NTSA logbook transfer in Kenya (2026): steps, charges and the new e-logbook

Every car you buy for Uber or Bolt has to end up in your name: the platforms ask for the registration, your insurer insures the registered owner, and it is the logbook that proves the car is yours if a driver ever refuses to give it back. Since June 2026 that logbook is digital. Here is how a transfer works now.

Paper logbooks are gone

From 10 June 2026, NTSA moved vehicle registration to e-logbooks: the certificate of registration lives in the owner's eCitizen account, where you can view, download and verify it, instead of a printed book. After a transfer, the buyer's new e-logbook simply appears in their eCitizen account.

Before you start

• Both the seller and the buyer need an active eCitizen account with the NTSA service enabled.
• The car's details on NTSA should match the car: registration, chassis number, engine number.
• If the car was bought on a loan, the financier is usually registered with the owner until the loan is cleared — the transfer needs the financier's release first.

The steps

The seller

1. Logs in to eCitizen and opens the NTSA service.
2. Starts a transfer of ownership for the vehicle, uploads what the portal asks for, and enters the buyer's details.
3. Submits.

The buyer

4. Logs in to eCitizen, opens the notification tab and finds the pending transfer.
5. Checks the vehicle details, accepts, and pays the transfer fee.

NTSA says a transfer should take three working days. The new e-logbook then shows in the buyer's account.

What it costs

The transfer charge depends on engine size:

Most ride-hailing cars — Axio, Aqua, Note, Fit, Demio, Vitz — are 1,201–1,500cc: KSh 2,615.

Buying a used car for Uber: check before you pay

• Do the transfer before you hand over the full price, or pay through an arrangement where the money moves when the transfer is accepted.
• Check the car is not still under a loan. A car with a financier on the registration cannot be cleanly transferred until the financier releases it.
• Check its age. A car that will age off Uber's list next January earns for months, not years: Chapchap takes cars up to 10 years old in 2026. See the vehicle requirements.
• Check what it costs to run before agreeing a price: the fuel cost calculator uses real-world consumption for the popular models.

Keep the car's records together

Logbook, insurance, inspection: Gariboss keeps each car's papers and warns you before anything lapses, next to what the car owes you each evening.