Vehicle Registration Process In Nigeria – Full Guide on Car Registration | Required Documents

Vehicle Registration Process In Nigeria – Full Guide on Car Registration | Required Documents

Vehicle Registration Process In Nigeria: Once you purchase a vehicle in Nigeria, you don’t just start driving it around in Nigeria.

You have to register the vehicle and get all the necessary licenses before you are free to start driving it around.

Driving your new vehicle around when it has not been registered with the appropriate authorities will leave you into trouble as you will be in violation of Nigeria’s law.

Registering of vehicles in Nigeria is not difficult, and doesn’t also cost much at that.

If you need to know the vehicle registration process in Nigeria, you are in the right place.

In this article, I will guide you through the vehicle registration process in Nigeria.

Why Must I Register My Vehicle Before Driving?

The Nigerian law makes it compulsory for all vehicles (trucks, cars, tricycle, and motorcycle) to use the Nigerian roads to get registered to enable easy tracking of vehicles and their various owners.

Documents Required For Vehicle Registration in Nigeria

Before you begin the vehicle registration process in Nigeria, make sure that you have all the needed documents intact.

Below are the documents needed for the vehicle registration process in Nigeria.

A valid Driver’s License.
Insurance Policy Number
Means of Identification e.g. International passport, national identity card etc.
Proof of Address (e.g. Utility Bill)

Other required documents are:

Custom papers:
Attestation letter from the company of purchase;
Receipt of Purchase/Invoice;
Delivery note from the company of purchase
Proof of Ownership of the car
Engine number written out (not compulsory but necessary)
Proof of Ownership
Insurance papers
Tax Identification Number (recently added but not compulsory yet)
Passport photograph.

Others are custom papers (imported car), chassis number, and engine number, and proceed to the State Board of Internal Revenue/Motor Licensing Authority (SBIR/MLA).

Vehicle Registration Process In Nigeria

Below are the processes involved in registering a vehicle in Nigeria.

Step 1: Get A Driver’s License

If you don’t already have a driver’s license, visit the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) office nearest to you and apply for a driver’s license.

You can get a driver’s license even if you don’t own a car.

They will do a biometric data capturing and you will be required to pay the sum of N10,000 to process a new one.

After the process is completed, you will be given a temporary driver’s license which will last for 60 days. After the 60 days is over, your new driver’s license will be ready for pick up.

Step 2: Registration Process At SBIR/MLA

At SBIR/MLA office, you will be given an allocation of plate number form.

You will have to fill out all the required details on the form and submit this form with original copies of all the necessary documents.

You’ll be required to pay for your vehicle plate number.

Your car might be required for inspection by a VIO (Vehicle Inspection Officer). When certified okay, you will be issued a Road Worthiness Certificate.

Step 3: Online Registration

Now you have all the required documents for the vehicle registration process in Nigeria, you can now move to fill the online application.

To do this, follow the procedure below.

Visit the Federal Road Safety Corp National Vehicle Identification System website at www.nvisng.org and completes the online registration (MVA01) form.
Prints the completed form and attach all relevant vehicle documents
Proceeds to SBIR/MLA (State Board of Internal Revenue/Motor Licensing Authority) office and collect the allocation of plate number form, Plate number Tag, CMR and information required issued by the police
Pay for the vehicle number plate at SBIR/MLA and collect your vehicle number plate.
After that, take your vehicle to the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) for physical inspection and collect a Roadworthiness certificate, if VIO is satisfied with the condition of the vehicle.
Now go back to Road safety for the verification of documents provided. Here, the verified documents are Driver’s License: Insurance Policy Number, Means of Identification, and Proof of Address (e.g. Utility Bill)

Go back to SBIR/MLA, where you collect the following registered vehicle documents:

Proof of Ownership Certificate (POC) number
Proof of Ownership Certificate,
Vehicle Number Plate
Vehicle Identification Tag (VIT)

Step 4: Verification process

The verified documents for brand new cars are:

driver’s license,
auto insurance policy,
attestation letter from my car dealer,
car invoice,
delivery note from my car dealer,
passport photograph,
Motor Vehicle Duty Certificate, and
means of proof of address (address on utility bill).

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Verified documents for a fairly used (imported or Tokunbo) are:

Certificate of Entry,
Payment Schedule,
Engine Number,
Receipt of Purchase,
Terminal Delivery Order,
Vehicle Releasing Invoice, and
passport photograph.

After due verification, the official will forward all documents to a policeman attached to the unit to sign and stamp.

You will be asked to pay the sum of N50,000 (depending on the state) for my number plate at the bank. This process is important to register a car in Nigeria.

After the payment at the bank and go back to SBIR/MLA, and collect your proof of Ownership Certificate (POC), Vehicle Identification Tag (VIT), and Vehicle Number Plate.

All original documents you submitted will be returned to you.

Remember that car insurance is important to register a car in Nigeria and they come in 2 forms – Third Party Auto Insurance Cover and Comprehensive Auto Cover.

Third-Party Auto Insurance Policy is usually done by an insurance company to protect car owners from losses caused by their cars on other people in the course of driving.

For new imported cars the following additional documents are required: