The National Population Commission (NPC) has launched a nationwide digital platform that allows Nigerians to register births and deaths online, marking a major step towards modernising the country’s civil registration system.
The Commission announced that the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system, powered by the VitalReg platform, officially became operational across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory on 1 July 2026.
Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja, NPC Chairman, Dr Aminu Yusuf, described the initiative as one of the most significant reforms in Nigeria’s civil registration history.
According to him, the digital platform enables citizens to register births and deaths, access services online at any time, receive digital certificates where applicable, and benefit from improved data validation and a more secure national civil registration database.
He explained that the new system is expected to reduce paperwork, shorten waiting times and minimise the need for Nigerians to travel long distances to registration centres.
Yusuf noted that Nigeria records an estimated five million births every year, yet millions of births and deaths remain unregistered. He revealed that birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent, while death registration remains below 20 per cent, leaving many Nigerians
without legal identity documents and limiting reliable demographic data for national planning.
To improve registration coverage, the Commission has established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and plans to increase the number to approximately 8,000 centres.
The NPC is also collaborating with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, (ALGON) National Identity Management Commission, UNICEF and Barnksforte Technologies Limited to decentralise birth registration and legal identity services at the community level.
The Commission stated that the VitalReg platform is designed to integrate with Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, supporting the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda while improving public service delivery.
Although specialised administrative services such as record corrections, certificate reissuance, attestations and verification requests will attract revised fees, the NPC assured Nigerians that birth registration and birth notification services will remain highly subsidised to encourage universal registration.
Yusuf urged parents, guardians and community leaders to ensure that every birth and death is registered promptly, stressing that widespread public participation is essential to the success of the reform.
He added that a comprehensive digital civil registration system would guarantee every Nigerian a legal identity from birth, provide accurate demographic data for national development and strengthen evidence-based governance.
