For many Kenyans, acquiring the Certificate of Good Conduct encounters a bureaucratic hurdle that can delay employment, contracts, and even migration plans.
- •Lawmakers are now weighing a proposal that could ease that friction by allowing applicants to renew the police clearance certificate without resubmitting fingerprints each time, shifting repeat applications largely online.
- •The amendment to the National Police Service Act would require the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to build and maintain a secure biometric database, enabling previously captured data to be reused.
- •The DCI processes roughly one million certificates annually, overwhelming physical service points such as Huduma Centres and contributing to persistent backlogs that ripple through the labor market.
“The primary objective of this bill is to ensure that once an applicant’s biometrics are captured, subsequent applications can be processed online without the need for physical appearance,” said John Makali, MP Kanduyi constituency.
At the center of the reform is a costly technology overhaul. The government is upgrading its fingerprint system to a Multi-Biometric Identification System in a project estimated at KSh2.71 billion over five years. About KSh1.138 billion has already been allocated, leaving a funding gap of roughly KSh1.57 billion, with completion slated for the 2028/29 fiscal year.
Proponents of the reform argue that the investment will pay off in faster processing times, lower compliance costs for workers and firms, and reduced congestion at service centers. The proposal is also expected to benefit Kenyans abroad, who currently face travel costs to submit key biometrics.
