NHIF members under formal employment have their monthly premiums sent to the national health insurer by their employers directly through the check-off system. However, the self-employed members have to pay their monthly NHIF contributions and penalties via other means, like MPesa or Airtel Money.
NHIF requires that you pay your monthly premiums not later than the 9th of every month to avoid incurring late payment penalties.
For the self-employed and voluntary members, late NHIF remittances attract a penalty of Ksh. 250 for every month defaulted.
In this article I will show you how to pay NHIF using MPesa and Airtel Money.
How to Pay NHIF Premiums via Mpesa
To pay your monthly NHIF contributions by Mpesa pay bill, follow the steps:
- Go to your M-PESA menu and select Lipa na M-PESA
- Choose Pay Bill and enter the NHIF Mpesa Business number 200222
- Select Account number and enter your National ID Number
- Enter the amount (Ksh. 500 per month)
- Enter your M-PESA Pin
- Confirm all details are correct then press OK
- You will receive an SMS from M-PESA and another from NHIF confirming the transactions
How to Make NHIF Remittances by Airtel Money
To pay your NHIF monthly premiums using Airtel money follow these steps:
- Go to the Airtel Money menu and select Make Payments
- Go to Pay Bills
- Choose ‘Other’
- Enter the NHIF Airtel Money Pay bill number: 823363
- Put the amount you wish to pay
- For Reference, enter your ID number
- Click Send
- After some time you will receive a confirmation message from the Airtel money service and another from NHIF
And here is how you can pay any NHIF late payment penalties:
Paying NHIF Penalties through Mpesa

Pay NHIF penalties by Mpesa. Image: Facebook, NHIF Kenya
- On your M-PESA select Lipa na M-PESA
- Use 200222 as the NHIF Mpesa Business number
- For the Account number, enter your National ID Number followed by letter y at the end. E.g 1234567y. This will treat the payment as a penalty.
- Enter Ksh. 250 for every month you have defaulted
- Enter your M-PESA Pin number
- Confirm all details are correct then press OK
- A message confirming payments will be sent to your phone.
Take note that the above steps and mode of payment only apply to NHIF self-employed members.
See Also:
- Safaricom Lipa Na Mpesa Paybill Charges
- How to Choose or Change NHIF Outpatient Facility Online, USSD Code or App
I haven’t been paying my NHIF since last year …because I had no job …how can I make my NHIF active again
can i pay penalty in twice coz i have a penalty of 1000 kindly advice
Hi!I have not been paying my NHIF fee after i lost my job, kindly help me pay arrears without fine through mpesa…. Thank you!
Good evening, I lost my job in the month of May Last Year and since then I have not been paying my NHIF till January this Year where I was recalled back to the job.
Please help me know how i can pay my the other months without penalty.
Thank you.
Hi Dismas. You can approach your nearest branch for further help and argue your case.
Otherwise it’s not possible to bypass penalties through nhif ussd or app.
Thank you for your response