Guide · NEMA environmental licences · Updated 2026-10-19
NEMA air emission licence in Nairobi
Factories, boilers, furnaces, incinerators and other plant release smoke, gases and dust into the air. NEMA’s Air Quality Regulations list the facilities and equipment that need an emission licence, and set the limits their emissions must keep to. The operator applies on ENVIS.
When you need it
- Your facility or equipment is of a kind the Air Quality Regulations list.
- Your EIA licence or an audit says you need one.
Who prepares it and applies
The operator of the facility applies on ENVIS, with the emission measurements NEMA’s guidance asks for. Applications are made online on ENVIS, NEMA’s licensing system.
Check the site before you apply
Most of what a NEMA report describes is already on the map. Check these first:
| Check | Where | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The plot and its number | Search the map by LR, block or FR number | Every report and licence names the plot. Make sure the parcel on the map is the land the project is on. |
| What the zone allows | Its zone page, or tap the plot on the map | A report describes the project against the county’s planning rules: floors, plot ratio, ground coverage and use. |
| Who lives around it | The census population layers on the map | The expert must consult the people a project affects; the census says how many live around it. |
| What NEMA has licensed around it | The NEMA layers on the map | Neighbouring projects, and the emission and effluent licences near the site, are part of what the site already lives with. |
| The right to the land | An official search on Ardhisasa | The proponent must own the land or have the owner’s consent. Reports usually include a copy of the title. |
How the application moves
- Check the list. Find whether the facility or equipment is of a kind the regulations list. A registered expert can confirm it.
- Measure. The emissions are measured as NEMA’s guidance asks — at the stack, for most plant.
- Apply on ENVIS. The application, the measurements and the fee go online.
- NEMA reviews it. NEMA reads the results, may inspect the facility, and decides.
- Keep to the licence. The licence sets limits, monitoring and its term. Renew it before it ends.
How long it takes
NEMA does not publish one time for every case. It decides once the application is complete, the test results are in and the fee is paid, and it may inspect first. Follow the application on ENVIS.
After the licence
Keep emissions within the licence’s limits, monitor them as it says, and renew it before it ends.
On the map: the NEMA layers
Air emission licence records are in the map’s Licences and permits layer, one of three NEMA layers. Each record carries its licence and application numbers, the proponent it was issued to, the kind of licence, and the plot or LR number where the report gave one. It sits where NEMA’s licensing system drew the site — a point, a boundary or a line. A record whose report states a position far from that site is flagged, as a prompt to confirm the plot. Applications with no drawn site are not on the map.
The NEMA layers are add-on layers: each is bought once, on any plan, and kept — see plans and pricing.
Why start on Nairobi Maps
Every NEMA report starts from the site: where it is, what may be built there, and what is around it. Nairobi Maps holds those facts for every parcel in Nairobi on one map — the plot by its LR, block or FR number, its zone worked out for the plot, survey plans, rivers and roads, airport height limits, census population, and what NEMA has already licensed nearby. The owner, the architect and the expert start from the same facts. The whole checklist is in built-environment due diligence in Nairobi.
Questions
How long does a NEMA air emission licence take?
NEMA does not publish one time for every case. It decides once the application is complete, the test results are in and the fee is paid, and it may inspect first. Follow the application on ENVIS.
Which equipment needs an emission licence?
The facilities and equipment listed in the schedule of NEMA’s Air Quality Regulations. Check the current list on ENVIS, or with a registered expert.
Why look at emission licences before buying or renting near a site?
They show where licensed sources of smoke, gas and dust are. On Nairobi Maps, the NEMA layers place them on the map, beside the plot you are looking at.
Is Nairobi Maps part of NEMA?
No. Nairobi Maps is an independent map of Nairobi’s land, its planning rules and the records around them, for checking a site before you apply. NEMA decides every licence, on ENVIS.
Nairobi Maps is not part of NEMA. This guide explains the usual route under EMCA and NEMA’s regulations; requirements, fees and steps change, so confirm them with NEMA on ENVIS and with a registered expert.
Keep going
- All NEMA licencesWhich report your project needs, and how each one works
- NEMA Summary Project Report (SPR)The shortest EIA report, for low-risk projects.
- NEMA Comprehensive Project Report (CPR)The fuller EIA report, for medium-risk projects.
- EIA study report and terms of referenceThe full EIA study, for high-risk projects.
- NEMA environmental auditThe check on a project that is already running.
- Building and planning approvalThe county’s half of the permission, on NPDMS