Registration Offices Set to Increase After Parliament Approves Key Civil Rights Amendment
The National Assembly has passed the Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024, marking an important step toward improving access to basic civil registration services across Kenya.
The Bill was approved on Monday, December 1, 2025, and now awaits presidential assent. If it becomes law, it will greatly widen the availability of birth and death registration services for millions of Kenyans.
The Amendment Bill, introduced by Gilgil MP Hon. Martha Wangari, proposes the creation of at least one civil registration office in every constituency.
This change aims to make it easier for citizens to access crucial documents without travelling long distances or incurring heavy costs.
Currently, Kenya has 143 active offices that handle birth and death registrations, most of which operate in sub-county headquarters and regional centres.
This number has grown from what was reported in late 2024 and early 2025, showing ongoing efforts to improve the system. With the new Bill, the government plans to set up offices in all 290 constituencies, bringing services closer to the people and reducing long-standing gaps in underserved regions.
While speaking before the Budget and Appropriations Committee, Hon. Wangari noted that many citizens continue to spend a lot of money and time just to obtain basic documents like birth certificates. She emphasized that increasing the number of offices will ease this burden.
“If the Bill is passed as it is, we will have an additional 132 birth and death registration offices across the country, which means services will finally be taken closer to the people,” she explained.
Hon. Wangari stressed that this reform is not just about adding offices—it is about fairness, accessibility, and ensuring that all Kenyans enjoy equal access to essential government services.
She said the amendment aims to redistribute services more evenly so that every constituency has its own registration office instead of relying on distant centres.
She also highlighted the importance of birth and death certificates, pointing out that they are not ordinary pieces of paper but vital documents needed for school enrollment, legal identification, inheritance, and many other official processes that shape daily life.
To ease concerns about cost, Hon. Wangari clarified that the new offices will not require large budgets or complex staffing structures.
Each office will have only three key staff members: a registrar, a deputy registrar, and a clerk. According to her estimates, the government will spend about Sh219 million in the first year to set up these additional offices—a manageable investment compared to the long-term benefits for citizens.
If fully implemented, this amendment is expected to significantly strengthen Kenya’s civil registration network, cut down travel costs for families, and ensure that even people in remote communities can easily access essential legal documents.
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