Buying land or a used car in Kenya: checks before you pay

Search first, pay second, then transfer. The official searches are how you avoid being conned.

Your checklist. Tick things off as you go; it's saved on this phone only.

1. 1. You need an account for land services. Register an Ardhisasa account Go to ardhisasa.lands.go.ke, click Register, and verify your ID number, phone and email with the codes sent to you, then set a password. Your Ardhisasa ID is sent to your email and phone.
2. 2. Confirm who owns the land before you pay. Do an official land search (title search) If the land is in an Ardhisasa county, apply on Ardhisasa with the parcel number, pay when you get the phone prompt, then download the official search certificate. Elsewhere, apply at the land registry. The search certificate fee is KSh 1,000.
3. 3. Move the title into your name. Transfer land to a buyer after a sale Your advocate starts the transfer on Ardhisasa, buyer and seller confirm and sign it from their own Ardhisasa accounts, stamp duty is assessed and paid, and the registrar registers the land in the buyer's name. For agricultural land in a land control area, get Land Control Board consent first.
4. 4. Confirm the car's owner and records before you pay. Do a motor vehicle search (NTSA copy of records) Log in to eCitizen, open the NTSA service portal, pick motor vehicle copy of records, enter the car's registration or chassis number and pay. You can download the record straight away and check the owner, chassis and engine numbers before you buy.
5. 5. Move the logbook into your name. Transfer vehicle ownership (logbook transfer) The seller starts the transfer on the NTSA service portal and the buyer accepts it on their own account. Get it done within 14 days of the sale.