Get a NEMA effluent discharge licence (EDL)
National Environment Management Authority · sources read 2 Oct 2026
If your factory, hotel, farm or institution discharges wastewater into the environment, apply online on the NEMA licensing portal (licensing.nema.go.ke) with a lab effluent analysis report. The application fee is KSh 10,000 and the licence is issued within 21 working days.
- Fee
- KSh 10,000Application fee (all facilities)KSh 11,000Annual licence fee for listed facilities (from KSh 11,000 up to KSh 550,000, by sector and size)
- How long
- Within 21 working days
- Where
- Online on the NEMA licensing portal (licensing.nema.go.ke)
What you need
- Site layout of the facility
- Effluent analysis report from a NEMA designated laboratory
- Your environmental audit and EIA details
- Certificate of incorporation or business registration
Steps
- Register on the NEMA licensing portal (licensing.nema.go.ke) with your KRA PIN and wait for NEMA to approve your account.
- Fill in the effluent discharge application and attach your site layout and an effluent analysis report from a NEMA designated lab.
- Pay the invoice through the eCitizen link (M-Pesa and other options).
- Track the application on the portal. The licence is sent to your email; there is nothing to collect at an office.
Watch out
- The licence runs for one calendar year (January to December), so renew it every year.
- Connected to the public sewer? You don't need an EDL from NEMA.
- If a NEMA-licensed exhauster collects your wastewater, you don't need an EDL either.
Who can apply
- Anyone discharging effluent from sewage works, industry or other point sources into the environment (not into a sewer).
Official sources (4)
- NEMA Customer Service Delivery Charter 2025-2027 nema.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Water Quality Regulations nema.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Water Quality Management in Kenya: Poster and FAQs nema.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- NEMA Licensing licensing.nema.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026