Register for KNEC business and technical (TVET) exams: artisan, craft and diploma
Kenya National Examinations Council · sources read 2 Oct 2026
Your college registers you online with KNEC during the window for your series and pays through eCitizen, so register through your college before it closes. Registration for March 2027 runs 2 November 2026 to 8 January 2027, with no late registration.
- Fee
- KSh 480Artisan: basic fee per candidateKSh 500Artisan: per paperKSh 1,200Craft: basic fee per candidateKSh 1,000Craft: per paperKSh 1,500Diploma: basic fee per candidateKSh 1,350Diploma: per paperKSh 1,600Higher diploma: basic fee per candidateKSh 1,600Higher diploma: per paperKSh 450Search fee for repeaters, per paper
- Deadline
- 8 Jan 2027 March 2027 series: registration from 2 November 2026 to 8 January 2027
- Deadline
- 7 May 2027 July 2027 series: registration from 1 March to 7 May 2027
- Where
- Through your college or training institution, which registers you on the KNEC online portal
What you need
- Your national ID card and photograph, used to identify you throughout the exams
- A passport photo taken by a professional photographer, not a selfie on a phone
- Copies of your KCSE and earlier result slips, if KNEC asks for them
Steps
- Enrol at an institution approved by KNEC to offer your course. Candidates entered for unapproved courses are deleted.
- Your institution registers you online on the KNEC portal and uploads your photo. Without a photo you can't sit the exam.
- The principal generates an invoice and the exam fees are paid through eCitizen.
- Check your name, course and papers on the nominal roll and sign against your name to confirm they are correct.
Watch out
- There is no late registration, and names or courses can't be changed after entries are submitted.
- You can re-sit a failed or referred paper up to 5 times within 5 years of your first sitting. After that you retake the whole exam.
- Sending data and paying fees doesn't by itself mean you're registered. Every registration condition must be met.
Who can apply
- Students genuinely enrolled and studying the course at the institution that enters them
- Artisan courses: KCPE
- Craft certificate: at least KCSE mean grade D (plain), or a pass in a relevant artisan course
- Diploma: at least KCSE mean grade C- (minus), or a pass in a relevant craft course
- Higher diploma: a pass in a relevant diploma
Official sources (3)
- Instructions for the registration of candidates and administration of the 2026/2027 Business and Technical Examinations knec.ac.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Business & Technical Examinations knec.ac.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Our Portals knec.ac.ke · read 2 Oct 2026