How many directors a company needs, and how old they must be
Companies Act, 2015 · sources read 4 Oct 2026
A private company must have at least one director and a public company at least two. At least one director must be a real person (not a company), and nobody under 18 can be appointed a director.
- Deadline
- A Registrar's direction must give between one and three months to comply.
- Where
- Business Registration Service (Registrar of Companies), online through eCitizen
Steps
- If a company has too few directors or no director who is a real person, the Registrar can direct it to appoint one, giving it between one and three months to do so.
- The company complies by making the appointment and giving notice of it to the Registrar.
Watch out
- A company can't be run only by other companies: at least one director must be a natural person.
- Appointing someone under 18 as a director is void, so the appointment has no effect.
- If a company ignores the Registrar's direction, the company and each officer in default can be fined up to KSh 500,000.
Who this covers
- Private companies (at least one director)
- Public companies (at least two directors)
- Anyone aged 18 or over can be appointed a director
Official sources (1)
- Companies Act, 2015 (No. 17 of 2015) new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026