More than 557,000 national identity cards remain uncollected across Kenya, with nearly 400,000 having been held at registration offices for the past decade despite government efforts to encourage Kenyans to pick up the crucial documents.
The State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services says 557,909 identity cards were still awaiting collection as at the end of October 2026, highlighting persistent challenges in the country’s identification system.
Of the outstanding cards, nearly 400,000 have remained uncollected for 10 years, raising questions about public awareness, access to registration offices and the effectiveness of government campaigns aimed at improving ID collection.
The backlog means hundreds of thousands of Kenyans could be missing out on essential services that require national identification, including access to financial services, government programmes and other public services.
National identity cards are a key requirement for accessing formal employment, opening bank accounts, registering businesses and participating in various government transactions.
The latest figures come amid continued government efforts to improve access to identification services and strengthen the national registration system.
The Department has been encouraging applicants to collect their cards from registration centres, but the large number of outstanding documents suggests that these efforts have yet to resolve the problem.
The government faces the challenge of ensuring that applicants are notified when their cards are ready and can access them without incurring significant travel costs.
The uncollected cards also represent a gap in the country’s efforts to ensure citizens have the identification documents needed to participate fully in economic and social activities.
