Looking for a clear breakdown of all NMCN fees? You’re in the right place.
See the Nigerian nursing council fees from your indexing application to your nursing licence, and beyond. How much you pay for each programme? When to pay and what happens if you miss a deadline?
Overview of NMCN fees
NMCN fees are paid in stages, with each stage having its own charge.
Here’s a quick view of the fee categories:
- Indexing Fee: paid when you first register as a nursing student with NMCN before the start of your training.
- Exam Fee: paid when you apply to sit the professional qualifying exam, broken into objectives and OSCE.
- Registration and Licensing Fee: paid to officially register with NMCN and receive your nursing licence, only after passing the exam.
- Late Registration Penalty: charged if you miss the 90-day window for registration after results are released.
- Resit Fee: paid by those who need to retake one or more components of the exam.
- Licence Renewal Fee: paid every three years to maintain your licence to practice as a Registered Nurse.
All NMCN fees are paid online through the official portal at portal.nmcn.gov.ng using Remita or Interswitch.
The nursing council doesn’t accept cash payments from individuals or schools.
Always pay through official channels and keep your payment receipt because you’ll need it at different stages of the process.
NMCN indexing fee
Indexing is the first official step in your relationship with the Nursing Council of Nigeria.
Before you can take the qualifying exam, you must be indexed (i.e., registered with the council as a student enrolled in an approved nursing or midwifery programme).
Your index number is assigned to you after your indexing application is approved, and you cannot apply for the exam without it.
- Basic Indexing fee: ₦8,191.92
- Post-Basic Indexing fee: ₦14,043.75
- Refresher Basic Indexing fee: ₦8,191.92
- Indexing application fee (Foreign-trained nurses): ₦14,043.75
To change your training institution after you’ve already been indexed with another.
- Change of Training School fee: ₦46,812.50
Indexing fees are paid at the beginning of your programme, or at most, 2 years before your exam application.
Otherwise, you may not be eligible to take the NMCN exam.
NMCN exam fees
You pay NMCN exam fees to apply and the nursing council exam.
It is charged per component which means you pay separately for the objectives and for OSCE.
So, the total exam fee is not a single flat charge but a sum of the individual component fees.
Basic Nursing exam
- Application fee: ₦11,702.59
- Paper I fee: ₦11,702.59
- Paper II fee: ₦11,702.59
- Paper III (Basic Midwifery) fee: ₦11,702.59
- Oral/OSCE fee: ₦17,052.59
So, the total exam fees for a General Nursing student taking both the objectives and practical exam add up to about ₦52,160.
Paper III applies only to Basic Midwifery candidates.
General Nursing students sit Paper I and Paper II only.
Post-Basic Nursing exam
- Application fee: ₦11,702.59
- Paper I fee: ₦11,702.59
- Paper II fee: ₦11,702.59
- Oral/OSCE fee: ₦20,062.50
Post-basic candidates pay higher OSCE fee than basic nursing due to the advanced clinical competency being assessed.
Exam fees must be paid before the portal application deadline for the exam diet you’re applying for.
NMCN is clear that any application not paid for before the closure date won’t be processed.
And late entry fees will be charged to both the school and the individual applicant.
NMCN registration and licensing fees
After passing the qualifying exam, you must then officially register with NMCN and obtain your RN licence to legally practice as a Registered Nurse in Nigeria.
This is a separate process from indexing and exam.
- Basic Registration fee: ₦45,974.69
- Post-Basic Registration fee: ₦59,517.68
- Post Basic Registration (with Badge): ₦65,368.44
Once completed, NMCN issues you a notification of registration with your official document confirming you as a licensed RN.
Kindly note that registration must be completed within 90 days from the release of results.
And this deadline is firm.
Penalty for late registration is charged per school and per individual.
NMCN late registration fees
Late registration penalty is an extra cost in addition to the standard registration fees.
- Penalty per individual: ₦16,250
- Penalty per school: ₦77,500
Payable after 90 days from the release of results.
So, even if it’s Day 91, you owe the full registration fee plus an extra ₦16,250.
Avoid this fine by tracking the timeline yourself.
Don’t wait for your school to remind you.
Count 90 days forward immediately results are released and set as your deadline.
And since the registration process is online and can be done on your phone, you have no excuse for missing it.
But what if you’ve already missed the deadline?
Well, you must still register.
Because practicing as a nurse without a valid NMCN licence is illegal no matter how long ago you passed the exam.
Log on to NMCN portal, begin your application and pay for both the registration and penalty via Remita.
Your school’s nursing education officer can guide you through the process if you’re unsure.
NMCN resit fees
Candidates who didn’t pass all components of the exam on their first attempt must register and pay to resit that specific component they failed.
Under the updated NMCN policy, you only resit the component you failed, not the entire exam again.
This means the resit fee is also limited to the cost of that specific component.
And it follows the same exam-component pricing as listed earlier under exam fees.
NMCN Post-Basic Nursing fees
Post-basic nursing programmes (speciality areas) carry higher fees than basic nursing to show the advanced nature of training and extra regulatory oversight involved.
Here’s a summary of how post-basic fees differ from basic nursing fees:
| Post-Basic Indexing: ₦14,043.75 (compared to ₦8,191.92 for Basic) |
| Post-Basic Exam Application Fee: ₦11,702.59 (same as Basic) |
| Post-Basic (I & II): ₦11,702.59 each (same as Basic) |
| Post-Basic OSCE: ₦20,062.50 (compared to ₦17,052.59 for Basic) |
| Post-Basic Registration: ₦59,517.68 (compared to ₦45,974.69 for Basic) |
| Post-Basic Registration with Badge: ₦65,368.44 |
If you’re a Post-Basic candidate, budget for these higher figures from the start of your programme.
NMCN licence renewal fees
You pay once to obtain your nursing licence for the first time.
But you must renew it every 3 years to keep it legally valid.
Practicing nursing without a current or renewed licence is a violation of NMCN regulations, resulting to sanctions.
- Renewal fee: ₦13,125 (for 3 years).
- Penalty: ₦6,562 (for each year of default).
This means if you allow your licence to go 2 years after expiry, you’ll pay ₦13,125 (normal renewal fee) plus ₦13,124 (two years of default penalty).
A total of over ₦26,000 instead of the standard ₦13,125.
Avoid this.
- SEE HOW TO RENEW YOUR NMCN LICENSE
How to Pay NMCN fees
You pay all NMCN fees online via the official myportal.nmcn.gov.ng
The Council does not accept cash payments from individuals or schools under any circumstances.
Here’s a step-by-step guide through the payment process:
1. Complete your application on the portal
- Visit myportal.nmcn.gov.ng
- From the menu, select what you’re applying for.
- Basic indexing
- Foreign indexing
- Fresh exam
- Resit exam
- Registration
- Complete the application form
2. Proceed to payment
Once your application is ready for payment, scroll down your application page and click “Proceed to Payment.”
You’ll then see a summary of your application details.
Review this carefully before continuing.
3. Click “Pay Fee Now”
This takes you to the Remita payment gateway, which is the official payment platform for all Nigerian government agencies including the NMCN.
4. Select your payment method
Remita offers several payment options:
- Card Payment (Interswitch/Verve/Mastercard): pay using your debit card.
- Bank Transfer: pay via internet banking or mobile banking app.
- Bank Branch Payment: pay at a physical bank
5. Complete payment and save your receipt
After successful payment, a Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) number is generated.
Store this number as it is your proof of payment if you need to resolve any future disputes.
You can also print your receipt by clicking “Print the Receipt” button.
6. Confirm payment on the portal
Return to NMCN portal after payment to confirm that your payment has been recorded.
Your application status should update to reflect the payment.
Always keep your Remita receipt as proof of payment.
Conclusion
Never pay through anyone claiming to process NMCN payments on your behalf.
All payments must go through Remita directly on the official NMCN portal.
Don’t share your portal login details or RRR numbers with third parties.
If payment is made but not reflected on the portal after 24 hours, use your RRR number to follow up with NMCN support: info@trcn.gov.ng
Note: NMCN fees are subject to periodic review. Always verify the current amounts on NMCN website before making payment.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The NMCN portal is accessible on mobile browsers, and Remita supports card payments and bank transfers from mobile banking apps.
So, you can complete your application and make payment from your smartphone as long as you have a stable internet connection.
After successful payment through Remita, click the “Print the Receipt” button to download or print your payment receipt.
Save receipt and RRR number as proof of your transaction, in case it’s required later.
GOOD LUCK.
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