Get a scrap metal dealer licence
Scrap Metal Council · sources read 4 Oct 2026
Apply online on the Scrap Metal Council licensing portal: create an account, add your company and directors, upload your documents and submit. You must belong to a scrap metal dealers' association, and a dealer licence lasts 1 year.
- Fee
- We couldn't confirm a fee from the official page. Check it there before you pay.
- Where
- Online on the Scrap Metal Council licensing portal (licensing.scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke). You can check if a licence is valid at licensing.scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke/site/validate. Office: Social Health Authority (former NHIF) Building, Ragati Road, 1st Floor, Wing B, Nairobi.
What you need
- Scrap Metal Dealers Association membership number and certificate
- Business registration certificate and business permit
- Plot title or lease agreement for your premises
- Tax Compliance Certificate
- Each director's KRA PIN and Certificate of Good Conduct
- Valid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate
Steps
- Create an account on licensing.scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke with your email, then click the link in the confirmation email.
- Log in, add your company details and directors, and upload your documents as PDFs.
- Pick the licence type, submit the application and pay by M-Pesa, Airtel Money, card or bank.
- The secretariat and then the Council review it, and the Council tells you its decision. If you disagree, you can appeal to the Cabinet Secretary for industry.
Watch out
- Licences expire: a dealer or importer licence lasts 1 year, an exporter or miller licence only 6 months. Renew on time.
- Your application sits as a draft until you press submit. The Council won't look at it before then.
- Dealing in scrap metal without a licence can cost up to KSh 10 million or 3 years in jail for a first offence.
Who can apply
- Dealers, agents, millers, smelters, exporters, importers, collectors and jua kali operators in scrap metal.
- You must not have been convicted of an offence under the Scrap Metal Act in the last 3 years.
- You must not have been convicted of fraud or dishonesty in the last 5 years, or be an undischarged bankrupt.
Official sources (7)
- Licensing Process scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- FAQs scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- SMC Investors' Guide (March 2026) scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Scrap Metal Manual and Licensing System User Guide scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Offenses scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Home | Scrap Metal Council scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Validate License/Permit - Scrap Metal Council Licensing System licensing.scrapmetalcouncil.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026