Motorists Given Till July to Upgrade to Digital Licenses

In a few months’ time, drivers will no longer be able to drive around the country if they have not digitized their licenses.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has requested drivers to apply and acquire the new look smart driving license by July or risk attracting instant fines. The NTSA has been trying to get drivers to upgrade to the new generation licenses but very few have upgraded so far.

The directive to have them upgrade to digital licenses was among resolutions made by the NTSA last week in Mombasa. The resolutions were made during a high-profile security meeting led by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.

In a 10-point plan for his ministry, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said he will concentrate on countering terrorism, police reforms, cleaning up the registry department, introducing instant fines for traffic offenses, fight radicalization in universities and continue cleaning up the transport sector.

“The issuance of manual driving licenses will be suspended by July 1. We are going to start trials on instant fines immediately and by July 1, we will go fully on the issue of fines as we cease issuing manual driving licenses. We are migrating to digital and that’s the way forward,” Dr Matiang’i said.

Meanwhile, NTSA has asked the motorists who had already applied for the smart driver’s license to collect them at their (NTSA) offices in Nairobi.

The smart card costs Sh3,050 and is valid for three years. It has an electronic chip containing the name, blood group and other biometric data of the driver.

To apply for the new licenses you need to do the following:

1. Create an NTSA TIMS account – You will need to create an account on the NTSA TIMS platform. Find how to create one here: hapakenya.com/how-to-register-on-ntsa-tims,
2. Confirm details – You will then need to log in to your NTSA TIMS account with an NTSA agent. They will confirm your personal details including blood type info, and county of residence.
3. Make payment – After step 3 you will then be required to make a payment of Sh3,050 for the new smart Kenyan driving license via M-Pesa.
4. Book appointment date – After making the payment, you will then be needed to make an appointment date in the Kenyan County of your choice. You are encouraged to book in advance.
5. Biometrics and signature – You will then required to take a digital picture and they will also take your biometrics and digital signature.
6. Printing – Your license will then printed.
7. Validation – The last step will be license validation and then you are done.