Updated 27 September 2026. Fees and rules below link to the bureau, CBK or Kenya Law document they come from.
A CRB clearance certificate is a document from one of Kenya's three credit reference bureaus that states your credit status on the day it's issued. You apply to TransUnion, Creditinfo or Metropol. TransUnion's fee schedule says your first certificate is free and each one after that costs KSh 2,200. Creditinfo's current page quotes KES 2,200. Metropol doesn't publish a price.
Most people need one for a job. The Employment Act lets an employer ask for clearance certificates once it intends to hire you, and state-office applicants must provide them. It isn't a fine, and it doesn't clear your name. Creditinfo puts it plainly: "The Kshs.2200 is the processing fee for a Clearance Certificate and not a fine to clear your name on CRB" (Creditinfo FAQ).
We rewrote this guide in September 2026. The old version listed USSD codes, a paybill for Creditinfo and processing times that the bureaus don't publish, so we took them out.
Who asks for a CRB clearance certificate
No law makes a CRB clearance certificate compulsory for everyone. The rule that matters is section 9 of the Employment Act, as amended in 2022 (Act No. 15 of 2022; Kenya Law consolidation of 26 April 2024):
- An employer "shall not require" a clearance or compliance certificate from a job seeker unless it intends to enter into a contract of service with that person (s.9(5)).
- Once it does intend to hire you, it may ask for "mandatory clearance certificates" under Chapter Six of the Constitution, and it may withdraw the offer if you don't provide them (s.9(5) to (7)).
- Anyone applying for a state office must provide clearance certificates when the recruitment or approval process requires them (proviso to s.9(5)).
In short, you shouldn't be asked for a CRB certificate just to apply. Expect the request at the offer stage.
News and education sites report that the Public Service Commission and the Teachers Service Commission include "Clearance from the Credit Reference Bureaus" in their Chapter Six document lists (Nation, secondary source). We found no CBK document that lists other bodies that ask for it, so we've dropped the old claims about landlords and tenders.
CRB clearance certificate cost in 2026
| Bureau | First certificate | Each later certificate | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TransUnion | Free | KSh 2,200 | TransUnion fee schedule, undated |
| Creditinfo | Free (2021 schedule); the current page doesn't mention it | KSh 2,200 | Fee schedule, June 2021; clearance page, undated |
| Metropol | Not published | Not published | Metropol site, checked 27 September 2026 |
Two notes on that table. Creditinfo contradicts itself: its 2021 fee schedule says "First clearance certificate application is free", but its current clearance page quotes KES 2,200 with no mention of a free first one. If you haven't had a Creditinfo certificate before, ask about the free one before you pay.
Metropol's own pages don't give a price. Its home page lists a "CRB Certificate" among the things you get on first-time registration, next to a free credit report. Other sites quote KSh 2,200 plus a KSh 100 registration fee for Metropol, but we could only find those figures on secondary sites (Kenya Wall Street, undated), not from Metropol.
Is the first CRB certificate free by law?
Under the 2020 CRB Regulations, which are under legal challenge, yes. Regulation 28(4) says a bureau "shall not, in the first instance, charge any fee in respect of a clearance certificate issued to a person for any purpose" (CRB Regulations 2020). When the rules came out, CBK said the free certificate was "particularly beneficial to Kenyan youth and graduates who are seeking employment" (CBK press release, 14 April 2020).
The caveat matters. The High Court declared the 2020 Regulations void on 28 August 2023. News reports say the Court of Appeal suspended that ruling in February 2024 while CBK's appeal is heard (Business Daily, secondary source). A later High Court judgment, of 12 February 2026, says the Regulations are "of no legal effect whatsoever" and notes the appeal is pending (KEHC 1306 of 2026, paragraph 121). TransUnion's fee schedule still offers the free first certificate either way.
The Employment Act has its own fee rule: a "relevant public entity" may not charge for a clearance or compliance certificate and must issue or reject it within 7 days (s.9(8)). Whether that covers private bureaus is unclear, and we haven't found a court or CBK statement that settles it.
How to get a CRB clearance certificate from each bureau
Wanjiru, a representative case rather than a real applicant, gets a conditional offer from a county government in October. The HR letter lists a CRB certificate among her Chapter Six documents. She has never had one, so under TransUnion's schedule her first certificate is free. If the county later asks for a newer one, that one costs KSh 2,200. Here's how she, or you, would apply.
TransUnion
TransUnion takes requests by SMS to 21272, through the TransUnion Nipashe app, by email, or at its office at Delta Corner Annex, 2nd Floor, Ring Road, Westlands, Nairobi (TransUnion Kenya; CBK annual report 2025 for the address). Its consumer rights summary (2021) says you need certified copies of your ID and KRA PIN certificate. Nipashe registration costs KSh 50, once, to paybill 212121.
Creditinfo
Apply online at applications.mycreditinfo.co.ke. If you have a negative listing, Creditinfo says it issues a "credit status certificate" instead of a clearance certificate (Creditinfo clearance page).
Metropol
Metropol's FAQ lists USSD *433# on a Safaricom line, the Crystobol Android app, the web app at crystobol.metropol.co.ke, email to [email protected], and office or agent visits. Registration is by payment to a "designated MPESA Paybill", and Metropol doesn't state the number or amount in its terms.
If you have a negative listing
A certificate reports your status; it can't change it. So check your file first. Every bureau owes you one free credit report a year (regulation 35(3), CRB Regulations 2013), and our guide on how to check your CRB status shows how to request it from each bureau.
If a listing is wrong, dispute it. Disputes are free at TransUnion and Creditinfo, per their fee schedules. If it's right, paying the debt changes it to settled, but the record stays for 5 years from the date you finish paying (regulation 33(1), 2013). Our guide on how to remove a CRB listing walks through both paths.
What to do next
- Get the basics in our CRB explainer.
- Check where you stand with the CRB score estimator, our own rough estimate rather than a bureau score.
- Starting a new job and short of cash until payday? See options on Money Now, and read the fees before you borrow.
Sources
All sources accessed 27 September 2026.
- Employment Act 2007, section 9, Kenya Law consolidation of 26 April 2024 (amended by Act No. 15 of 2022).
- TransUnion consumer fee schedule, undated: first certificate free, then KSh 2,200; Nipashe KSh 50.
- TransUnion Kenya and consumer rights summary, 2021: request channels and documents.
- Creditinfo fee schedule, June 2021; clearance certificate page and FAQ, undated.
- Metropol home page, FAQ and Crystobol terms, undated.
- Banking (Credit Reference Bureau) Regulations 2020, L.N. 55 of 2020, regulation 28(4); under legal challenge.
- CBK press release on the 2020 Regulations, 14 April 2020.
- Banking (Credit Reference Bureau) Regulations 2013, L.N. 5 of 2014: regulations 33(1) and 35(3).
- High Court judgment, KEHC 1306 of 2026, 12 February 2026.
- Business Daily, February 2024; Nation; Kenya Wall Street, undated. All secondary sources.