The National Identification Number is the single document everything else in Nigeria hangs off. A SIM card, a bank account, a passport, a driver’s licence, a pension account, a tax record: each of them wants your NIN first.
It is issued by the National Identity Management Commission. It is eleven digits, and it never changes.
Enrolling
First-time enrolment at a NIMC centre is free. Anyone charging you for enrolment itself is charging you for nothing.
Take:
- A birth certificate or declaration of age
- Any existing identity document you have
- Evidence of address
You will be photographed and have all ten fingerprints captured. You leave with a slip carrying the number. The physical card takes considerably longer, and the slip is what everyone actually accepts.
Note
A Nigerian abroad enrols through the NIMC diaspora process rather than at a centre, and it is not free.
Get it right the first time
This is the part worth being slow about.
Your name, spelled exactly as it is on your other documents. Your date of birth. Your parents’ names. Check every field on the screen before you sign.
Correcting a record afterwards costs ₦3,500 per modification and takes weeks, and some fields can only be changed a limited number of times. A date of birth that disagrees with your passport will stop a visa application, and the resolution is bureaucratic rather than quick.
Linking your SIM
Your NIN must be linked to your phone lines. You may link up to 4 SIMs across all networks to one NIN.
Dial *346# on the line to check the number the network has, and link through
your network’s app or a service centre. An unlinked line gets barred, usually
without much warning.
Your bank account is separate
Do not confuse the NIN with the BVN. They are different numbers issued by different bodies for different purposes.
| NIN | BVN | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | NIMC | the banking industry, under the CBN |
| Identifies | you, as a person | you, as a bank customer |
| Digits | 11 | 11 |
| Needed for | nearly everything | opening and operating accounts |
You need both. You get the NIN first.
Lagos has its own registration too
LASRRA — the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency — issues a separate residents’ card. It is a state scheme, not a substitute for the NIN, and it is what some state services and schemes ask for.
What it unlocks
- A bank account beyond the lowest tier
- A Nigerian passport, at ₦50,000 for the 32-page, 5-year book or ₦100,000 for the 64-page, 10-year one
- A Retirement Savings Account
- A tax record with the LIRS