Diplomats, foreign nationals and employees of international missions in Kenya can now access Police Clearance Certificate services at the Diplomatic Police Unit headquarters, as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations expands its biometric technology to make the process faster and more accessible.
The latest move allows members of the diplomatic community to apply for the certificates at a facility closer to their work, reducing the need to travel to DCI headquarters in Nairobi or Huduma Centres. The upgraded system has also cut the reported processing period from 14 days to same-day issuance.
The DCI said the extension is part of its nationwide plan to increase access to digital police clearance services through its Multi-Biometric Identification System (MBIS).
“The launch extends access to the digital service to the diplomatic community as part of the ongoing nationwide rollout, which is aimed at improving the efficiency and accessibility of PCC processing,” DCI said.
The latest rollout follows the introduction of the upgraded platform at DCI headquarters in Nairobi on July 23, when Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen officially launched the system.
The technology marks an upgrade from the earlier automated system, which relied on palm and fingerprint identification. The new platform combines several biometric methods to improve identity verification, speed up certificate processing and strengthen the tools available to investigators.
According to the DCI, the system has reduced the time taken to issue Police Clearance Certificates from 14 days to the same day. It has also expanded the number of records it can handle from two million to 10 million, while increasing its daily search capacity from 4,500 to 20,000.
“The MBIS has reduced PCC processing time from 14 days to same-day issuance, increased record-handling capacity from 2 million to 10 million records, and raised daily search capacity from 4,500 to 20,000,” the agency said.
The improvements reflect the performance gains reported by the agency following the system's introduction. During the July launch, the Kenya News Agency also reported that the platform was expected to bring down the processing period from as long as 14 days to within 24 hours.
The system relies on fingerprint, palm-print and facial recognition technology to establish identities. It also replaces the traditional ink-based fingerprint collection method with digital capture, reducing the need for paper-based procedures.
“The system integrates fingerprint, palm print and facial recognition technologies to enhance identification accuracy and strengthen forensic capabilities in criminal investigations,” the DCI said.
Apart from supporting police clearance applications, the platform is intended to improve the management of criminal records and help detectives identify individuals using biometric data.
The DCI's Forensic Fingerprint Identification Bureau oversees the national criminal records repository. Its responsibilities include forensic fingerprint analysis, processing Police Clearance Certificates and identifying individuals through fingerprint evidence.
The extension to the Diplomatic Police Unit comes after the DCI connected 20 additional application centres to the system in September 2026, mainly serving the Central Region and nearby areas.
Following that phase, the agency reported that 26 of the country's 63 Police Clearance Certificate application centres had been connected. The figure included six centres previously linked to the system in Nairobi.
The September expansion covered centres in Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu, Murang'a, Nyeri, Nyandarua, Laikipia, Samburu, Kirinyaga, Embu, Tharaka-Nithi, Meru and Isiolo counties.
The latest addition provides a dedicated access point for members of the diplomatic community, including foreign nationals and international mission staff who may find it less convenient to travel to other ap