Govt gives one-month ultimatum to businesses with pending registrations
By William Muthama, July 14, 2025The government has issued a final warning with a one-month ultimatum to individuals and entities with incomplete business registration applications, urging them to take immediate action before August 14, 2025, or risk having their applications permanently deleted from the system.
The notice was made public on Monday, July 14, 2025, by the Business Registration Service (BRS), a state corporation under the Attorney General’s Office, through a statement signed by Director-General Kenneth Gathuma.
Incomplete Applications Targeted
According to BRS, the cleanup will affect all draft applications created between 2017 and 2024 on the Link Business portal that were never submitted, as well as those flagged for corrections between 2017 and 2021 but never acted upon
“This clean-up effort aims to improve efficiency at the Companies Registry and ensure records of entities are up to date,” BRS said.
“Entities with such applications are advised to either submit their draft application or respond to the correction request to prevent the application from being archived.”
The agency emphasised that once archived, the applications will be permanently removed and will no longer be accessible for review or submission.
Efficiency and Compliance
The clean-up, BRS explained, is part of a broader move to streamline operations and ensure the registry is in line with the Companies Act, CAP 486.
The system refresh is also expected to free up space and reduce system congestion for new applicants seeking to register businesses.
“By removing stalled or abandoned applications, we’re creating a better environment for both new and existing business entities,” the statement noted.
Previous Compliance Warning
This is not the first time BRS has moved to tighten compliance. In April 2025, it warned that companies that failed to update their status as required by an earlier October 2024 directive would be struck off the official register.
Companies were instructed to provide evidence of active operations, such as tax returns, financial documents, or valid contracts.
Failure to comply, BRS warned at the time, would mean a company is no longer recognised as legally operational in Kenya.
Entities with pending applications now have until August 14 to act or face automatic deletion from the registry.