CRB Checks and Disputes in Kenya: Check, Clear or Challenge Your Listing

What a CRB actually does

Banks, mobile lenders and SACCOs send data on your loans to licensed credit reference bureaus: active and closed loans, repayment history, defaults, balances and default dates. The bureaus use it to produce your credit report and score, which future lenders consult. Metropol's FAQ says a loan not serviced for 90 days counts as non-performing.

How to check your CRB status

The regulations entitle you to a copy of your credit report from each bureau at no charge at least once a year, and the bureau must give it within 5 working days of your request. Check all the bureaus before a major loan application, because a lender may report to only one.

What it costs

Your annual report from each bureau is free. Beyond that, bureaus may charge only fees the Central Bank has approved in writing, and they must publish them (Regulation 32). Disputes are free: Metropol says so, and TransUnion says it does not charge a fee for investigating.

Clear it or fight it?

Everything depends on one question: is the listing genuine?

Path A: clear a genuine default

The 14 to 30 day check is sensible practice rather than a legal deadline. If the listing still shows an outstanding balance after you hold a clearance letter, raise a dispute with the bureau and attach the letter.

How long a settled default stays on your report

Regulation 34(1)(a) says a non-performing loan is kept until 5 years after final settlement of the amount in default, even if the debt was written off. After that the record must be expunged and you must be told within 7 days. Bankruptcy is kept until 7 years after your discharge.

Path B: dispute a wrong listing

Under the regulations the legal process starts when you notify the bureau in writing (Regulation 37(5)). The bureau then has 5 working days to attach a note that the data is under investigation and ask the lender to confirm it is accurate, and 7 days to investigate (Regulation 37(6) and (7)). Writing to the lender at the same time, with a short deadline, often settles a simple error faster.

The 21-day clock

This is your strongest lever. Regulation 37(8) gives the institution that supplied the data 21 days from the notice of dispute to investigate and send every bureau a notice of resolution saying the data is deleted, corrected or unchanged. Regulation 37(10) adds that if the investigation is not completed within 21 days, the disputed information must be deleted as you requested.

Dispute letter: anatomy and template

Here is a template you can adapt. Send it to the bureau that holds the entry, copy the lender, keep proof of delivery, and keep your own copy.

[Your full name]
[ID number] · [Phone] · [Email]
[Date]

To: The Credit Bureau Manager, [Metropol / TransUnion / Creditinfo]
Copy: [Lender name], Customer Complaints

FORMAL DISPUTE OF INACCURATE CRB LISTING

I am disputing the following entry on my credit report:
Lender: [name]    Account number: [number]
Amount listed: KES [amount]    Date listed: [date]

The error: [choose one and explain in one or two lines]
- I have never held this account or borrowed from this lender.
- The loan was paid in full on [date] (see attached confirmation).
- The amount listed is wrong. The correct balance is KES [amount].

Attached evidence:
1. Copy of my national ID
2. Copy of my credit report highlighting the entry
3. [M-PESA confirmations / bank statements / loan closure letter]

Under Regulation 37 of the Banking (Credit Reference Bureau) Regulations, 2020, I request that you flag this information as disputed, investigate it with the lender, and confirm the outcome to me in writing. If the investigation is not completed within 21 days of this notice, I request that the disputed information be deleted.

If this is not resolved, I will refer the matter to the Central Bank of Kenya.

Yours faithfully,
[Signature and name]

Keep to facts and dates. Do not claim an account is not yours if it is, because the regulations let a bureau charge investigation costs if the disputed information is shown to be accurate.

Escalating to the Central Bank of Kenya

If you are dissatisfied with how the dispute was resolved, Regulation 37(15) lets you refer it to the Central Bank, and you keep your other remedies. The CBK's complaints guidance says to complain to the institution first, keep its reply, and then write to the CBK with full details of the grievance, the institution's response and copies of all correspondence. The CBK cannot consider matters already before the courts.

What happens if the lender ignores your dispute?

That is exactly what the 21-day rule is for. If the investigation is not completed in 21 days, the disputed information must be deleted at your request. Send the bureau a short written reminder on day 22 that quotes Regulation 37(10) and asks for confirmation of deletion. If it still does not act, refer the matter to the CBK with your evidence pack. For serious mishandling of your personal data, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (odpc.go.ke) is a separate route.

Your score versus your report

A score summarises your history; the report shows the entries behind it. A good score does not mean your report is flawless, and one wrong default can still cause a rejection, so always read the underlying entries.

How to check your TransUnion score

1. Register for TransUnion's Nipashe service. TransUnion's page says you pay KES 50 once to paybill 212121, using your ID number as the account, or SMS your full name to 21272.
2. After registering, request your credit status, credit report or clearance certificate by SMS or in the TransUnion Nipashe app.
3. Compare the status with the full report, and read each entry.

Per-request prices come from TransUnion's published fee schedule. A 2021 TransUnion post listed KES 19 per status SMS, so confirm the current charge on its website before you pay.

Repairing your credit after clearing

Clearing a loan stops the damage but does not erase the history. What helps is a long run of boring, on-time behaviour. The blueprint below splits into defence, meaning getting your record right, and offence, meaning building a better one.

The KES 5,000 to 20,000 buffer is a rule of thumb from the deck, not a regulation. Size yours to your own monthly expenses. Our guide to Hustler Fund, Fuliza and M-Shwari shows how short-cycle mobile loans can stack up.

Bureau contacts

We list only contacts we could confirm on an official page. Check each bureau's website for changes, and be careful with numbers shared on social media.

The three rules to remember

Frequently asked questions

How we researched this guide

This is an independent, source-based guide. We checked the legal rules against the Central Bank of Kenya's Credit Reference Bureau Regulations, 2020, the bureau contacts and processes against Metropol's and TransUnion's own pages, and the escalation steps against the CBK's complaints guidance. Where the underlying deck made a claim we could not confirm, such as bureau fee amounts and some contact numbers, we left it out or flagged it. We update this page when rules or contacts change. Contact the editor to report an error.

Sources

1. Central Bank of Kenya, Credit Reference Bureau Regulations, 2020 (Regulations 28, 32, 34 and 37)
2. Metropol, common queries (reports, *433#, 90-day rule, disputes, contacts)
3. TransUnion Kenya consumer page (Nipashe, 21272, KES 50 registration, contacts)
4. TransUnion Africa newsroom, get your credit report safely (26 November 2021; scam warnings)
5. Central Bank of Kenya, customer complaints handling mechanism
6. The Kenya Times, CRB listing in Kenya (March 2026; cited a 30-day lender window, which differs from the regulations)