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The Office of Chief Registrar of the Judiciary is established under Article 161(2)(c) of the Constitution to serve as the Chief Administrator and Accounting Officer of the Judiciary. Among the functions of the office is the management of the affairs of Advocates in exercise of powers bestowed by the Advocates Act, the Notaries Public Act, and the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act.
These laws bestow the following functions on the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary:
These functions are performed by the Advocates Section which is domiciled in the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary
Admission as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya
If you meet the criteria for a qualified person defined under Section 12 and 13 of the Advocates Act, you may apply to be admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. The process of admission is governed by Section 15 of the Advocates Act.
Advocates are admitted by the Chief Justice who hears their petition for admission and grants an order admitting the individual as an Advocate. The Council of Legal Education (CLE) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) have the right of audience during the hearing of the petition. Once the order is granted, the individual takes an oath or makes an affirmation as an officer of the Court before the Chief Justice and signs the Roll of Advocates before the Chief Registrar or a Deputy Registrar.
It is an offence to practice law without admission as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. Members of the public are also advised to seek legal services from persons who are admitted as Advocates. The Law Society of Kenya has a web page (https://online.lsk.or.ke/) where you check whether your advocate is duly admitted and has taken an annual Practicing Certificate.
Qualifications
A person seeking admission to the bar needs to demonstrate their qualifications, service and moral fitness to practice law. The Qualifications for admission as specified under Section 12 and 13 of the Advocates Act are as follows:
12. Qualification for admission as advocate
Subject to this Act, no person shall be admitted as an advocate unless—
(a) he is a citizen of Kenya, Rwanda*, Burundi*, Uganda or Tanzania; and
(b) he is duly qualified in accordance with section 13.
*Kindly note that the statutory amendment which allowed citizens of Rwanda and Burundi to be admitted was struck out by the Court of Appeal. As such, citizens of the two countries are presently not eligible for admission as Advocates of the High Court of Kenya
13. Professional and academic qualifications
(1) A person shall be duly qualified if—
(a) having passed the relevant examinations of any recognized university in Kenya he holds, or has become eligible for the conferment of, a degree in law of that university; or
(b) having passed the relevant examinations of such university, university college or other institution as the Council of Legal Education may from time to time approve, he holds, or has become eligible for conferment of, a degree in law in the grant of that university, university college or institution which the Council may in each particular case approve;
and thereafter both—
(i) he has attended as a pupil and received from an advocate of such class as may be prescribed, instruction in the proper business, practice and employment of an advocate, and has attended such course or tuition as may be prescribed for a period which in the aggregate including such instruction, does not exceed eighteen months; and
(ii) (ii) he has passed such examinations as the Council of Legal Education may prescribe; or
(c) he possesses any other qualifications which are acceptable to and recognized by the Council of Legal Education;
(d) he is an Advocate for the time being of the High Court of Uganda, the High Court of Rwanda*, the High Court of Burundi* or the High Court of Tanzania;
(e) he is for the time being admitted as an advocate of the superior court of a country within the Commonwealth and—
(i) has practised as such in that country for a period of not less than five years; and
(ii) is a member in good standing of the relevant professional body in that country:
Provided that the Council may, in addition, require that a person to whom this paragraph applies undergo such training, for a period not exceeding three months, as the Council may prescribe for the purpose of adapting to the practice of law in Kenya.
*Kindly note that the statutory amendment which allowed Advocates of the High Court of Rwanda and the High Court of Burundi to be admitted was struck out by the Court of Appeal. As such, Advocates of the two countries are presently not eligible for admission as Advocates of the High Court of Kenya under Section 13(1)(d). However, Citizens of Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania who are Advocates of the High Court of Rwanda may petition for admission using the window for advocates from commonwealth countries who have practiced for at least five years in that country (Section 13(1)(e)).
(2) The Council of Legal Education may exempt any person from any or all of the requirements prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (i) or paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) upon such conditions, if any, as the Council may impose.
Fees
A fee of KSh. 1,000 is payable when submitting a petition for admission.
How to Apply
Petitions for admission are submitted to the Advocates Section exclusively online through the Judiciary Advocates Management System that is accessible through https://jams.court.go.ke.
Candidates with Qualifications obtained from the Kenya School of Law
1. Qualification: This admission window is open to candidates who have attained their qualifications from the Kenya School of Law (KSL) and have been gazette by the Council for Legal Education as duly qualified for admission.
2. JAMS Account Activation: Qualified candidate submits Petition for admission to the Advocates Section through the Judiciary Advocates Management System that is accessible through https://jams.court.go.ke. Once CLE has gazetted the qualified candidates, their details will be pre-loaded onto the system and each candidate is to activate his/her account. For this, click “Sign Up,” select “Petitioner” and provide the required info (CLE Number, ID Number and e-mail address). A unique code will be sent to your e-mail address for account activation.
3. Required Documents: After activating the account, the candidate is to file the Petition by uploading the following documents (NB. The documents are to be scanned (not photos) and converted to PDF before upload):
i. A Notice of the Petition for Admission
ii. Cover Letter addressed to the Chief Justice, and copied to the Secretary of LSK and the Secretary of CLE.
iii. The Petition for Admission
iv. The Certificate of Completion of Pupillage from the Petitioner’s Pupil Master
v. The Pupil Master’s Practicing Certificate for the year of pupillage
NB: Where you undertook your pupillage under a person who is exempt from taking out an annual PC (e.g. ODPP, State Law, Judiciary), please upload a recommendation letter from the Pupil Master on an official letterhead.
vi. Two (2) Certificates of Moral Fitness from Two (2) practicing Advocates
vii. The current Practicing Certificates of the two Advocates issuing the Certificates of Moral Fitness
viii. The Certificate of Compliance from the Council of Legal Education
ix. A Statutory Declaration verifying the truth of the Petition
x. A certified copy of the Petitioner’s LL.B. Degree Certificate
xi. The relevant page of the Kenya Gazette wherein the Petitioner is duly gazetted by CLE, with the Petitioner’s name highlighted. (Please upload just the ONE page bearing your name, not the entire Gazette)
xii. The Petitioner’s National ID (citizens) or Passport bio-data page (non-citizens)
4. Payment: Upon verification and acceptance of the documents, an invoice for KSh. 1,000 Admission Fees will be generated by the system and the Petitioner will be prompted to make payment via M-Pesa. Please key in the M-Pesa code to complete payment. Upon payment, the system will generate and send to the petitioner a receipt.
5. Service on LSK & CLE: Section 15(1) of the Advocates Act requires copies of petitions for admission presented to the Chief Registrar to be served on LSK and CLE. Consequently, the two bodies have been granted access to the system t o view and act on petitions for this purpose, and no service by the petitioner is necessary.
6. Publication of Petitions: Section 15(2) of the Advocates Act requires the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary to publish petitions for a mandatory 30-day period before the Chief Justice can make any order on the petitions. In compliance with this provision, a list of persons who will have filed their petitions will be published by the Chief Registrar in the Kenya Gazette for 30 days before the names are forwarded to the Chief Justice for admission.
7. Admission Ceremony: After the lapse of 30 days following gazettement by the Chief Registrar, petitioners will be invited for the hearing of their petitions on a date set by the Chief Justice.
Section 15(3) of the Advocates Act requires the Chief Justice to hear the petitions within 90 days of the expiry of the 30-day statutory period following gazettement by the Chief Registrar and the admission date will be set within this 90-day window. Candidates appear at the admission ceremony during which they take an oath or make an affirmation as an officer of the Court before the Chief Justice and sign the Roll of Advocates before the Chief Registrar or a Deputy Registrar.
8. Admission Certificates: Certificates of Admission are generated by the Judiciary Advocates Management System after the admission ceremony and will be available for download on the Advocate’s JAMS account within 24 hours of admission.
9. Practicing Certificates: Applications for annual Practicing Certificates are made through the LSK Portal. After the admission ceremony, details of the newly admitted advocates are sent to the Law Society of Kenya to enable the LSK Secretariat create accounts for the advocates on the LSK Portal. Once the accounts are created, the newly admitted advocates can then apply for their inaugural annual PC on the LSK portal.
Candidates Already Admitted as Advocates in Other Jurisdictions
1. Qualifications: This admission window is open for citizens of Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania who are:
i. Advocates of the High Court of Uganda or the High Court of Tanzania, or
ii. Advocates of the superior court of a country within the Commonwealth where they have practiced for a period of not less than five years; and are members in good standing of the relevant professional body in that country.
NB: A person seeking admission through this window must obtain a Letter of No Objection from the Law Society of Kenya before making the application for admission.
2. JAMS Account Creation and Activation: Qualified candidate sends an e-mail to the Advocates Section requesting that an account be created in the Judiciary Advocates Management System. The candidate is to provide the Letter of No Objection from LSK as well as his/her e-mail address and National ID/Passport Number. The candidate will be notified via e-mail once their account has been created in the system. To activate your account, click “Sign Up,” select “Petitioner” and provide the required info (ID/Passport Number and e-mail address). A unique code will be sent to your e-mail address for account activation.
3. Required Documents: After activating the account, the candidate is to file the Petition by uploading the following documents (NB. The documents are to be scanned (not photos) and converted to PDF before upload):
i. A Notice of the Petition for Admission
ii. Cover Letter addressed to the Chief Justice, and copied to the Secretary of LSK and the Secretary of CLE
iii. The Petition for Admission
iv. Proof that one has been admitted as an advocate in the relevant jurisdiction, e.g. Certificate of Admission
v. Annual Practicing Certificates for the period the candidate has practiced in the relevant jurisdiction
vi. Proof that one is a member in good standing of the relevant professional body in that country, e.g. Letter of Good Standing from the bar association
vii. Letter of No Objection from the Law Society of Kenya
viii. Two (2) Certificates of Moral Fitness from Two (2) Advocates practicing in Kenya
ix. The current Practicing Certificates of the two Advocates issuing the Certificates of Moral Fitness
x. A Statutory Declaration verifying the truth of the Petition
xi. A certified copy of the Petitioner’s LL.B. Degree Certificate
xii. The Petitioner’s National ID (citizens) or Passport bio-data page (non-citizens)
4. Payment, service on LSK/CLE, publication of petitions and admissions is as described above.
USER SUPPORT: Every effort has been made to develop a system that is user friendly for all persons. Those with challenges may e-mail judiciary.advocates.system@gmail.com for support.
One of the functions of the Chief Registrar under Part VII of the Advocates Act is to issue annual Practising Certificates (PC) to Advocates. The PC is to be taken by Advocates on a yearly basis. It authorizes the Advocate to practice law during the year it is issued, and expires on 31st December of that year. However, where an Advocate is truck off the Roll of Advocates, the PC expires immediately the Advocate is struck off the Roll.
It is an offence to practice law without an annual PC. Lack of a valid PC may also invalidate certain documents and transactions conducted by an Advocate. Members of the public are advised to verify the status of advocates using the Law Society of Kenya’s website (https://online.lsk.or.ke/) which indicates whether an advocate has a PC for each year.
Effective January 2023, Advocates are issued digital PCs and members of the public can verify the authenticity of the PC through the Judiciary Advocates Management System (JAMS) accessible through https://jams.court.go.ke/verify-certificate
Fees
The Chief Registrar does not charge any fee for the issuance of annual PCs. However, Advocates are required to demonstrate that they have paid to the Law Society the fee prescribed by the Society for a practising certificate and the annual subscriptions payable to the Society and to the Advocates Benevolent Association. These fees are set by the Law Society and the Advocates Benevolent Association.
Application Process – Ordinary Cases
Section 22 of the Advocates Act provides as follows:
22. Application for and issue of practising certificate
(1) Application for a practising certificate shall be made to the Registrar—
(a) by delivering to him an application in duplicate, signed by the applicant specifying his name and place of business, and the date of his admission as an advocate;
(b) by producing evidence satisfactory to the Registrar that the applicant has paid to the Society the fee prescribed for a practising certificate and the annual subscriptions payable for the time being to the Society and to the Advocates Benevolent Association; and
(c) by producing a written approval signed by the Chairman of the Society stating that there is no objection to the grant of the certificate.
(2) Subject to section 31, the Registrar, if satisfied that the name of the applicant is on the Roll and that he is not for the time being suspended from practice, shall within fourteen days of the receipt by him of the application issue to the applicant a practising certificate.
In practice, the application for an annual PC is made to the Chief Registrar through the Law Society of Kenya using the LSK Portal as follows:
1. Advocate logs into his / her LSK Portal where s/he fills, signs & uploads the Declaration Form and makes payment
2. Upon approval by LSK, the application is transmitted to the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary by LSK
3. Upon verification, the Chief Registrar issues the annual digital PC through the Judiciary Advocates Management System
4. Once issued, the digital PC is available for download on the Advocate’s JAMS account under My Certificates tab and on the LSK portal
Application Process – Special Cases
Under Section 25 of the Advocates Act, a special application process is followed where an advocate applies for a practising certificate in any of the following circumstances:
(a) when for twelve months or more the Advocate has ceased to hold a practising certificate;
(b) whilst he is an undischarged bankrupt or a receiving order in bankruptcy is in force against him;
(c) when, having been suspended from practice or having had his name removed from or struck off the Roll, the period of his suspension has expired or his name has been restored to the Roll, as the case may be;
(d) not having held a practising certificate in force within twelve months next following the date of his admission as an advocate;
(e) whilst he is a person to whom the powers and provisions of the Mental Health Act (Cap. 248) relating to management and administration apply;
(f) without having paid a penalty or costs ordered by the Disciplinary Committee to be paid by him;
(g) after having been adjudicated a bankrupt and obtained his discharge or after having entered into a composition with his creditors or a deed of arrangement for the benefit of his creditors;
(h) after having had given against him any judgment which involves the payments of moneys, not being a judgment
i. limited to the payment of costs; or
ii. as to the whole effect of which upon him he is entitled to indemnity or relief from some other person; or
iii. evidence of the satisfaction of which, within seven days of the giving of such judgment, has been produced to the Registrar.
In such cases, the PC application is made in two stages as follows:
1. The Advocate gives the Chief Registrar and the Law Society a notice of his / her intention to apply for a PC. The notice is to be given at least six weeks before the actual application for the PC is made. The Council of the Society makes representations or submits a recommendation to the Chief Registrar with respect to the notice of intention to apply for a PC.
2. If LSK gives its approval, the Advocate submits the PC application using the process for ordinary PC applications explained above.
A Notary Public is an Advocate who is appointed to perform within Kenya the functions and duties commonly performed by a notary public of the United Kingdom. These functions include:
The appointment and practice by Notaries Public is governed by the Notaries Public Act, Cap 17 Laws of Kenya and the Notaries Public Rules 1958.
Upon appointment, the Advocate is issued with a Certificate of Enrolment as a Notary Public which expires on the 31st of December in the year it is issued. Subsequently, the Notary must renew their appointment on an annual basis.
Any person who holds himself out to be a notary public or who receives any fee or reward as a notary public, unless he is enrolled under the Act, and unless he is the holder of a certificate then in force, commits an offence.
Qualifications
Section 3 of the provides that “No advocate shall be appointed under this Act unless he has practised as an advocate in Kenya for not less than five years immediately preceding his application to be appointed as a notary public.”
Fees
A fee of KSh. 1,500 is payable on application for appointment.
Application & Appointment Process
The application for appointment as a Notary Public is made in the form of a Petition addressed to the Chief Justice, using the process below:
Upon appointment a Notary Public, the Advocate is issued with a Certificate of Enrolment as a Notary Public which expires on the 31st of December in the year it is issued. Subsequently, the Notary must renew their appointment on an annual basis.
Qualifications/Requirements
A Notary Public should have an active Advocate’s Practicing Certificate before they can apply for renewal of their Notary appointment.
Fees
The fee payable on annual renewal is KSh. 500. Where an Advocate has not renewed their appointment for previous years, back fees of KSh. 500 will be charged for each year they did not renew their Notary appointment.
Application Process
Authentication is the process of certifying whether an Advocate is a Notary Public with an active annual licence.
Fees
There is no fee payable for requests for authentication of notarized documents.
Process
We request all Advocates/Notaries to bring this information to the attention of clients who seek notarization services in cases where authentication is required.
A Commissioner for Oaths is an advocate who is authorized to verify the signing of affidavits, statutory declarations and other legal documents. The appointment of Commissioners for oaths is governed by the Oaths & Statutory Declarations Act. Section 2(1) of the Act provides that the Chief Justice may, by commission signed by him, appoint persons being practising advocates to be commissioners for oaths, and may revoke any such appointment.
It is an offence for a person to hold himself out as a Commissioner for Oaths or to receive any fee or reward as a Commissioner for Oaths unless he has been appointed as such.
Qualifications
Rule 2 of the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Rules provides that “An advocate who has practised in Kenya for not less than three years may apply to the Chief Justice to be appointed a commissioner for oaths.”
Fees
There are no fees payable when applying for appointment as a Commissioner for Oaths. However, a Stamp Duty is payable on the Commission issued by the Chief Justice and the appointment is not effective until this Stamp Duty is paid.
Application & Appointment Process
The application for appointment as a Commissioner for Oaths is made in the form of a Petition addressed to the Chief Justice, using the process below:
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