Part of our Nursing Councils of the World series. Last checked: October 2026.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) is the federal body that regulates nursing and midwifery education and practice in Nigeria. It operates under the Nursing and Midwifery (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap N143, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. Every nurse or midwife who wants to practise in Nigeria, or to be verified for work abroad, deals with the NMCN at every stage of their career, from indexing as a student to retirement.
What the NMCN does
- Accredits schools: it approves and monitors schools and colleges of nursing and midwifery, and university nursing departments, including their admission quotas.
- Indexes students: every student must be indexed (registered with the council) shortly after admission. Without indexing, you cannot sit the council’s examinations.
- Runs professional examinations: these are the final qualifying exams for general nursing, midwifery and post-basic specialties.
- Registers and licenses successful candidates, and renews practising licences.
- Sets standards of conduct and practice, including the Code of Professional Conduct.
- Disciplines nurses and midwives accused of misconduct.
- Verifies certificates and issues letters of good standing to foreign regulators.
Routes to registration
| Route | What it involves |
|---|---|
| College of nursing (Basic Nursing / ND–HND) | Three-year diploma-level programmes, now being converted to ND/HND Nursing awarded by colleges of nursing sciences. Graduates sit the NMCN professional examination. |
| University (BNSc) | A five-year degree that combines academic and professional training. Graduates sit the NMCN professional examination and are registered as nurses (and in many programmes, as midwives or public health nurses too). |
| Basic and post-basic midwifery | Separate qualifying exams lead to registration as a midwife. |
| Post-basic specialties | Programmes such as perioperative, critical care, paediatric, psychiatric, ophthalmic and accident and emergency nursing lead to additional registrations. |
| Foreign-trained nurses | Applicants are assessed by the council. They may have to sit the council’s examination or undergo adaptation before registration. |
The professional examinations
- Who sits: indexed final-year students from accredited schools whose institution confirms they have completed the programme.
- When: the council usually holds general nursing and midwifery professional exams in more than one diet a year. In 2026, results were released for both the May and September diets.
- Format: written papers (increasingly computer-based) plus practical and oral (OSCE-style) assessments.
- Results: released on the NMCN website. Successful candidates are then registered and can apply for their first practising licence.
- Failing: candidates can resit at a later diet, subject to the council’s rules on the number of attempts. Check with your school for your own position.
Fees (as published)
| Service | NMCN licensing page | Recently reported on the portal |
|---|---|---|
| First practising licence | ₦10,500 | Check the portal |
| Licence renewal (3 years) | ₦10,500 | ₦13,125 |
| Late renewal penalty | ₦5,250 per year of default | ₦6,562 per year |
| Verification of certificate (per certificate) | ₦8,750 | Foreign verification is reported at about ₦68,875, plus a separate foreign board fee |
| Authentication of certificates | ₦8,750 | — |
| Letter of good standing | ₦8,750 | — |
| Re-issue of a lost licence | — | ₦10,937 |
Renewing your licence
Practising licences are valid for three years. To renew, you need:
- the completed online licensing form on licence.nmcn.gov.ng;
- two recent, identical colour passport photographs with a white background;
- your expired licence and copies of your registration certificates;
- a certificate of attendance from the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme (MCPDP);
- proof of payment for the renewal fee, plus any penalty.
Step by step: sign up on the portal → choose your specialty → enter your registration number exactly as it appears on your certificate → verify by SMS code → complete the form → pay through Remita → upload documents → collect or receive your licence.
Tip: book your MCPDP early in your third year. Workshops fill up, and you cannot renew without the certificate. Penalties build up every year your licence is expired, and practising with an expired licence is professional misconduct.
Verification for work abroad
Most foreign regulators, including the UK NMC, Canada’s NNAS, Australia’s AHPRA and the Gulf councils, need the NMCN to confirm your registration directly. The process is:
- Apply on the NMCN verification portal, with a letter stating the destination and purpose.
- Upload your current licence, registration certificates and birth certificate or declaration of age.
- Pay the verification fee and the foreign board fee through Remita.
- The council collects good-standing letters directly from your current employer and your training institution.
- The council sends the verification to the foreign regulator.
The 2024 guidelines: in February 2024 the council issued revised verification guidelines, effective 1 March 2024. They require at least two years of post-qualification experience counted from the date of the permanent practising licence. Applications made with a provisional licence are rejected, and your licence must have at least six months of validity left. The guidelines led to protests and a court case at the National Industrial Court (NICN/ABJ/76/2024). In September 2024, Canada’s NNAS reported that the NMCN had resumed issuing verifications and letters of good standing. Verification can take several months, so start early, and confirm the current requirements on the NMCN portal before you apply.
Discipline: how complaints are handled
The Act sets up an Investigating Panel and a Nursing and Midwifery Disciplinary Tribunal.
- Complaint: a complaint can come from a patient, employer, colleague, court or the council itself. It might allege negligence, abandoning patients, falsifying records, practising without a licence, fraud, abuse or a criminal conviction.
- Investigation: the Investigating Panel reviews the evidence and decides whether there is a case to answer.
- Tribunal hearing: the nurse is notified and can appear with a lawyer and present a defence.
- Outcomes: the tribunal can find the case not proved; admonish the nurse; suspend them from practice for a period; or strike their name off the register.
- Appeal: a nurse who is struck off or suspended can appeal to the courts within the time the law allows.
A finding against you in Nigeria will show up in any foreign verification. Foreign regulators also ask you to declare it yourself.
Common problems and how to avoid them
- Name mismatches: if your names differ between your school records, licence and passport, verification is delayed. Sort out affidavits and the council’s change-of-name process early.
- An unindexed student: confirm your indexing in your first year. Late indexing can stop you from sitting the exams.
- An unaccredited school: check the NMCN list of accredited institutions before you accept an admission.
- Fake “agents”: verification and licensing are done through the official portal. Never pay an individual to “speed up” council processes.
Sources: NMCN licensing page (nmcn.gov.ng/licensing.html); NursingSchool.ng renewal guide (updated June 2025); LearnSkills: NMCN verification (2024); NNAS update on NMCN verification (25 September 2024); Gazette Nigeria report on suit NICN/ABJ/76/2024 (March 2024). Fees and procedures change, so always confirm on the official NMCN portal.