Complain about an advocate (lawyer) to the Advocates Complaints Commission
Advocates Complaints Commission · sources read 2 Oct 2026
Fill in and sign the ACC Help Form, then send it with copies of your evidence to the Advocates Complaints Commission in Nairobi or by email to acc@ag.go.ke. It is free, and covers things like a lawyer withholding your money or neglecting your case.
- Fee
- We couldn't confirm a fee from the official page. Check it there before you pay.
- How long
- File opened in about 7 days and a preliminary inquiry in about 30 days. Investigation time varies.
- Where
- Advocates Complaints Commission, Cooperative Bank House, 20th Floor, Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi (P.O. Box 48048-00100). Email acc@ag.go.ke, tel. 020 2224029.
What you need
- The ACC Help Form, filled in and signed by you
- A copy of your national ID, passport or other ID
- An authorisation letter if you are complaining for someone else
- Proof of payment, such as receipts, M-Pesa or bank statements, or cheques
- Letters, emails or messages between you and the advocate
- Where relevant: title documents, agreements, court documents or a police abstract
Steps
- Download the Help Form (English or Kiswahili) from acc.go.ke, fill in every section and sign it.
- Send the form with photocopies of your documents to The Secretary, Advocates Complaints Commission, Cooperative Bank House 20th Floor, Nairobi, or email acc@ag.go.ke.
- The ACC opens a file and gives you a file reference number and a tracking number. Keep them for follow-up.
- A state counsel reviews it and writes to the advocate. If misconduct is shown, the case goes to mediation at the ACC or is prosecuted before the Advocates Disciplinary Committee.
Watch out
- If the advocate has already gone to court to recover unpaid fees from you, the ACC generally can't take your complaint.
- Send copies only, never originals. Whatever you send becomes the ACC's property and may be destroyed later.
- The ACC does not handle complaints about state counsel, court staff, judges or magistrates.
Who can apply
- Anyone can complain about an advocate, or someone they authorise to complain for them.
- Typical complaints: an advocate withholding your money, missing court, not updating you, or neglecting your case.
- All ACC services are free.
Official sources (6)
- Complaints Procedure acc.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- FAQs acc.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- The Review and Investigation Stage acc.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Contact Us acc.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Help Form: Summary of a complaint against an advocate (English) acc.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Advocates Complaints Commission statelaw.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026