Updated 2026-11-14
If you work as a fundi or other skilled construction worker in Kenya, the National Construction Authority (NCA) has two routes: full accreditation for people with recognised training evidence, and provisional accreditation for experienced workers without those certificates. Choose the route that matches your documents before you apply.
Recruitment and accreditation scams are common: use the NCA process and never pay anyone personally for a job or accreditation help.
| Route | Who NCA says should use it | What NCA states you must provide or have |
|---|---|---|
| Full accreditation | Construction workers and site supervisors with technical training certificates, NITA trade tests, or competency-based assessment from accredited training institutions. | Technical training certificate, NITA trade test or competency-based assessment is the eligibility evidence stated by NCA. |
| Provisional accreditation | Construction workers without technical training certificates or trade tests, but with at least two years of documented experience. | A recommendation letter showing experience, a copy of your national ID and a passport-size photograph. |
NCA says a worker with neither training certificates or trade tests nor at least two years of documented experience should apply for apprenticeship, not provisional accreditation. Do not describe your experience as documented unless you can support it with the required recommendation letter.
NCA lists trades including masons, carpenters, painters and decorators, tile layers, plumbers, welders, electricians, steel fixers, scaffolders and plant operators. Check the NCA recognised-trades list for the full list and use the class that fits your actual work.
NCA's published provisional-accreditation instructions are:
Prepare the recommendation letter from a contractor, quantity surveyor, architect or engineer, plus your national ID copy and passport-size photograph for attachment. Use an email address and phone number you can access because NCA says the invoice and notification go to those contacts.
Pay only after you have submitted through the NCA process and received NCA's invoice. Do not send money to an individual who promises to register or employ you.
NCA states that the application fee for a construction worker's full accreditation is KES 1,000. It says cards are issued after a successful application and are valid for three years, after which they must be renewed. The same three-year validity is stated on NCA's recognised-trades page.
The NCA full-accreditation page does not set out a separate document-upload checklist or step-by-step online instructions. If you have a technical certificate, NITA trade test or competency-based assessment, start from NCA's Construction Workers and Accreditation menu, then check the live form for its requested attachments before submitting. Do not assume the provisional route's recommendation-letter requirement applies to full accreditation.
If the online form does not show the route or you are unsure whether your certificate qualifies, contact NCA before paying. NCA lists its headquarters at KCB Towers, Upper Hill, Nairobi, and says it has regional offices and Huduma Centre access countrywide. Its published headquarters phone number is +254 709 126 102.
Full accreditation is for workers with technical training certificates, NITA trade tests or competency-based assessment from accredited training institutions. Provisional accreditation is for workers without technical certificates or trade tests who have at least two years of documented experience.
Yes, if you have at least two years of documented experience. NCA requires a recommendation letter from a contractor, quantity surveyor, architect or engineer, plus a copy of your national ID and a passport-size photograph.
NCA states the construction-worker application fee is KES 1,000. For provisional accreditation, follow the invoice issued after submitting the online application rather than relying on unofficial payment requests.
NCA states accreditation cards are valid for three years and must then be renewed.
NCA says workers without technical certificates or trade tests and without at least two years of documented experience should apply for apprenticeship.