Apply for admission as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya
The Judiciary of Kenya · sources read 2 Oct 2026
Once the Council of Legal Education has gazetted you as qualified, activate your account on JAMS (jams.court.go.ke), upload your petition and documents as PDFs and pay KSh 1,000 by M-Pesa. Your name is gazetted for 30 days, then the Chief Justice admits you at a ceremony.
- Fee
- KSh 1,000Petition for admission
- How long
- Gazettement lasts 30 days; the Chief Justice then hears petitions within 90 days
- Where
- Online only, on the Judiciary Advocates Management System (jams.court.go.ke); admission ceremony in person
What you need
- Notice of the Petition for Admission
- Cover letter to the Chief Justice, copied to the Secretaries of LSK and CLE
- The Petition for Admission
- Certificate of Completion of Pupillage from your pupil master, plus their practising certificate for that year
- Two Certificates of Moral Fitness from two practising advocates, with their current practising certificates
- CLE Certificate of Compliance
- Statutory declaration verifying the petition
- Certified copy of your LL.B. degree certificate
- The single Kenya Gazette page with your name highlighted
- National ID (citizens) or passport bio-data page (non-citizens)
Steps
- After CLE gazettes you, go to jams.court.go.ke, click Sign Up, choose Petitioner and enter your CLE number, ID number and email. Use the code sent to your email to activate.
- Upload your petition and all documents, scanned and saved as PDF.
- When your documents are accepted, pay the KSh 1,000 invoice by M-Pesa and enter the M-Pesa code. You get a receipt.
- The Chief Registrar gazettes your petition for 30 days. You don't need to serve LSK or CLE yourself.
- Attend the admission ceremony, take the oath before the Chief Justice and sign the Roll of Advocates. Download your Certificate of Admission from JAMS within 24 hours.
Watch out
- Upload proper scans saved as PDF, not phone photos.
- Upload only the one Gazette page that has your name, not the whole Gazette.
- Admission is not enough to practise. After admission, apply for your annual practising certificate on the LSK portal.
Who can apply
- Citizens of Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania only.
- Kenyan-trained candidates: a CLE Certificate of Compliance and a Kenya Gazette notice confirming you qualify (after Kenya School of Law, pupillage and bar exams).
- Or: already an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda or Tanzania (this route has its own document list).
Official sources (2)
- Advocates judiciary.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Judiciary Advocates Management System (JAMS) jams.court.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026