NIMC Clarifies Charges For Corrections On NIN, Mentions Conditions For Waivers

• The NIMC recently announced an upward review in the fees for correction of names and date of birth on the NIN database
• According to the update, it now costs almost N29,000 to correct any of the biodata using the NIMC self-service portal
• Following prompts from DPLAN, the NIMC legal department has clarified that there are situations where the correction would be made for free

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon, a journalist with Legit.ng, has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) recently increased the fees for correcting vital data like date of birth on the NIMC database.

Based on that price list, it now costs N28,574 to correct the date of birth on the NIMC database.

However, the commission has now confirmed a waiver for the fees if it is confirmed that the error was caused by the commission.

This waiver was confirmed by the NIMC Head of the Legal Regulatory Compliance Service Department, Festus Esangbedo, in a letter responding to the demand by the Data Privacy Lawyers Association (DPLAN), for compliance with Nigerian data protection law concerning fees for rectifying DOB on NIN records

Esangbedo noted in his response that when the errors are due to the NIMC’s fault or from any of its agents during the initial capture process, the commission will immediately rectify them at no cost to the affected person.

The letter read:

“The Commission applies a fault-based approach: errors attributable to NIMC or its agents are corrected free of charge, while modifications requested by applicants based on new documentation are subject to fees.

“Thus, the fee of N28,574 applies exclusively to voluntary modifications initiated by applicants after initial registration. This is a value-added service for individuals seeking to update their DOB based on new documentation, not for correcting NIMC errors.”

NIMC self-service can be used for corrections

According to Esangbedo, the current self-service modification validates the National Population Commission (NPC) certificate number, from which it automatically draws the DOB data, allowing room for the applicant to review the information before attestation.

He added that the NIMC fees are charges for modification services, not error corrections.

Recall that Barrister Oladipupo Ige, Director of Policy at DPLAN, had earlier flagged the commission’s new fees, stating that the commission failed to announce the exceptions and waivers in line with relevant data laws.

Speaking in an interview with Nairametrics, he referred to Section 4 of Article 36 of the General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) 2025, which states that errors made by a data controller or processor in the course of inputting the data would be corrected at no cost to the data subject.

Recall that the commission has also launched the NIN Authentication Service (NINAuth) app to provide secure and reliable identity verification for accessing government services.

NIMC services become more expensive

In related news, obtaining and making corrections on national IDs has become more expensive.

The NIMC has increased the service charges, and Legit.ng reports that the new prices took effect on 2 May 2025.

Despite the increase, the National Identity Number enrolment and slip issuance are still free, including the national e-ID Card's first issuance.

Source: Legit.ng