The National ID Card consists of a National Identification Number (NIN), the unique number assigned to every Nigerian or legal residents after enrolling into the National Identity Database (NIDB) and is issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The NIN, according to the NIMC, contains 11 non- intelligible numbers randomly chosen which is used to match an individual with his/her biometric data and other details contained in the NIDB during verification and authentication.
Every Nigerian and legal resident from 16 years of age and above is eligible for enrolment, according to the commission.
Currently, the NIN (or NIMC card, as fondly called by some Nigerians) is being used for all transactions in Nigeria requiring identity verification and mandatory for all eligible Nigerians.
Such transactions include application for International Passport, opening of personal bank accounts, applying for or renewing your driver’s license, obtaining your Permanent Voters’ Card, participating in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), payment of taxes, transactions regarding contributory pension scheme, access to welfare and other relevant government services etc.
Below are five simple steps to follow to obtain your National Identification Number (NIN) from the NIMC:
- Kindly visit the NIMC website to access the Pre-Enrolment Portal via: https://penrol.nimc.gov.ng and fill the Enrolment Form online. Applicants can submit directly online and may also prints out a summary sheet of the Form with a 2D Barcode and proceed to any NIMC Enrolment Centre for biometric and data capturing. Individuals can also print out the Enrolment Form and fill with pen and then go to the nearest NIMC Enrolment Centre for the second step.
- At the NIMC Enrolment Centre, applicant will be allowed to verify and confirm the enrolment data on the system, if you filled and submitted directly online. You may also present the summary printout or filled forms (if filled with pen) to the enrolment officer on duty for easy processing.
- Applicant’s passport photograph, ten fingerprints and signature would then be captured by the enrolment officer on duty.
- Thereafter, the applicant will present his/her supporting documents to the enrolment officer on duty, such as birth certificates etc. These would be scanned and uploaded into the National Identity Database (NIDB) as well.
- After successful enrolment, applicant would be issued two slips – Transaction Slip and NIN Slip (which shows completion of the enrolment process), which are to be generated and printed out FREE of charge by the enrolment officer on duty.
According to the NIMC, applicants can collect their NINs at the enrolment centres where they enrolled. In some circumstances, they may also request that the NIN slips be transferred to other centres of their choice for easy collection.
Kindly note that the NIN can only be collected by an individual after biometric verification and not by proxy.
However, you will be contacted via SMS to pick up your National Identity card physically once it’s ready.
But if you have registered once and yet to collect the NIMC-issued MasterCard-branded card, you can check the status of your National eID Card here: https://touch.nimc.gov.ng/
