How to check CAK type approval for a device

Updated 12 November 2026

The official way to check CAK type approval for a phone, radio, router or other ICT equipment is to search the Communications Authority of Kenya’s published list, not a seller’s claim or a sticker that cannot be matched to a model. The current file on ca.go.ke, checked on 12 November 2026, is the List of Type Approved Equipment October 2026, a 211-page PDF. It is organised by equipment category. The columns are a running number, the manufacturer, the brand and the model.

The file itself was created on 2 November 2026 and last modified on 3 November 2026. Early pages carry an October 2026 running title. From around the middle of the PDF, some pages still carry an August 2026 running title, even though the cover title and the file name are October 2026. Use the official file on ca.go.ke, search the exact model, and if the entry is missing or the title on the page looks stale, ask the Authority before you import, sell or install the device.

How to search the official CAK type approval list

Download the October 2026 PDF from ca.go.ke rather than a republished copy. Open it in a reader and use search (Ctrl+F or Command+F) for the exact model printed on the device, the box and the invoice. Brand names repeat across many rows, so a hit on “Samsung” or “Cisco” is not enough. Match the model string, including any suffix, and read the manufacturer line next to it.

The list is grouped under category headings, not sold as a single searchable website table. Categories in the file we checked include, among others, access points and a long “mobile phones and tablets” section. Do not stop at the first category if the device might be listed under another heading, such as networking equipment versus access points. If a search fails, try obvious typographical variants of the model, then confirm with CA rather than guessing.

This guide does not paste the list and does not count every row. The mobile-phones-and-tablets section alone runs for many pages, with running numbers in the hundreds and then the thousands. A buyer who needs a yes or no on one model should search that model, not rely on a summary.

What the list does and does not prove

An exact match on manufacturer, brand and model is official evidence that the device appeared on this edition of the Authority’s type-approved equipment list. It is not a KEBS Standardisation Mark, a PVoC certificate, or a customs entry. Those are separate checks, including the KEBS S-Mark verification steps we have already set out.

Absence from this PDF is not, on its own, a reasoned ruling by the Authority. The file is a published list as of the October 2026 edition, with the dating inconsistency noted above. A new approval could have been issued after the file was compiled, or a model could be listed under a spelling you have not tried. If you cannot find the model, write to CA with the manufacturer, brand and model and ask whether CAK type approval has been granted, rather than treating a failed search as a final answer.

The list also does not tell you whether a particular handset’s IMEI is genuine, whether the seller is authorised, or whether the unit in your hand is a refurbished or relabelled chassis. Those are different questions. Keep the page and model line you found, and compare them with the markings on the unit itself.

How to apply for CAK type approval

If you are the importer, manufacturer, distributor or other applicant, the form CA still publishes on its licence application forms and fees page, checked on 12 November 2026, is the ICT Equipment (Type Approval / Type Acceptance) Application Form (April 2026), marked CA/F/SRM/1.6, Version 1.6. The PDF metadata shows it was last modified on 28 October 2026. Use that form, not an older revision you may still find in a search result.

The form requires a letter of agency from the manufacturer or the distributor: on the official letterhead of the authorising entity, signed and stamped, with valid and verifiable contact addresses. If a distributor issues the letter, all letters of delegation linking back to the manufacturer must be provided. It also requires technical specifications on the manufacturer’s official letterhead, logo or branding; user manuals in English; a declaration of conformity from the manufacturer; test reports in English for RF, EMC, health, safety, IPv6 and RoHS, issued by accredited laboratories; and evidence that the laboratory is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by an accreditation body that is a signatory of ILAC.

You must also submit a sample of the equipment model, complete with accessories and attachments, in good working condition, configured for testing, with the necessary adapters, and clearly marked with the trade name, model and serial or IMEI number. The form warns that the Authority is not obliged to return equipment submitted for type approval, because some tests could be destructive, and that sample testing may take up to six months. Budget for that timeline. The April 2026 form does not reprint a faster processing target.

Applicants must tick either commercial or non-commercial CAK type approval. The form defines commercial equipment as telecommunications or ICT equipment imported, manufactured, supplied, distributed or deployed for sale, lease, resale, or use in the course of business or income-generating activities, including deployment on public or private networks. Non-commercial equipment is for purposes not intended to generate revenue or to be used in the course of business, including research, experiment, or personal or private use, and must not be used for sale, distribution to the public, or any form of commercial exploitation.

The same form lists nine equipment categories: RF modules; telematic devices; mobile phones and radios; networking equipment; satellite network equipment; microwave radio; GSM equipment; TV/radio transmitters; and broadcast network equipment. It asks for brand name, marketing name, model number, manufacturer and manufacturer’s address, plus an IPv4, IPv4-and-IPv6, or not-applicable declaration. The declaration warns that it is an offence under the Penal Code to give false information, and that an authorisation granted on untrue information may be revoked, with the holder required to withdraw the affected devices from the market.

The April 2026 form does not itself print a postal address or a dedicated email for submission. The Authority’s contact page, checked on 12 November 2026, gives the head office as CA Centre, Waiyaki Way, P.O. Box 14448-00800, Nairobi, and the enquiry email as info@ca.go.ke. Confirm the current filing channel with the Authority before you courier a sample.

Fees on the schedule CA still publishes

The fee is described on the form as a non-refundable type-approval fee. The forms-and-fees page still links a schedule titled Type Approval Fees effective 1st July 2012. The same page says that on 6 October 2011 the Authority reviewed regulatory fees, including type-approval fees, with an average reduction of 80% intended to encourage vendors and contractors to seek type approval. That 2012 schedule is still the document CA publishes for this purpose as of 12 November 2026.

The schedule splits amounts into “personal use” and “marketing”, in Kenya shillings. Examples that are printed on the PDF include telephone terminal equipment at 500 or 1,000 for personal use and 2,000 or 4,000 for marketing, depending on the sub-category; call-monitoring equipment at 500 and 2,000; private exchange equipment at 2,500 and 10,000; and data equipment such as a modem, router or switch at 1,000 and 4,000.

The same schedule prints broadcast transmitter equipment at 5,000 and 20,000, with community-radio transmitters at 2,500 and 10,000; network equipment including microwave and base-station transmitters at 5,000 and 20,000; VSAT at 2,500 and 10,000; and GMPCS terminals with an ITU MoU mark at no fees.

Some other rows on the same two-page schedule do not show a printed amount in the file we checked. Do not invent a fee for those rows, and do not assume the 2012 category names map one-for-one onto the nine categories on the April 2026 form. If your device does not clearly fit a priced line, ask CA before you pay a CAK type approval fee.

The schedule’s “personal use” and “marketing” labels are not defined on that PDF. They should not be treated as automatically identical to the commercial and non-commercial definitions on the April 2026 form until the Authority confirms which fee line applies to your application.

Who to contact at the Authority

For enquiries, the official contact page lists info@ca.go.ke and +254 703 042 000 or +254 730 172 000, with the head office at CA Centre, Waiyaki Way, Westlands, Nairobi. Consumer complaints go to chukuahatua@ca.go.ke, a channel we have already covered in our note on CA consumer complaints. Regional offices are also listed for Western (Eldoret), Nyanza (Kisumu), Coast (Mombasa) and Central (Nyeri), each with its own number and email on the same page.

A published CAK type approval list, or a granted approval, is not a product review and is not a substitute for the other import and standards checks that may apply to the same device. If the model is not on the current list and CA cannot confirm an approval, pause the purchase or the shipment until you have a written answer.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the official CAK type approval list?

On ca.go.ke, as a PDF titled List of Type Approved Equipment October 2026, linked from the Authority’s site and still posted when checked on 12 November 2026. That file is the current public CAK type approval list. Search the exact model. Do not rely on a screenshot of an older list.

Which application form should I use?

The April 2026 form, CA/F/SRM/1.6, Version 1.6, linked from the Authority’s licence application forms and fees page, is the current CAK type approval application form. Older type-approval forms should not be used once this revision is the one CA publishes.

How long does sample testing take?

The April 2026 form says sample testing may take up to six months, and that some tests could be destructive, so the Authority is not obliged to return the sample. It does not promise a shorter decision period.

Is there a 2026 change in the type-approval law?

The documents CA currently publishes for applicants are the April 2026 form and the 2012 fee schedule. This guide does not treat any draft 2026 regulations as being in force. If the Authority replaces the form, the list or the fee schedule, those new documents will be the ones to follow.