NPC ends manual birth registration

The National Population Commission (NPC) has announced the end of manual registration for births and deaths across Nigeria, warning that certificates issued outside its new electronic registration platform will no longer be recognised.

The commission said its Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) platform, which became operational on July 1, 2026, is now the only approved channel for registering births and deaths nationwide.

The announcement was made on Monday in Umuahia by the Federal Commissioner representing Abia State in the NPC, Rev. Emma Trumps Eke, during a briefing to mark the 2026 World Population Day and the nationwide rollout of the digital platform. Eke said the transition to a fully digital registration system would enable real-time registration, improve national planning, strengthen identity management and reduce fraud associated with paper-based documentation.

“Anybody giving you manual registration is leading you into trouble. We have stopped everything about manual registration. From now on, every registration must be digital and captured in real time,” he said. He warned that any NPC official found issuing manual certificates after the launch of the new platform would face disciplinary measures, including suspension or dismissal.

According to Eke, the digital database will be integrated with agencies including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Federal Road Safety Corps, allowing birth records to be verified for passport applications, driver’s licences, bank accounts and other official transactions.

He added that citizens can now register births through an online self-service portal, with applications expected to be authenticated within 72 hours. Registration centres will also continue to operate at local government offices and health facilities across the country.

Eke stressed that accurate population data is essential for effective national development, noting that governments rely on demographic information when planning schools, hospitals, industries, employment programmes and emergency interventions. He also revealed that preparations for a national population and housing census had reached an advanced stage before the exercise was suspended in 2023 because of the election transition and subsequent economic challenges.

According to the commissioner, the NPC expects the next national census to take place after the 2027 general elections and expressed optimism that President Bola Tinubu could approve the exercise in 2028. Earlier, the Abia State Director of the NPC, Mrs Joyce Ogwuruike, described the electronic registration system as a major departure from more than 30 years of paper-based record keeping.

She urged parents to register their children before the age of five, warning that delayed registration could affect development planning and children’s access to interventions such as immunisation and other government-supported programmes.

Also speaking, the National Orientation Agency’s representative, Kingsley Ukanwoke, described the initiative as a landmark reform that would provide Nigerians with legal identity while giving government more accurate population data for planning. He pledged the agency’s support in raising public awareness and encouraging nationwide adoption of the electronic registration system.