Are you or your child in need of a birth certificate? This article will provide all the information you need to acquire a birth certificate in Nigeria.

What is a Birth Certificate?

Each individual born in Nigeria receives an official document after birth known as a birth certificate. The National Population Commission (NPC) is responsible for issuing this document. They also have the records of every individual born in Nigeria. 

There are several registration facilities for the NPC in various places. They have NPC registration booths in hospitals, health facilities, and other NPC registration locations in different local government headquarters.

A birth certificate is crucial, particularly for official functions and many applications in Nigeria. For example, in Nigeria, you need a birth certificate when registering for higher education institutions, applying for a foreign passport, etc.

 In Nigeria, obtaining a birth certificate involves various steps depending on the time and location of the birth.

How to Obtain a Birth Certificate For a Baby Born in a Hospital or Other Healthcare Facilities in Nigeria

Below are a few steps to take to obtain a birth certificate:

1. Following a normal birth, the hospital will provide the baby with a certificate as evidence of the birth.
2.  

1. The birth report is taken to the hospital's National Population Commission registration center or local government offices. 
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1. You'll provide the birth certificate issued by the hospital or health center when you arrive at the registration office. The infant is temporarily given a birth certificate or registration certificate.
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Note that the initial birth certificate provided at the hospital after delivery is invalid; instead, it serves as the necessary justification or prerequisite for obtaining the legally recognized one. You will need to visit a branch of the NPC in your local government area for the official one.

Only the one published by the National Population Commission qualifies. Additionally, if a birth certificate is received within sixty days of the event, it is free of charge.

How To Obtain a Birth Certificate For A Child Born Outside a Hospital 

These procedures must be followed when a child is born outside of a hospital, such as at home, in a church, or in another public location.

1. Find a court and obtain an affidavit in the local government area where the individual was born. Use this in place of a birth certificate. The cost to obtain an affidavit ranges from 2500-3000 Naira only. 
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1. You will then proceed to the national population commission with the affidavit provided by the court. The affidavit is the birth certificate (the replacement for the ones given in the hospital if a child was born) that you would provide to the local government office.
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1. Following the submission of the affidavit at the office, you’ll receive an official birth certificate. For babies under 2 months old, you’ll pay a fee of 500 Naira to obtain the certificate. 
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How to Obtain a Birth Certificate in Nigeria if You are Under or Over 18

What do you do if you do not possess a birth certificate? If so, this is for you. People who have changed their names in the past are not left out either.

People under 18 can get birth certificates from the National Population Commission. You would complete a form for your birth certificate in any of these situations.

Please be aware that this form has a fee of 4,000 Naira only. In rare cases, the funds might be for an age declaration affidavit for the court.

The National Population Commission office would then receive the age declaration and issue the certificate.

If you are older than 18, you will receive an attestation letter. The attestation letter is a written document provided as a backup to the legally required age Declaration Affidavit. This also attracts a fee of 10,000 Naira only.

Please note that these fees might differ. Depending on the local government area or where you will get your affidavit, there might be an increase or decrease. 

Conclusion

These are the minimum requirements for obtaining a birth certificate for yourself or your child.

Birth certificates have little to no cost. You would need to pay a specific sum of money for an afterbirth situation. This information will be sufficient to illuminate the process for obtaining a birth certificate for your newborn. 

You may also visit the help desk at any NPC location:

Lagos- Babs Animashaun Road, Surulere, Lagos.

Abuja- No 1, Masala Close, Off Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Wuse Zone 7, Abuja.