How to Register your Vehicle in Nigeria

Vehicle use is consequential only to Vehicle Registration in Nigeria. It is therefore advised that you do proper registration before zooming your ride around town, else you risk impoundment by security agencies.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC),  a government agency in Nigeria is responsible for the production and supply of the vehicle plate numbers. These are passed to the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) which is the agency that handles vehicle registration for Lagos State - citing Lagos as an example. The proof of ownership is issued here and the vehicle is duly registered by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) as well.

During these processes, the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) registers the vehicle and issues a Road Worthiness Certificate. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) also issues the Central Motor Registration (CMR). At Motormata, we go through all these processes for you and deliver in 24 hours.

In order to register your vehicle, you are required to go to the Motor Licensing Office of the State Board of Internal Revenue (SBIR). There, you would be taken step by step through the process and procedure of vehicle registration.

Another option is that you can apply online by logging onto the NVIS website www.nvisng.org and fill a form, submit the form, after which an item number will be automatically created and taken to SBIR for necessary payment.  You will then be issued with necessary vehicle documents which include Vehicle License, Valid Insurance Certificate, Certificate of Road Worthiness and Proof of Ownership Certificate.

However, due to the unfortunate events of fraudulent individuals bypassing the due process and circulating fake vehicle registration documents, the FRSC and SBIRs have come up with ways to sabotage these criminal activities. One way is the development of an online Information Verification Portal (IVP) which poses itself as an authentic platform that provides applicants and vehicle owners the opportunity to verify online the authenticity of their vehicle registration and plate numbers.

The advantages this verification portal has brought with it cannot be overemphasized as it has shown itself a reliable medium of scrutinizing vehicle documents, detecting and sieving out the fake ones. Security agents have been able to decipher ingenuine registration and plate numbers. They have also been able to track vehicles used to commit crimes like theft. This in turn, has an overall ripple effect on national security and safety.

Now, let's look at what you need to register your vehicle.

Documents Required for Vehicle Registration in Nigeria

Attestation Letter from the company of purchase
Receipt of Purchase/Invoice
Delivery Note from the company of purchase
Proof of Ownership of the vehicle
A valid and current Driver's License
Means of Identification
Proof of current address
Passport photograph of the vehicle owner

If the vehicle is imported, you will add these too:
Custom Papers
Tax Identification Number
Vehicle Duty Certificate