Importing semi-trailers into Kenya

Kenya runs on published, harmonised numbers. That is unusual and it works in your favour: you can specify a trailer against the legal limits before you order, rather than discovering them at a weighbridge outside Mariakani.

Axle load — the EAC table, and it is enforced

Kenya applies the East African Community Vehicle Load Control Act, which is the same table used in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. The figures that matter for a semi-trailer:

Axle group	Tyres	Limit
Single (steering)	2 conventional	8 t
Single	4 conventional	10 t
Tandem	8 conventional	18 t
Tandem	4 super single	16 t
Tridem	12 conventional	24 t
Tridem	6 super single	22.5 t

Maximum gross vehicle weight is 56 tonnes, over a maximum of seven axles, subject to a bridge formula on axle spacing. Kenya’s Traffic (Amendment) Rules 2013 allow a 5% tolerance on each figure — so a tridem is charged above 25,200 kg, not above 24,000 kg. Treat the tolerance as cargo shift allowance, not as extra payload.

Two rules people miss:

• No axle inside a group may exceed the single-axle limit, and no group may have more than three axles. A four-axle bogie is not a legal way to buy capacity here.
• Super singles cost you payload. A tridem on super singles is rated 22.5 t against 24 t on conventional duals. If your operator wants super singles for tare, that is a 1.5 t decision, not a free one.

The dimension that catches people

	EAC limit
Overall width	2.65 m
Overall height	4.3 m
Articulated vehicle length	17.4 m
Combination length	22 m
Load projection, front/rear	1.25 m

Width is the one to check. Standard export trailers at 2.55 m are comfortable. Wide-body tippers and some low-beds built for the domestic Chinese market run 3.0 m and are simply not legal on Kenyan roads without an abnormal load permit. Tell us the market and we build to 2.55 m.

Ports and the corridor

Mombasa is the gateway for Kenya and for the whole Northern Corridor — Nairobi, then Uganda, Rwanda, eastern DRC and South Sudan. If your buyer is inland, the trailer is going onto that corridor whether it is your leg or theirs.

Lamu (LAPSSET) is operational but thin on services. Confirm a sailing before planning around it.

For transit cargo beyond Kenya, the trailer moves under a regional customs bond. Your clearing agent handles it, but it changes the paperwork and the timeline, so say at enquiry stage whether the final destination is Kenya or beyond.

PVoC — issued in China, before the vessel sails

Kenya requires a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) under the KEBS Pre-Export Verification of Conformity programme, plus an Import Declaration Form (IDF) opened by your importer. The CoC is issued per consignment, after inspection in the country of manufacture. Goods arriving without one face rejection or penalty.

There are three routes, and the choice has a real cost:

Route	What it is	Fee (of FOB)
A	Consignment inspection and testing, every shipment	0.60%, min USD 300, max USD 3,500
B	Product registration — fast-track after a Route A history, valid one year	0.55%, same min/max
C	Product licensing, open only to manufacturers with an audited quality management system	0.50%, same min/max

Be realistic about which route applies to us. Route C requires a certified quality management system, which we do not hold and do not claim. Plan on Route A for your first shipment, and Route B registration afterwards if you intend to reorder — that is where the saving is, and it needs a Route A history first.

One practical warning: KEBS assigns different contractors to different product groups, and motor vehicles and mobile equipment sit with a single named inspector rather than the general-goods panel. A semi-trailer is not self-propelled and classification is not obvious. Have your agent confirm in writing which category and which contractor applies before you book the inspection. Booking the wrong one costs a re-inspection and a sailing.

Contract note: the current PVoC mandate runs 2026–2029, renewed from 9 February 2026. Agents change; the requirement does not.

What suits Kenyan conditions

• Three axles at 13 t rating on conventional duals — matches the 24 t tridem with margin
• 2.55 m width, not 3.0 m
• Mechanical suspension off the Northern Corridor; see the suspension guide
• Fuel tankers carry an extra step — under Kenya’s Weights and Measures Act, bulk liquid tanks need an identification plate and calibration by the Department of Weights and Measures after arrival. Budget time for it.

What to send us

1. Final destination — Kenya, or transit to Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, South Sudan
2. Cargo and real operating weight
3. Whether the operator wants conventional duals or super singles, knowing the 1.5 t difference
4. Whether your importer already has an IDF facility and a PVoC agent
5. Quantity

We will come back with a specification against the EAC table, a freight comparison, and a timeline with the inspection window in it.