Skip to content
paybillke
Government

How to pay SHA for someone else in Kenya (2026)

Paying SHA for a parent, spouse, or friend? Use Paybill 200222 with THEIR National ID as the account number. Verification steps and the mistakes that route the money to the wrong record.

AO
by Reviewed by Michael Mwangi 8 min read Updated 26 August 2026Verified 26 Aug 2026

The one rule that decides everything

SHA reconciles contributions by the National ID entered in the paybill account field. It does not use the M-PESA phone number, the sender name, or the till the money came from. It uses the ID.

Which means: to credit a SHA payment to someone else, you enter their ID, not yours. The M-PESA SMS on your phone still shows you as the sender, but on SHA's ledger it lands under their record.

Step by step

  1. Open M-PESA on your phone.
  2. Choose Lipa na M-PESA, then Pay Bill.
  3. Business number: 200222.
  4. Account number: the National ID number of the person you are paying for. Digits only, no spaces, no leading zeros that are not on their card.
  5. Amount: their SHA figure. Minimum KES 300. If they are Tier 2, use whatever SHA has assessed for them via the Means Testing Instrument. If Tier 1 salaried, this scenario is unusual (their employer should deduct and remit).
  6. Enter your M-PESA PIN and confirm.
  7. Wait for the confirmation SMS. The M-PESA SMS on your phone will say: paid to SHA, KES [amount], transaction ID.

Model the exact figure they owe with the SHA contribution calculator. Paybill background lives at /paybill/sha.

How to verify the money reached their SHA record

Your M-PESA SMS only confirms SHA received the payment. It does not tell you the ID was correct or the SHA record was updated. There are three ways to confirm on the recipient side.

  • USSD *147# on their phone. They dial *147#, choose the contribution-status option. Their most recent payment should appear, usually within an hour of M-PESA confirmation.
  • afyayangu.go.ke on their account. They log in with their National ID. Payment history should list your transaction within 24 to 72 hours. This is the slowest but most complete view.
  • Eligibility check. Visit eligibility.sha.go.ke and enter their ID. If SHA credited the payment, coverage status reflects the current month.

If none of the three shows the payment after 72 hours, follow the SHA payment not reflecting guide. The most common cause when paying for another person is an ID typo on the paybill account line.

Common scenarios

Paying for a parent

The most common case. Adult children paying SHA for an elderly parent who is not on payroll, does not use M-PESA, or cannot navigate the portal. Use Paybill 200222 with your parent's National ID. Save it as a named recipient in your M-PESA app so you never have to re-type the ID.

If your parent is over 65 and formally registered as an indigent, they may qualify for state-funded SHA cover under the Primary Healthcare Fund (per sha.go.ke, accessed 26 August 2026) [Source 2]. Confirm eligibility at eligibility.sha.go.ke before paying, because state-funded members do not need to contribute.

Paying for a spouse

If your spouse is a registered dependant on your SHA record, you do not pay for them separately, one contribution covers both. See SHA household coverage for who counts as a dependant and how to add or remove them.

If your spouse has their own SHA record (separate registration, common in dual-income households where both are Tier 1 or one is Tier 2), then yes, you pay under their ID separately.

Paying for a friend or someone informally

Same mechanic. Paybill 200222, their ID. There is no restriction on who can pay SHA on behalf of a registered member. The money credits to the ID on the account line.

Employer paying for an employee

Do not use the member paybill. Employers must register at employers.sha.go.ke, upload a payroll file that lists each employee's ID and SHA number, and remit in bulk. This links deductions to each employee's member record automatically. Deadline: 9th of the following month, with a 2% late-payment penalty under section 27(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023 [Source 3]. Full detail: SHA for employers.

Diaspora sending for a family member

Common. A Kenyan abroad wants to keep a parent's SHA cover current. Practical path: send funds to a trusted family member via M-PESA Global or a remittance service, then that family member pays Paybill 200222 with the beneficiary's ID. Full detail: Paying SHA from the diaspora.

What NOT to do

  • Do not use your own ID when paying for someone else. The money credits to your own SHA record and does nothing for them.
  • Do not use their phone number as the account. SHA does not reconcile by phone.
  • Do not use an NHIF number if they have one from before October 2024. SHA uses National ID as the primary key. Old NHIF numbers can create duplicate records and route payments into limbo.
  • Do not use a passport number if they are a Kenyan citizen with a National ID. Passports work only for foreign residents.

If they are salaried, do not pay this way

Salaried employees (Tier 1) have SHA deducted from gross pay by their employer and remitted through the employer portal. If you pay 200222 with their ID on top of that, you are double-paying. The extra sits as credit on their SHA ledger, which is not harmful but is not useful either.

The main exception is arrears: if a Tier 1 employee has an unpaid month from a period when they were not employed, a one-off member payment to 200222 with their ID clears that gap. See SHA arrears and penalty.

Sources

  1. SHA paybill and account convention (Paybill 200222, account = National ID): sha.go.ke, accessed 26 August 2026.
  2. Primary Healthcare Fund, state-funded coverage for indigents: sha.go.ke/primary-healthcare-fund, accessed 26 August 2026.
  3. Social Health Insurance Act 2023, section 27(6): 2% late-payment penalty on unremitted contributions.
  4. SHA member portal afyayangu.go.ke, eligibility eligibility.sha.go.ke, employers employers.sha.go.ke.
  5. SHA toll-free helpline 0800 720 601, per sha.go.ke contact page, accessed 26 August 2026.