How to check if your household is on Nigeria's National Social Register

The National Social Register is not a public online database where Nigerians can search their names and get an instant result. To confirm whether a household has been captured, residents must go through community leaders, the state social register office or NASSCO.

The register is the Federal Government database used to identify poor and vulnerable households across Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. NASSCO, the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office, coordinates it. The register is built through community targeting, household enumeration and verification using poverty indicators.

No public online search

The NSR is not publicly accessible online. Each state builds its own register under NASSCO's guidance. That is why confirmation requires direct contact with local authorities. Government agencies rely on the register to allocate resources and identify households eligible for social interventions.

Three ways to confirm

Nigerians can take three steps to find out if their households are on the register.

First, speak to community leaders. Traditional rulers, ward heads and other local figures who took part in the household identification exercise can confirm whether enumeration was carried out in a community and whether a household was included.

Second, visit the State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU). Each state has an office that coordinates the identification and registration of vulnerable households. The office can provide details on past registration exercises and explain how to verify household records.

Third, contact NASSCO directly. The coordinating office can offer guidance on the verification process and direct residents to the appropriate state-level contact. NASSCO advises Nigerians to use only officially published government contact channels and to be cautious of anyone asking for money to confirm or secure a place on the register.

Registration and what it means

The NSR is put together through five stages. States begin by using poverty data to identify their most deprived local government areas. Community-based targeting teams then work with residents and local leaders to identify poor households using agreed criteria. Enumerators visit those households and collect data using digital tools. The information is assessed through a Proxy Means Test (PMT), an algorithm that ranks households according to poverty indicators. Households that fall within the bottom six deciles become eligible for inclusion in the National Beneficiary Register, which supports programmes such as government cash transfers.

Inclusion in the NSR does not automatically qualify a household for any specific payment or grant. Each government programme sets its own eligibility requirements and uses the register as a starting point for identifying potential beneficiaries. The register is a planning and targeting tool, not a payment platform. Its primary purpose is to help government direct limited resources more effectively towards vulnerable Nigerians.

Separately, the federal government has outlined the application process for Nigerians seeking affordable financing to buy laptops, smartphones, tablets and other digital devices under the Credit for Laptops, Internet, Connectivity, and Knowledge Digital Devices (C.L.I.C.K.D.) Programme. The initiative, launched through the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), is designed to improve access to digital devices by providing consumer credit to eligible Nigerians.