Apply for a prospecting, retention or mining licence
Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs · sources read 3 Oct 2026
Register on the Mining Cadastre Portal, get the landowner's consent through meetings run with your County Mining Officer, then apply online with your coordinates, documents and the officer's report. The Cabinet Secretary should decide within 90 days for a prospecting licence and 120 days for a mining licence.
- Fee
- We couldn't confirm a fee from the official page. Check it there before you pay.
- How long
- Up to 90 days for a prospecting licence; up to 120 days for a mining licence
- Where
- Online on the Mining Cadastre Portal; existing rights holders register in person at the Mining Cadastre Office, Works Building, Ngong Road, Nairobi
What you need
- National ID or passport (for portal registration)
- If you act for a company: a letter of authority signed by a company director
- Landowner consent forms (certified by a Commissioner of Oaths and witnessed by the County Mining Officer) and the County Mining Officer's report
Steps
- Register on the Mining Cadastre Portal (portal.miningcadastre.go.ke) and upload your ID or passport. If you already hold mineral rights, register in person with Form MCP01 at the Mining Cadastre Office, Works Building, Nairobi.
- Before applying, tell the County Mining Officer for your area that you intend to get landowner consent, and propose dates and venues for community meetings.
- Sign in, go to New Applications, choose Large Scale Licences, pick the licence type, enter your coordinates (or pick blocks on the map), select the minerals and upload your documents.
- Upload the certified landowner consent forms and the County Mining Officer's report. Pay what the portal shows by M-Pesa, card or bank transfer.
- The Licensing Division checks your application, the Mineral Rights Board reviews it, and the Cabinet Secretary approves or rejects it.
Watch out
- No application is evaluated without the County Mining Officer's report, so do the landowner meetings first.
- Incomplete applications are deleted from the cadastre.
- On private land, no licence is granted without the registered owner's express consent.
Who can apply
- Companies registered and established in Kenya that are not being wound up or in liquidation.
- A retention licence is only for a prospecting licence holder who has found a deposit worth mining but can't develop it yet.
Official sources (6)
- Public Notice: Implementation of the Jukwaa la Usalama Report recommendation for the mining sector portal.miningcadastre.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Licensing mining.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Mining Act, 2016 (No. 12 of 2016) new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Cadastre Portal - Help: Registration portal.miningcadastre.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Cadastre Portal - Help: Mineral Rights Applications portal.miningcadastre.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Cadastre Portal - Help: Payments portal.miningcadastre.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026