Register an adoption and get a new birth certificate for an adopted child
Directorate of Civil Registration Services · sources read 2 Oct 2026
After the court gives you an adoption order, register it with the Registrar General (KSh 100) to get an adoption certificate in about 7 days. Then take it to Civil Registration to re-register the child's birth (KSh 1,000) and get the new birth certificate (KSh 200).
- Fee
- KSh 100Registering the adoption (Registrar General)KSh 1,000Birth re-registration upon adoption (CRS)KSh 200New birth certificate (CRS)
- How long
- About 7 days for the adoption certificate, then 1 working day at CRS
- Where
- Registrar General (Office of the Attorney General) to register the adoption, then Civil Registration Services for the new birth certificate
What you need
- For the Registrar General: the original court adoption order, with its schedule
- For CRS: the adoption order, the adoption certificate and the Registrar General's letter confirming its particulars
- ID cards or passports of the adoptive parents
- The child's original birth certificate from before the adoption
- The certificate declaring the child free for adoption, and the report from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection
- Completed Form B4
Steps
- Take the original adoption order (with its schedule) to the Registrar General at the Attorney General's office to register the adoption.
- Pay KSh 100 and collect the adoption certificate, usually within 7 days, plus the letter confirming its particulars.
- Fill in Form B4 and take it with all the documents to Civil Registration Services to re-register the child's birth.
- Pay KSh 1,000 for re-registration and KSh 200 for the new birth certificate. CRS aims to finish in 1 working day.
Watch out
- Go to the Registrar General first. CRS needs the adoption certificate and the Registrar General's letter before it can issue the new birth certificate.
- Keep the child's original pre-adoption birth certificate. CRS asks for it.
Who can apply
- Adoptive parents who already have a court adoption order.
Official sources (3)
- Registration of Child Adoption in Kenya statelaw.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- CRS Service Delivery Charter usajili.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Civil Registration Services usajili.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026