The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has introduced a new electronic certificate platform that will allow former candidates to access and download digital copies of their national examination certificates online.
The move is expected to provide a simpler and faster solution for thousands of Kenyans who have lost their academic certificates or need certified copies for employment, education, or other official purposes.
The new system is available to candidates whose examination records are stored in the KNEC database between 1989 and 2025.
Through the platform, users can obtain a digital version of their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) or Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) certificate without the need to visit KNEC offices or return to their former schools.
To access the service, applicants are required to create an account on the e-Certificate portal using their email address.
After registration, they must complete their personal profile and verify their identity.
Kenyan applicants will be required to provide their National Identity Card details, which are automatically checked through the Integrated Population Registration System (IPRS).Once identity verification is successful, applicants will be asked to provide their examination details.
This includes entering their examination index number, selecting the examination type, either KCSE or KCPE, and indicating the year they sat for the examination.
After the details are confirmed, candidates must pay a certificate generation fee of KSh1,200, in addition to Value Added Tax (VAT) and any applicable eCitizen transaction charges.
Payment can be made through the available methods provided on the platform.Following successful payment, the digital certificate becomes available for download in Portable Document Format (PDF). KNEC says the certificates generated through the system contain a blockchain verification hash, a security feature designed to help institutions confirm the authenticity of the document.
Downloaded certificates will remain accessible on the platform for six months.
The introduction of the digital service is expected to benefit many former students who have struggled to replace lost certificates or obtain proof of their academic qualifications.
The process significantly reduces the time and travel costs that were previously involved when seeking such documents.
In addition to serving individual applicants, KNEC has also developed a verification portal for organisations. Universities, employers, government agencies, and professional bodies will be able to use the system to verify academic certificates presented by applicants or employees.
For institutions handling large numbers of applications, the platform also supports bulk verification. Organisations can verify up to 1,000 certificates at once by uploading certificate documents together with a CSV file containing the required details.
The new digital platform marks a major step in modernising certificate management and verification services in Kenya.
