How to get your Media House accredited in Kenya

The Media Council of Kenya is an independent national institution established by the Media Act, 2007 as the leading institution in the regulation of media and in the conduct and discipline of journalists in Kenya. How to get your Media House accredited in Kenya.  It is mandated amongst other functions to register and accredit journalists, register media establishments, handle complaints from the public and create and publish yearly media audit on the Media Freedom in Kenya. During accreditation the journalists agree to adhere to the Code of Conduct and Practice of Journalism in Kenya, which was created by media practitioners and stakeholders with the view of making Journalism in Kenya a more professional and respectable field.

Prior to the Media Act 2007, the Media Council of Kenya was a self-regulatory body formed in 2004 by media stakeholders to regulate the media and prevent Government from creating a regulatory body. It was only after agreements between the Government of Kenya and the Media stakeholders in Kenya did it convert from a Self-Regulatory to a Statutory body in 2007.

Council membership is drawn from media stakeholders in Kenya including the Media Owners Association, Kenya Union of Journalists, Kenya Correspondents Association, Kenya Editors Guild, Public Relations Society of Kenya, Kenya News Agency, Private and Public Universities, the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication and the Law Society of Kenya.

The Media Act 2013 provides that the Media Council of Kenya, the regulator of media in Kenya shall accredit all media enterprises operating in the country. Media enterprise is required a subscription fee for accreditation.

• PURSUANT to section 19 (1) of the Media Act, CAP 411B, The Council may, by notice in the Gazette, impose a levy in respect of all media enterprises operating in Kenya, and an annual registration fee in respect of all journalists whose names appear in the registers kept by the Council.
• In exercise of the power donated to it under section 19 the Council has through gazette notice number 896 of 2009 published the rates of levies payable to the Media Council of Kenya by all media enterprises operating in Kenya.
• Now, therefore all media enterprises operating in the country particularly in the counties are advised to inform the Media Council of their existence and operation to ensure compliance.

Benefits of Accreditation

1. Helps in professionalization in journalism.
2. it helps media houses to access information by allowing them to participate in conferences, workshops, trainings and other gatherings.
3. it enhances the protection of the rights and privileges of media houses in the performance of their duties.

Media Council of Kenya – Statutory Media Regulator

Required Documents

• Copy of the Certificate of registration
• Certificate of incorporation
• License from the communication authority (for broadcasters)
• Media house Kenya Revenue Authority Pin Number
• List of journalists working in the Media house.

Fees

• Large media house (Five or more media outlets with regional reach and or high Power frequency with regional reach) Ksh 150,000 per month.
• Large media house( Five or more media outlets with national reach and or high power frequency with national reach) Ksh 100,000 per month
• Medium media houses ( Two to four media outlets or medium power frequency) Ksh 75,000 per month
• Micro media houses(Two media outlets or low power frequency) Ksh 50,000 per month
• Small media houses(One media outlet) Ksh 20,000 per month
• Small media houses(One media outlet and frequency radius of 40 km) Ksh 10,000 per month
• Magazine publishers Ksh 10,000 per month
• Foreign media houses (Annual subscription) Ksh 30,000

Here is How to get your Media House accredited in Kenya

Apply Online

1. Media houses can for apply accreditation online by visiting the Media Council of Kenya (MCK’s) Website and make an application through MCK’s online portal through the following link: Online Accreditation Portal
2. Please visit the Media Council of Kenya (MCK’s) Website homepage scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Accreditation Icon to proceed to the accreditation portal.
3. Upon entering the accreditation portal’s homepage, click on the “Media House” tab and then choose the “Register” to enter the next page.
4. You will be taken to the next page once you click the “Register” option where you will be asked to provide the organizations information, for you to be registered in the portal. This information includes:
   • Organizations name
   • Certificate of Incorporation No.
   • Upload (Scanned Certificate of Incorporation)
   • Upload (License from Communication authority- fort broadcasters)
   • Organizations official email
   • Password
5. Upon entering the organizations information click on the “Submit” button to submit your application. A verification link will be sent to the email address you provided during the registration process.
6. Log in to your email address and click on the verification link. This will lead you to MCK’s Online Accreditation Portal homepage, click on the “Media House” tab and then choose the “ Login” option so as to begin your accreditation process.
7. Please Use your certificate number and password to log into the portal. Here click on the “Membership Request” tab and select the “New Application” Option to apply for accreditation.
8. Upon Clicking on the “New Application” Option, you will be taken to the next page where you have to choose the category of accreditation you want to apply for: i.e.
   • Large media house (Five or more media outlets with regional reach and or high Power frequency with regional reach)
   • Large media house (Five or more media outlets with national reach and or high power frequency with national reach)
   • Medium media houses (Two to four media outlets or medium power frequency)
   • Micro media houses (Two media outlets or low power frequency)
   • Small media houses (One media outlet)
   • Small media houses (One media outlet and frequency radius of 40 km)
   • Magazine publishers
   • Foreign media houses (Annual subscription)
9. Fill in the required information and click on the “Submit” button for review.
   • At this point your application status will read as “Pending Approval”.
   • The application approval usually takes a period of two days.
10. Once your application is approved, a confirmation message will be sent to your email address, and your application status will change to “Pending Payment”.
11. Proceed to the make the accreditation payment using the instructions provided in the portal. The Payment instructions will be generated and displayed automatically in the portal.
    • For M-Pesa , use Paybill number 897250 and the media house number indicated on the portal
    • For bank deposits use the slip number and date
    • For check payments enter the cheque number and date.
    • Please do not make any payment before receiving a confirmation massage of approval from MCK asking you to make the payment.
12. once you have made the payment a pdf copy of your accreditation certificate will be availed in your MCK account, a hard copy of the accreditation certificate can be picked in person from the Council’s Office at Britam Center, Upper-Hill, Nairobi.
    • You will be required to provide proof of identification when collecting the accreditation certificate.

Apply In-Person

1. A media house can also apply for accreditation in person by visiting the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) offices .The contact information of the MCK offices can be found in the “Office Location & Contact” Section of this page.
2. Here the media house’s contact person will be given an Accreditation Application Form to fill and submit. The application form can also downloaded from the MCK’s official website through the following link .
3. Fill in the application form and attach the required documents. A list of the required documents is mentioned in the “Required Documents” section of this page.
   • Note: make sure you choose the category of accreditation you want to apply for on the application form: i.e.
   • Newspaper
   • TV
   • Radio
   • News Agency
   • News Bureau
   • Educational
   • NGO
   • Other (specify)
4. Submit the completed application form and all the required documents to the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) Offices and proceed to pay the required fees. Details of the required fees for accreditation are provided in the “Fees” Section of this page.
5. Submit the payment receipt to the MCK Offices for processing of your application to begin.
6. Once the accreditation process is completed the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) will contact the media house’s contact person to collect the media house’s accreditation certificate in person.
   • Accreditation is usually completed after a period of seven days.
7. The media house’s contact person will be required to produce proof of identity while collecting his accreditation certificate.

MCK Office Locations & Contacts

Media Council of Kenya – Head Office
Address: Ground Floor, Britam Centre,
Mara/Ragati Road Junction,Upper Hill
P.O. Box 43132 00100 Nairobi Kenya
Tel :+254 727 735252, +254 702 558233, +254 702 558234,+254 702 558453
MCK Website
contact details
Accreditation Portal