How to check Nairobi building approvals before you buy

Updated 12 November 2026

If you are buying a new or off-plan unit in the city, Nairobi building approvals sit on two official county systems, not on a brochure, a site board or a WhatsApp folder of stamped drawings. NairobiPlan, formally the Nairobi Planning & Development Management System (NPDMS) at edev.nairobiservices.go.ke, is where registered professionals lodge development-control applications. The Nairobi e-services portal is where the developer tracks that file, pays the invoice and retrieves the approved permit or licence. Those roles are set out in the official NairobiPlan FAQs, checked on 12 November 2026.

There is no official public search that lets a stranger look up every approved building by street address. A buyer who is not the applicant cannot log into either portal on the seller’s behalf. What you can do is ask to see the documents those systems produce, scan the QR code the county says is printed on permits and approved plans, and, if the file is thin, take the question to the county desks named below.

What NairobiPlan covers for Nairobi building approvals

The FAQs describe NPDMS as a development-control system built for Nairobi City County’s physical-planning functions, with online applications, processing and issuance of permissions. The services listed fall into three groups: physical planning (land amalgamation, land subdivision, lease extension and renewals, change of use and related services); development control (building-permit approvals and post-approvals); and outdoor advertisement for high-impact, large-format work.

The NairobiPlan home page, also checked on 12 November 2026, lists building permits, structural permits, construction site boards, renovations and repairs, and building occupation certificates among the development-control services. Those labels matter for a buyer. A building permit is not the same document as an occupation certificate. A structural permit is not a substitute for either. If a seller shows you one stamped page and calls it “full county approval”, ask which of those services it actually records.

The FAQs also say the internal approval process itself did not change when the system went online. It remains the process set by the applicable planning laws and policies. What changed is the channel: applications and post-approvals that used to be manual now run through the portal, and the county says permits and approved plans carry a tamper-proof QR code.

Who can log in, and what a buyer can actually see

NPDMS is reserved for duly registered professionals in the physical-planning sector: physical planners, architects and engineers who are members in good standing with their registration bodies. An individual professional registers with a national ID serial number, a KRA PIN, a professional registration number and a mobile number that can receive messages. A firm registers with the firm’s KRA PIN and professional registration number, plus the same personal details for the person who will use the account. The username at sign-in is the registration number, and each login sends a one-time password to the registered mobile number.

That is why a buyer cannot “just search NairobiPlan”. The professional lodges the application. The developer, who must have a separate account on nairobiservices.go.ke, is the person the FAQs say can track progress, pay, and access approved permits and licences. Status updates appear on both the professional’s and the developer’s profiles, with email and SMS notices at milestones. When a bill is raised, it is sent to the developer’s e-services account. Payment can be made in the app, including mobile money, or by bank transfer, cheque or cash deposit, quoting the invoice number for bank payments.

Both the professional and the developer are notified when the review ends. The Notification of Approval, Rejection or Deferment of Development Permission (PLUPA DC8) is, however, sent to the professional. If you are buying from a developer, ask that professional or the developer to show you the DC8 and the corresponding approved plans, not only a marketing collage.

For Nairobi building approvals already issued, the useful question is therefore not “can I browse the county map?” It is “will you open the e-services file, show the approved permit or occupation certificate, and let me scan the QR code on the official document?” If the seller cannot do that, treat the gap as a reason to pause, not as a paperwork formality.

Documents to ask for before you pay a deposit

Ask for a set of Nairobi building approvals that matches the stage of the project, and match each page to the land parcel you are actually buying.

• The professional’s NPDMS application or permit reference, and the name of the registered planner, architect or engineer who lodged it.
• The developer’s Nairobi e-services account reference for the same application, so you can see that the invoice and the approved permit sit on the official portal, not only in a PDF emailed to you.
• The Notification of Approval of Development Permission (PLUPA DC8), which the FAQs say is issued to the professional.
• The approved plans and the building permit, including the tamper-proof QR code the county says appears on permits and approved plans.
• For a completed or nearly completed building, the building occupation certificate. NairobiPlan lists it as a service, and the county’s help-desk page names the Enforcement Department as the occupation-certificate desk.
• Any change-of-use, subdivision, amalgamation or lease-extension permission if the project depended on one of those physical-planning services.

Take copies, note the dates and the plot or unit they refer to, and keep the QR scan result. A permit issued for a different plot, a different number of floors or a different use is not evidence of Nairobi building approvals for the unit in your sale agreement. If names, parcel numbers or the scheme description do not match, do not resolve the mismatch by informal explanation alone.

If the project is still in the ground, you are looking for a valid building permit and approved plans, not an occupation certificate that cannot yet exist. If people are already moving in, the occupation certificate is the document to ask for, in addition to the earlier permit. Do not treat a construction site board, a renovation permit or a structural permit as a stand-in for either.

County desks if the file is incomplete

If the seller will not open the portal, or the documents look altered, take the question on Nairobi building approvals to the county, not to a site agent. The official NairobiPlan support channel is npdms@nairobiservices.go.ke, and the FAQs publish a toll-free NairobiPlan support line on +254 20 4 999 999. For walk-in desks, the county’s FAQs and help desks page, checked on 12 November 2026, lists Plans and Inspection with the Assistant Director, Development Control, at City Hall Annex, 1st Floor, and Building Occupation Certificates with the Assistant Director, Enforcement Department, at City Hall Annex, 2nd Floor.

General county contacts on the same page are +254 0725-624489 and +254 0202224281, or info@nairobi.go.ke. Those numbers are for inquiry and direction. They are not a substitute for the permit file, and this guide does not invent a fee, a turnaround time or a public register that the county has not published.

Go with the plot number, the developer’s and professional’s names, and any reference you were given. Ask the desk to confirm whether a development permission, a building permit or an occupation certificate exists for that parcel, and in whose name. If the county cannot confirm it, that is a fact you should record before you pay.

How this sits with NCA, NEMA and a land search

County permission is only one layer. A contractor should still be checked against the National Construction Authority register, and a project of any size should be checked for NCA project registration. Those are separate official processes, already covered in our NCA registered-contractor check and the NCA project-registration guide. An environmental impact assessment licence, where the law requires one, is issued by NEMA, not by NairobiPlan. A clean set of Nairobi building approvals does not prove the title is clean, the land is unencumbered, or the seller has the right to take your deposit. Run the land and deposit checks in our land-fraud checklist as well.

Used together, the county file answers a narrower question: has Nairobi City County issued development permission, a building permit or an occupation certificate for this building, on this parcel, at this stage? If the seller cannot show that file on the official portals, or the county desk cannot confirm it, you do not yet have an official answer on Nairobi building approvals.

Frequently asked questions

Can I search NairobiPlan by street or estate name?

Not on the public pages checked on 12 November 2026. Nairobi building approvals are not listed in an open address search. NairobiPlan is reserved for registered professionals. Developers track their own applications on the Nairobi e-services portal. A buyer who is not the applicant should ask to see the official documents those systems produce, including the QR-coded permit or plans, rather than expect an open address search.

Is a building permit the same as an occupation certificate?

No. NairobiPlan lists them as separate services. A building permit and approved plans belong to the construction stage. An occupation certificate belongs to the point at which the county records that the building may be occupied. Ask for the document that matches the stage of the project you are buying.

Who receives the formal approval notice?

The FAQs say both the professional and the developer are notified when the review ends, but the Notification of Approval, Rejection or Deferment of Development Permission (PLUPA DC8) is sent to the professional. Ask to see that notice, not only a status screenshot.

What if the project is outside Nairobi City County?

This walkthrough is for Nairobi City County systems only. Other counties have their own planning desks and, in some cases, their own portals. Do not assume a NairobiPlan printout, or the absence of one, says anything about a project in a neighbouring county.