Becoming a Licensed Calibration Service Provider Under Kenya’s New KEBS Regulations

Calibration service providers in Kenya are moving towards a formal licensing regime. The Standards Act already allows the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to license and register competent, accredited bodies to provide calibration services, and the draft Standards (Scientific and Industrial Metrology) Regulations, 2026, published in Gazette Notice No. 14162 of 4 September 2026, would provide for the licensing of calibration service providers. For existing calibration businesses and for laboratories considering entering the market, the practical question is how high the bar will be set once the regulations are finalised. The public comment period ran for fourteen days from publication, which takes it to 18 September 2026, so the focus now is on reading the draft text and preparing to meet it.

From Facilitator to Licensor: KEBS’s Statutory Role

Section 4(1)(b) of the Standards Act makes it a function of the Bureau to make arrangements or provide facilities for the testing and calibration of precision instruments, gauges and scientific apparatus, and to issue certificates of their accuracy. The Act goes further than that. Section 12B provides that the Bureau is to be accredited by the Kenya Accreditation Service as the competent entity to provide calibration services in Kenya, either by itself or through designated laboratories. It also allows the Bureau to establish calibration facilities that act as custodian of the national measurement standards and provide their traceability to the International System of Units. Under section 12B(3), the Bureau may, where necessary, license and register competent bodies accredited under the relevant Act to provide calibration services and issue certificates, subject to the Kenya standards.

Section 12C(1) then requires every calibration service provider to have each of its measurement standards referenced to the national measurement standards maintained by the Bureau. The draft regulations would build on this statutory base, so a provider assessing its position should start with these two sections rather than with the draft alone.

What the Draft Regulations Say About Calibration Service Licensing

Gazette Notice No. 14162 states that the proposed Scientific and Industrial Metrology Regulations seek to prescribe the functions of KEBS as the National Metrology Institute, provide for the designation of institutes to provide metrological traceability services, define categories of equipment subject to mandatory calibration, provide for the licensing of calibration service providers, and create offences for violation of the regulations. The notice does not itself set out licence criteria. The Regulatory Impact Statements and the proposed regulations are, according to the notice, available on the KEBS website, and any provider planning an application should read that text directly rather than rely on commentary about it.

It is reasonable to expect the criteria to engage the two requirements already visible in the Act: accreditation, and traceability of the provider’s reference standards to the national measurement standards. That expectation is an inference from the statute, not a description of what the draft says, and the final text may differ from the draft in important respects.

The Compulsory-Calibration Side Creates the Demand Side of the Market

Section 12C(2) of the Act empowers the Cabinet Secretary to make regulations designating the categories of measuring instruments and equipment, used for health, safety or environmental purposes, that must be calibrated. Section 12C(3) adds that those regulations may prescribe the timeframe after which it becomes unlawful to use an instrument or equipment that is not calibrated. The Gazette Notice confirms that the same draft regulations would define the categories of equipment subject to mandatory calibration.

The two halves of the regulations are therefore connected. The obligation on equipment owners creates the demand for calibration services, and licensing determines who may supply it. A calibration business deciding whether to seek a licence should look at both halves together, because the size of its addressable market depends on how widely the mandatory-calibration categories are drawn.

How the Draft Reached the Public

Gazette Notice No. 14162 is a notice of Regulatory Impact Statements issued under section 8 of the Statutory Instruments Act. It is dated 17 July 2026 and appeared in the Gazette of 4 September 2026. One notice covers two sets of draft rules: the Standards (Product Certification) Regulations, 2026, which deal with certification marks, and the Standards (Scientific and Industrial Metrology) Regulations, 2026, which are the subject of this article. The notice asked persons likely to be affected to send written memoranda to the Managing Director of KEBS within fourteen days of publication. A provider that missed that window can still watch for the final text and for any further consultation, but should not assume its views were taken into account.

Practical Steps for a Calibration Service Provider

Several steps are sensible now, none of which depends on the final wording of the regulations.

First, obtain the draft regulations and the Regulatory Impact Statement from KEBS and record the licensing criteria, fees, application process and any transitional arrangement for providers already operating. Second, confirm your accreditation position. Section 12B(3) speaks of competent bodies accredited under the relevant Act, so check that your laboratory’s accreditation covers the categories of instrument you actually calibrate. Third, map your reference standards and document how each one is traced back to the national measurement standards, since section 12C(1) requires that referencing. Fourth, identify which of your clients operate in health, safety or environmental settings, because those are the sectors the compulsory-calibration power is aimed at. Finally, watch the Kenya Gazette for the final regulations, as the comment window on the draft has closed.