List Of Vehicle Documents For Driving On Nigerian Roads (FRSC)

What do you do when a police officer stops your vehicle on the road and are asked to produce your car particulars?

FRSC officers inspecting vehicle documents

The truth is that most drivers are confused on what document to show to these road or traffic regulation officers and either get molested or get their vehicles impounded and seized.
In Nigeria, you are required by law to have some certain vehicle documents to drive your car freely on the road.

Be it a private car or a commercial vehicle, these documents are important to avoid being harassed or have your cars impounded by either the police, FRSC, traffic officers or other agencies in charge of inspecting vehicles.

While most motorist go about showing fake or expired particulars, it is imperial to note that your papers must be up to date if you must move your cars freely on Nigerian roads.

Before we list out the particulars to be checked, please note that these article isn’t limited to Lagos drivers alone but all car owners who ply any federal or state roads in the country.

According to Autoreportafrica, the following documents are required by the law to drive on Nigerian roads:

#1 National Drivers Licence

This is the first and most important document required by the Nigerian law if you must be on the road.
Getting the licence from the FRSC or VIS means that you must have passed the requirements and have been declared mentally and physically stable to be able to drive on Nigerian roads.

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To qualify for this licence, you must be at least 18 years of age and would have undergone series of tests to accompany this.

#2 National Certificate Of Road Worthiness

After the drivers licence, the next important document required to drive on Nigerian roads without any form of molestation is the national certificate of road worthiness.
This certificate is to indicate that your vehicle has passed all the criteria required to be on the road as regards safety and all its measures.
To get this, an inspection would have been carried out on your vehicle by Vehicles Inspection Officers (VIOs) to ascertain this.
Be sure to keep your vehicles in top shape in order to scale this hurdle.

#3 Vehicle Registration (For Private Cars)

The vehicle registration is a document that clearly indicates that a car has been duly registered under the Nigerian law and, as such, complies with the various regulations guiding this act.

#4 Motor Vehicle Insurance

This is a very integral document required by the Nigerian law to drive on Nigerian roads.
Be it a third party insurance or comprehensive, it is mandatory to have your car insured before hitting the road to avoid any form of embarrassment from the various agencies that patrol our roads.
Getting a good car insurance is very important, especially in in the event of unforeseen circumstances  which might occur.

For Commercial Vehicles

For commercial vehicles, the requirements are a little different from what is obtainable for private vehicles. The following items are also required for commercial vehicles to ply the roads without  any form of molestation.

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1. Commercial Vehicle Licence

The commercial vehicle licence is issued to commercial vehicles to freely go about and do their businesses within the country.
Like the hackney permit, no inspection is required before issuance of this document.

2.  Hackney Permit

The hackney permit is another document that is required to drive freely on Nigerian roads and particularly on Lagos roads without any form of harassment.
The hackney permit is simply a licence for vehicles below a certain weight category to carry goods within a state.
This documents should be issued to you at the point of registering your vehicle and does not require any form of inspection whatsoever.

3. Lagos State Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI) Card

For residents of Lagos, aside obtaining the drivers licence, there is also a need to be certified by LASDRI for commercial vehicle drivers, pick-up owners and company vehicles’ drivers.
This only applies to Lagos and not the entire country. So, if you are new to Lagos and wish to take up a job as a commercial vehicle driver, company vehicle driver or you own a pick-up, please do visit the Lagos State Drivers Institute to obtain your LASDRI card and save yourself any form of embarrassment and extortion on the road.

Wrapping Up

Having these documents in your car is very ideal in ensuring that you don’t fall victim of any sort of extortion on the road.
At the same time, being able to renew these documents whenever they expire remain key to being free from all forms of harassment on our roads.
To our new drivers, please ensure that your documents are in place before hitting the road.