Ship a Car to Kenya from the UK: Costs & the 8-Year Rule
Honest answer: shipping a car from the UK to Kenya usually costs £800 to £1,200 port-to-port by RoRo to Mombasa, and takes six to nine weeks door to door. The freight is the straightforward part. What catches most people is Kenya's 8-year rule, and the Kenyan taxes waiting at the other end.
The short version
- Typical freight. £800 to £1,200 port-to-port by RoRo, UK to Mombasa. A container costs more.
- Typical timeline. Six to nine weeks door to door: 3–5 weeks at sea, 1–2 weeks UK-side, 1–3 weeks clearing at Mombasa.
- The 8-year rule. Kenya only admits vehicles under eight years old, counted from the year of first registration. In 2026, that means 2019 or newer.
- Right-hand drive only. Left-hand drive vehicles are refused entry.
- Inspection first. The car must pass a roadworthiness inspection in the UK before it sails.
- Taxes are the big number. Kenyan duty, excise and VAT together often cost more than the shipping.
What does it cost to ship a car to Kenya?
Prices below are typical market ballparks for 2026. Your quote confirms the real number.
RoRo (roll-on roll-off) is the normal choice for a single car. The vehicle is driven onto a vehicle carrier at a UK port, usually Southampton, Tilbury or Sheerness, and driven off at Mombasa. Expect £800 to £1,200 for a standard saloon or mid-size SUV, port to port.
A container costs more, often £1,400 to £2,200 for a sole-use 20ft. You get an enclosed, sealed unit, and you can pack personal effects around the car if they are properly declared. Shared container space sits between the two. We go through the trade-offs in RoRo vs container shipping.
Then there are the UK-side extras that quotes sometimes leave out:
- Door collection. Getting the car from your driveway to the port. Roughly £120 to £350 depending on distance.
- Export documentation and customs entry. Around £75 to £150.
- Pre-shipment inspection. Required for Kenya. Usually £150 to £250.
- Marine insurance. Around 1.5% to 2.5% of the declared vehicle value. Optional, and worth it.
For a wider view of UK export pricing, see our car shipping cost calculator.
What is Kenya's 8-year rule?
This is the rule that stops most shipments before they start, so read this bit twice.
Kenya does not admit used vehicles that are eight or more years old. The clock runs from the year of first registration, anywhere in the world, not the model year and not the year you bought it. In 2026 the earliest admissible first-registration year is 2019 (KRA, KEBS). The requirement sits in the Kenya Bureau of Standards code of practice for used vehicle inspection (KS 1515).
In practice, in 2026:
- A car first registered in 2019. Fine.
- A car first registered in 2018. Not admissible in 2026. KEBS cuts over on 1 January each year, so a 2018 car's certificate of roadworthiness stopped being valid on 31 December 2025. It will be rejected at Mombasa, at your expense.
- A car first registered in 2017. Not admissible. It will be refused, and you pay to bring it home or dispose of it.
Two more hard requirements sit alongside it.
Right-hand drive only. Kenya does not admit left-hand drive vehicles for normal private import. UK cars are RHD, so this rarely bites, but it matters if you bought the car abroad.
Pre-shipment roadworthiness inspection. The vehicle has to be inspected in the UK, before loading, by an inspection agent appointed by KEBS. QISJ is the inspection company KEBS contracts for UK-origin vehicles, so there is no choice of agent. Its UK centres are at Barking, Tilbury, Immingham, Felixstowe, Leyton and Edmonton — worth checking against your loading port when you plan the inspection leg. The inspector checks roadworthiness, mileage, VIN and compliance, then issues a certificate of roadworthiness. No certificate, no clearance at Mombasa. Book the inspection early, because a failed inspection means repairs and a re-test, and that moves your sailing date.
Standards and appointed agents do change. Confirm the current position with KEBS and with your shipper before you commit to a purchase.
What will Kenya charge in taxes?
Be ready for this. Kenyan import taxes on a car frequently exceed the cost of the shipping, sometimes by a wide margin.
The Kenya Revenue Authority assesses tax on a customs value it calculates itself, using its Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) schedule with depreciation applied for the vehicle's age. It does not simply use what you paid for the car. On top of that value, expect import duty, excise duty that varies with engine size, VAT, plus smaller levies such as the import declaration fee and railway development levy.
KRA publishes the components: import duty 25%, excise duty 10–35% depending on engine, VAT 16%, plus a 3.5% import declaration fee and a 2% railway development levy. They compound, on a value KRA sets rather than the price you paid. Rates and the CRSP schedule are revised, so check the current figures with the Kenya Revenue Authority and get a written estimate from a Kenyan clearing agent against your exact make, model, year and engine size before you book freight.
Plan on the Kenyan tax bill being several times the freight, not a fraction of it. On a mid-value car it is routinely the largest number in the whole move. If that changes the decision, better to know now.
How does the journey actually work?
- Quote and booking. You confirm the vehicle details, the collection address and the destination. The shipper books space on a sailing.
- Inspection. The KEBS-appointed agent inspects the car in the UK and issues the roadworthiness certificate.
- Handover. Either a transporter collects from your door, or you drive the car to the depot or port yourself. Cheaper if you drive it.
- Export entry. UK customs export declaration is filed, and the vehicle is loaded.
- Sailing. Roughly three to five weeks on the water to Mombasa, depending on route and transhipment.
- Mombasa arrival. The vehicle discharges into the port and sits under customs control.
- Clearing. A licensed Kenyan clearing agent lodges the entry, KRA assesses the taxes, and the taxes are paid.
- Collection. The consignee collects with photo ID, KRA PIN, the bill of lading and the release paperwork. Then registration and number plates.
Port storage charges start accruing after a free period. Have your clearing agent lined up before the ship arrives, not after.
What do you need to prepare in the UK?
- V5C logbook. The original. Not a copy. The shipper needs it for the export entry.
- DVLA permanent export notification. Complete the permanent export section of the V5C and send it to DVLA. Guidance is at gov.uk: taking a vehicle out of the UK.
- Finance settled in full. If the car is on PCP, HP or any secured finance, you must settle it and get written confirmation first. Exporting a financed vehicle without settling is treated as fraud, and shippers will refuse it.
- Proof of identity and address. Standard for both the exporter and the consignee.
- Consignee details. Full name as it appears on their ID, plus their Kenyan KRA PIN.
- A clean, empty car. On RoRo, personal effects are not permitted. Around a quarter tank of fuel, no loose items, one set of keys.
| Cost line, UK to Mombasa | Typical range (2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RoRo freight, port to port | £800 – £1,200 | Standard saloon or mid-size SUV |
| Sole-use 20ft container | £1,400 – £2,200 | Enclosed, effects possible if declared |
| UK door collection | £120 – £350 | Skip it by driving to the port |
| Pre-shipment inspection | £150 – £250 | Mandatory for Kenya |
| Docs and UK export entry | £75 – £150 | Includes the customs declaration |
| Marine insurance | 1.5% – 2.5% of value | Optional. Recommended. |
| Kenya clearing and port charges | Quoted locally | Agent fee plus port handling and storage |
| Kenya duty, excise and VAT | Substantial | Assessed on CRSP value. Check current rates with KRA. |
A worked example
Say you're sending a 2021 Toyota Harrier from Leicester to your family in Nairobi, declared value £14,000. First registration 2021, so the 8-year rule is comfortably satisfied. RoRo freight to Mombasa £950. Door collection to Southampton £190. Pre-shipment inspection £190. Docs and export entry £95. Marine insurance at 2% of value £280. That is roughly £1,705 on the UK side, so budget about £1,700 to £1,800. Kenyan duty, excise, VAT and clearing sit entirely on top of that figure, they are assessed on KRA's CRSP valuation rather than on your purchase price, and for a vehicle of this class they can comfortably exceed the freight. Figures are illustrative ballparks. Your quote confirms the real number.
Where does RollShip fit?
RollShip is a booking service. We are new, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. The team behind it has spent years in UK freight forwarding operations, and RollShip exists because getting a straight, itemised price for a car export is harder than it should be.
How it works. You fill in one form at our quote page. We put your details to vetted UK export specialists and come back with itemised quotes, normally within 24 hours. You see the freight, the collection, the inspection and the insurance as separate lines, so you can compare like with like. If you accept, you pay on booking confirmation by card or bank transfer.
Our booking fee is £99 while we are launching, rising to £199. It appears as its own line on your quote. We would rather show it than bury it in a marked-up freight rate.
Quick answers
Can I ship a 10-year-old car to Kenya?
No. Kenya's 8-year rule is measured from the year of first registration, and a 10-year-old car is outside it. It will be refused at Mombasa, and you will pay for return shipping or disposal. Some neighbouring markets apply different age limits, Uganda and Tanzania among them, so an older vehicle may still have a route. Check the current rules for the specific destination before you commit, because they change.
How long does it take, realistically?
Six to nine weeks door to door is normal. Roughly three to five weeks at sea, plus one to two weeks for UK-side inspection and loading, plus clearing time at Mombasa. Delays usually come from clearing, not from the ship.
Can I pack belongings in the car?
Not on RoRo. Vehicles must be empty. In a container you can ship personal effects with the car, but everything has to be declared and it will be assessed for tax separately. Undeclared items cause delays and penalties.
Does the car need a UK MOT before it ships?
The MOT is not what Kenya cares about. What matters is the pre-shipment roadworthiness certificate from a KEBS-appointed inspection agent, carried out in the UK before loading. That said, a car in MOT-passing condition is far more likely to pass the export inspection first time.
Tell us what you need. We'll price it.
Every shipment is different, so we don't publish a price list. Tell us the car and where it's going, and vetted UK specialists come back with itemised quotes within 24 hours. Free, no obligation.
Prefer email? Tell us what you need at [email protected] and we'll price it.