For years, the NCA register has quietly swelled with names of contractors who paid their fees once, maybe twice, then simply… stopped. They continued operating. They continued bidding. They continued building. The regulator looked the other way.
That era is ending.
In a public notice issued on January 27, 2026, the National Construction Authority (NCA) issued a final warning: any contractor who has not renewed their Annual Practising Licence for two consecutive years, as of January 1, 2026, faces immediate deletion from the national register.
The deadline? February 10, 2026. And the consequences are permanent.
The Legal Hammer: Section 25 of the NCA Act
The crackdown is not arbitrary. It is firmly grounded in the law. The NCA cited Section 25(1)(c) of the National Construction Authority Act (No. 41 of 2011), which explicitly empowers the regulator to deregister contractors who fail to pay annual subscription fees for two consecutive years.
But here is the part that should make every non-compliant contractor pause. Section 25(5) of the same Act stipulates that a contractor whose name has been deleted from the register shall not be registered afresh under any other name.
There is no restarting. No renaming the company and reapplying. No second chances. Once removed, you are out permanently.
NCA Executive Director and Registrar of Contractors, Eng. Maurice Akech, made it clear that the enforcement drive is part of a broader effort to professionalise the construction sector and ensure only compliant firms participate in public and private projects.
The Two Requirements: Fees and CPD
To avoid deregistration, affected contractors must meet two distinct requirements.
First, they must clear all outstanding annual renewal fees. The regulator has given affected firms until February 10, 2026, to settle their arrears and regularise their status.
Second, they must demonstrate professional competence. The NCA reiterated that renewal of an Annual Practising Licence requires the mandatory accumulation of ten (10) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points, earned through attendance of NCA or NCA-accredited CPD seminars, as provided under Regulation 14 of the NCA Regulations (2014).
The logic is straightforward. A contractor who cannot be bothered to pay annual fees or maintain professional standards should not be trusted to build a school, a hospital, or a home. The CPD requirement ensures that registered contractors are not just financially compliant but also technically current.
All renewals must be processed exclusively through the NCA online portal at portal.nca.go.ke.
Why This Crackdown Now?
The timing is not accidental.
The construction industry has been under intense scrutiny following a series of high-profile tragedies. As of January 2026, reports revealed that 87 per cent of audited buildings in Kenya were classified as unsafe. Recent incidents include a 14-story building collapsing in South C and another in Karen, both in Nairobi County.
NCA registration is a mandatory legal requirement to undertake any construction works in Kenya, whether public or private. Yet thousands of contractors have been operating without valid licences, flying under the radar, bidding for tenders, and building structures.
The regulator is finally catching up. And the message is unambiguous: non-compliance will no longer be tolerated.
Once Removed, You Are Out For Good
The permanent nature of the deletion is what sets this crackdown apart from previous enforcement actions.
Under Section 25(5) of the NCA Act, a contractor whose name has been deleted from the register shall not be registered afresh under any other name. That means no rebranding. No forming a new company with a different name and reapplying. The individuals behind the non-compliant firm cannot simply reinvent themselves and continue operating.
Deletion from the register effectively locks contractors out of the formal construction market entirely, including government and county projects, since NCA registration is mandatory. No registration means no tenders. No tenders means no formal work.
The Broader Context: Government’s War on Rogue Contractors
The NCA crackdown is not happening in isolation. It is part of a coordinated government effort to clean up the construction sector.
In December 2025, the government put contractors on notice over failure to complete projects within stipulated timelines. The Deputy Chief of Staff warned that any contractor who deliberately fails to complete a project after being paid should be blacklisted and barred from participating in government tenders in the future.
In April 2025, Eliud Owalo, Deputy Chief of Staff for Performance and Delivery Management, announced that contractors who consistently underperform or fail to deliver on time will face blacklisting and disqualification from future government projects.
The cumulative effect is a three-front assault: financial compliance via the NCA, performance accountability via blacklisting, and quality enforcement via stricter building inspections. Contractors who cannot meet all three will find themselves squeezed out of the market.
What This Means for Contractors
For builders, the message is clear: compliance is no longer optional.
Check your status immediately. If you have not renewed your Annual Practising Licence for one or more years, act now. The February 10 deadline is approaching. Even if you missed last year, clearing arrears and meeting CPD requirements may still allow you to regularise your status.
Understand the permanence of deletion. This is not a suspension. It is not a fine. It is permanent removal with no option to re-register under a different name. For construction firms, that is effectively a death sentence.
Take CPD seriously. Ten CPD points are not difficult to accumulate, but they do require attendance at accredited seminars. NCA and NCA-accredited providers run sessions regularly. Plan ahead.
Maintain your registration going forward. The NCA has signalled that this is just the beginning. Future compliance checks will likely be more frequent and more rigorous. Treat annual renewal as a fixed business expense, not an optional extra.
For small contractors, seek assistance. Industry players have previously warned that small and medium contractors are the most affected by licence compliance costs, but the Authority maintains that regulation is necessary to safeguard public safety and improve quality standards across the sector. If cost is a barrier, explore whether industry associations or county programmes offer support.
The Opportunity for Compliant Contractors
For contractors who have maintained their registration, paid their fees, and accumulated their CPD points, this crackdown is good news.
The removal of non-compliant firms will reduce competition for tenders. Every deregistered contractor is one less bidder. For compliant firms, that means higher win rates and better margins.
It also restores integrity to the registration system. Clients, developers, and government agencies can have greater confidence that registered contractors are genuinely qualified and compliant, not just holders of an expired certificate.
The Bottom Line
The NCA crackdown is not a blip. It is a shift. A permanent shift toward enforcement, accountability, and professionalism in Kenya’s construction sector.
The deadline is February 10, 2026. After that, the names will start coming off the register. And once removed, they will not be coming back.
For contractors, the question is simple: is your name going to be one of them?
| Key Data Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Regulator | National Construction Authority (NCA) |
| Deadline | 10th February 2026 |
| Legal basis | Section 25(1)(c) of the NCA Act |
| Consequence | Permanent deletion from register; cannot be re‑registered under another name |
| Requirements to avoid deletion | Clear outstanding fees + 10 CPD points |
| CPD requirement | Regulation 14, NCA Regulations (2014) |
| Processing portal | portal.nca.go.ke |
| Number of affected contractors | Thousands |
| Buildings classified as unsafe | 87% of audited buildings |
| Recent collapses | 14‑story building in South C, building in Karen |
| Blacklisting threat | For delayed project completion |
| Key official | Eng. Maurice Akech, Executive Director & Registrar of Contractors |
