registered here, which makes Kenya a Japanese, British or right-hand drive Gulf stock market rather than a destination for Chinese volume cars |
| Emission standard | Euro IV alongside the national safety standards, with the roadworthiness inspection testing the vehicle rather than reading the specification sheet |
| Import duty | Around 25% for a completely built up vehicle under the East African Community common external tariff, with commercial categories assessed separately |
| Other taxes / levies | Value added tax of 16%, an import declaration fee of 2%, a regional development levy of 2%, an excess age tax on older vehicles, and excise where the category carries it, plus Mombasa handling and storage. The levies are assessed on the customs value, so the same stack scales with the valuation rather than with your invoice |
| Pre-shipment certificate | Pre-export verification by the appointed inspection body in the export country, producing the certificate required for clearance; without it the vehicle cannot be cleared at all. In addition, from 14 July 2025 the import documents are verified first through the QISJ system at a reported fee of 12,000 Kenyan shillings per vehicle and about four working days, and only then does the destination inspection follow |
| Main port of entry | Mombasa is the East African gateway and handles the vehicle volume, with Lamu as an alternative discharge and inland transit to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo moving through Mombasa under regional transit documents. Vehicle inspection yards at the port have limited capacity and queue in peak season |
| Typical clearance time | Three to seven working days once the documents have passed verification and the destination inspection is booked; allow the QISJ verification step as a separate lead item before that clock starts |
| Customs valuation risk | Moderate valuation risk, but very high classification risk. The age reference date and the steering side are both hard gates rather than price variables, and an odometer discrepancy is not a valuation dispute here: mileage tampering carries criminal exposure and the vehicle is held |
14. Restrictions and prohibited categories
- Left-hand drive cannot be registered. This is the hardest restriction on this list and it is absolute rather than discretionary
- Age is counted from the year of first registration, not from the year of manufacture, and the calendar cut-off has moved: vehicles registered in 2018 and earlier are rejected from the end of 2025, and only vehicles registered on or after 1 January 2019 are accepted thereafter
- Accident, flood and fire vehicles are refused, and a vehicle with a tampered odometer is not merely revalued: mileage fraud carries criminal exposure
- Environmental compliance documentation is required, and the destination inspection tests the vehicle against the national safety standards rather than accepting the export-country certificate on its own
22. Required documents and certificates
- Certificate issued after pre-export verification by the appointed inspection body; clearance cannot proceed without it
- The QISJ verification pack: the registration book, the export certificate and the deregistration document, since verification of these documents now precedes the destination inspection
- Odometer evidence that survives scrutiny, because mileage tampering carries criminal exposure in this market rather than a simple re-assessment
- Environmental compliance documentation and the importer's tax identification number, both required for the declaration
- Bill of lading showing the final discharge port, full consignee name, address and telephone number
- Commercial invoice and packing list whose VIN, model year, engine capacity and colour match the bill of lading character by character
- Certificate of origin (or the preferential certificate required by a trade agreement)
- Vehicle registration certificate and official de-registration / export-cancellation document from the country of last registration
- Marine insurance certificate covering the declared value plus freight, valid until clearance is completed
31. Customs clearance process, step by step
- Screen the stock on the year of first registration and on right-hand drive before anything else, because neither can be corrected after loading
- Complete pre-export verification in the export country to obtain the certificate required for clearance, and submit the import documents for QISJ verification with enough lead time
- Declare through the customs single window, pay duty, value added tax, the import declaration fee and the regional development levy, pass the destination inspection and register with the transport authority
- Vessel arrival: the importer's licensed broker lodges the import declaration through the national single window and the goods move to the bond store
- Inspection and release: physical and technical inspection, duty assessment, payment, delivery order, gate-out
- Registration: purchase of third-party liability insurance, local technical test, issuance of number plates
⚓Shipping and transit
Ocean freight from Qingdao / Shanghai / Nansha: Ro-Ro or container depending on unit and vessel space. Sailing time is about 25–36 days to Mombasa. This is time at sea only — it excludes inland haulage to the port, terminal waiting and congestion at destination. Allow roughly two further weeks on top of the sailing time when planning, and clearance at destination takes about 3–7 working days once documents are complete. Schedules and freight are confirmed in writing at booking — contact us for the current ETD/ETA.
Transit ranges are compiled from published carrier schedules and freight-forwarder references; they vary with carrier, routing and season. The booking confirmation governs.
💰How we quote
How we quote: FOB Qingdao, Shanghai or Nansha. We handle export declaration, loading and export documents. Destination clearance, import duties and taxes, and on-carriage are arranged by the buyer or the buyer's agent. The clearance and tax detail on this page is background for your budget, not a description of our scope.
4Recent regulatory changes
- From 14 July 2025 the import documents are verified through the QISJ system before the destination inspection, at a reported fee of 12,000 Kenyan shillings per vehicle and about four working days. A file that has not passed this step does not reach the inspection
- The calendar cut-off moved: vehicles registered in 2018 and earlier are rejected from the end of 2025 and only vehicles registered on or after 1 January 2019 are accepted from 2026, which stranded a band of marginal stock
- Enforcement against odometer tampering and vehicle identification number history checks has been tightened, moving the mileage question from a commercial dispute to a legal exposure
5Common delay and refusal situations
- Counting age from the build year: Kenyan practice counts from first registration, and Japanese stock whose build year and registration year differ by one is the classic casualty
- Shipping a left-hand drive car: it cannot be registered, the buyer cannot cure it, and the vehicle becomes an unsaleable asset in a market that will not plate it
- Skipping the QISJ document verification: the file does not reach the destination inspection, and the delay is measured in weeks at a port where storage accrues daily
- Insufficient odometer evidence: the vehicle is held and the matter is no longer commercial, since mileage fraud carries criminal exposure in this market
6Operational checkpoints
- Build the Kenya stock list on the year of first registration and delete everything registered before 2019; do not rely on the model year shown in a sales listing
- Keep the full three-document chain together: registration book, export certificate and deregistration document, because the verification step now reads them as a set
- Serve inland customers through transit rather than by clearing in Kenya, so the vehicle does not need a Kenyan plate it cannot obtain
- The compliance package is completed before booking, not at the port: these markets generally do not accept certificates repaired after arrival
- Demurrage, storage and rectification costs follow the allocation written into the contract, agreed before shipment
- Regulation in these markets changes several times a year; quotations and sailing dates are confirmed in writing for the current period
- Where customs applies its own valuation table, the tax base is set by that table and usually exceeds the invoice value — budget on the table
?Frequently asked questions
What is the age limit for importing a used car into Kenya?
Eight years, counted from the year of first registration under the national standard, not from the year of manufacture. In calendar terms, vehicles registered in 2018 and earlier are rejected from the end of 2025 and only vehicles registered on or after 1 January 2019 are accepted from 2026. Build your stock rule on the registration year, because the build year is not the reference.
Can I import a left-hand drive car into Kenya?
No. Kenya is right-hand drive only and a left-hand drive vehicle cannot be registered in the normal import categories. This makes Kenya a market for Japanese, British or right-hand drive Gulf stock rather than a destination for left-hand drive volume cars, and the defect cannot be cured after arrival.
What is the QISJ verification introduced in July 2025?
From 14 July 2025 the import documents are verified before the destination inspection: the registration book, the export certificate and the deregistration document are checked as a set, at a reported fee of 12,000 Kenyan shillings per vehicle and about four working days. A file that has not passed this verification does not reach the inspection, so submit it with lead time rather than at arrival.
How much tax applies to a car imported into Kenya?
Duty of around 25% under the East African Community common external tariff, value added tax of 16%, an import declaration fee of 2% and a regional development levy of 2%, with an excess age tax on older vehicles and excise where the category carries it. All are assessed on the customs value, so the stack follows the assessment rather than your purchase price, and Mombasa handling and storage are charged in addition.
Which port handles car imports in Kenya?
Mombasa, the East African gateway, with Lamu as an alternative discharge and inland transit to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and the eastern Congo moving through Mombasa under regional transit documents. Vehicle inspection yards at the port have limited capacity and queue in peak season, so plan the inspection appointment as part of the schedule rather than as an afterthought.
✉Get a written landed-cost check for this market
Send us the VIN list or the model, model year and quantity you plan to ship to Kenya. We check it against the requirements above before you book the vessel.
- Pre-shipment compliance check against VIN (age limit, steering side, emission standard, certificate scope)
- Landed-cost sheet: duty, VAT, excise and levies calculated on the customs value actually used at the destination port
- Full document set prepared by us: certificate, invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, export declaration
- FOB quotation with the destination-side obligations written into the contract, so nothing is discovered at the port
Reply within one business day. We quote against the regulations in force at booking date and state the verification date on every document set.
✓Sources, information currency and disclaimer
- Kenya Revenue Authority tariff, VAT, IDF and RDL publications — official authority, consulted October 2026
- Kenya Bureau of Standards pre-export verification and inspection requirements — official authority, consulted October 2026
- QISJ document verification requirement effective 14 July 2025 — official authority, consulted October 2026
- Licensed Mombasa clearing agents practice notes — market practice, verified October 2026
- Kenya Revenue Authority → https://www.kra.go.ke/