NTSA: How To Apply For New Digital Number Plates
Car owners can apply to change their details both online and offline.
Marvin Chege 
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has unveiled steps Kenyan motorists should follow when procuring the new-look digital registration number plates for vehicles in exchange for their older counterparts.
This is after the government gave motorists 18 months to apply for the new number plates, failure to which they risk being fined Ksh20,000 or serving a jail term of six months.
How To Apply
Car owners can apply to change their details both online and offline. Those who wish to apply offline can get their application from the NTSA offices.
They will be asked to submit to NTSA the vehicle's particular features as well as indicate the type of number plates one is applying for.
Motorists will then have to pay the Ksh3,000 fee to get them after being informed when they are ready to be picked up.
Kenyans can also visit the Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS) to apply online to change the number plates. They should send a text message containing the words NTSA to 224847 and then log in to the NTSA website
They should click on the TIMS tab then proceed to click on the button prompting them to apply for the new reflective number plates.
One is required to choose the vehicle that they are requesting the number plates for, the number plate type, the location to collect and the name of the person who will collect them.
After making payment of the Ksh3,000 application fee, the NTSA will send a message informing the applicant when the number plates are ready. Preferred number plates will cost Ksh30,000, this is 10 times the application fee.
Speaking during the launch of the new generation plates at GSU Recce unit Headquarters in Ruiru, Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS), Fred Matiang'i revealed that the plates would be launched starting with the KDK series for newly-registered vehicles from October 1, 2022.
The plates will also put Kenya on the global map, among countries that are compliant with the Vienna Traffic Conventions on global standards for number plates including look-and-feel features.
The plates are in compliance with the amended Traffic Act of 2016 and will bear additional inbuilt features. Some of them will be displayed physically and others visible plainly to security agencies for ease of tracing in the event they are involved in committing a crime.
Matiang'i noted that the new number plates will make it difficult for the production of fake number plates which have been used in criminal activities.
“Criminals have been driving cars around with number plates that were initially issued to tractors. Many bankers have been left holding logbooks registered fraudulently since they cannot trace the vehicles used as collateral,” he said.
To curb incidences of tax evasion in the sale of motor vehicles, the number plates will be synchronised with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) systems. This is one of the unique features that the plates will carry.
Others include a unique template, a specially-imprinted national flag, hologram, watermark, unique and different serial numbers for rear and front plates linked to the vehicle’s chassis number and customized font.
To enable wireless information transfer between it and mobile police devices or at traffic signals, the new number plates are attached with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) microchip placed on the sticker.
The smart plates, which will be easily identifiable to law enforcement officers, will also store information such as year of manufacturer, type and colour of vehicle, engine number, transmission type, date and place of manufacture, and insurance details.
