HOW-TO

How to Register a Product with NAFDAC

Selling regulated food, drugs or cosmetics in Nigeria means registering the product with NAFDAC first. Here is the path through the NAPAMS portal and what to expect.

Step by step

1. Confirm your product needs NAFDAC registrationNAFDAC regulates food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, bottled water and similar products. Check your product category and the specific requirements on the NAFDAC site. Requirements and fees differ sharply between, say, a packaged food and a pharmaceutical drug.
2. Get your company and premises readyYou generally need a CAC-registered business, and your production site must meet Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards because it will be inspected. For imported products, appoint a Nigerian local representative who will liaise with NAFDAC on your behalf.
3. Prepare your documentationTypical documents include your CAC certificate, a description of the manufacturing process, a full list of ingredients and the product formulation, labels and packaging artwork, and, where relevant, proof of trademark ownership. Drug and cosmetic dossiers are more detailed than for simple foods.
4. Apply through the NAPAMS portalCreate an account and submit your application on NAFDAC's Automated Product Administration and Monitoring System (NAPAMS) at registration.nafdac.gov.ng. Upload your documents and complete the product details for your category. Keep copies of everything you submit.
5. Pay the prescribed feesPay the NAFDAC fees for your product category through the approved channel. Fees differ greatly by product type and by whether the product is locally made or imported, and foreign facilities may face additional inspection charges. As of 2026, confirm current fees on the official NAFDAC portal before budgeting.
6. Go through inspection and testingDepending on the product, NAFDAC carries out document review, facility inspection and laboratory analysis of samples. Address any observations promptly. These stages are where most of the timeline is spent.
7. Receive your registration certificateOnce the product passes review, inspection and testing, NAFDAC issues a certificate and registration number. For drugs, the certificate is typically valid for five years and renewable. Display the NAFDAC number on your product as required and renew before it expires.

Why NAFDAC registration exists

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control is the body that decides whether a regulated product is safe to sell to the Nigerian public. If you make or import food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, bottled water and similar goods, you cannot simply put them on the market. The product itself must be registered, and that registration is what gives you the NAFDAC number buyers and retailers look for. The purpose is straightforward consumer protection: the agency wants to know what is in the product, where and how it is made, and that it does what the label claims before it reaches a shelf.

For a business owner this means NAFDAC registration is not a formality to rush at the end but a process to plan for from the start, because it shapes how you set up your production, your paperwork and your launch timeline. The good news is that the process is now largely online, run through NAFDAC’s own portal, so you can prepare and submit much of it yourself without an agent.

Work out what your product needs

The first task is to pin down your product’s category, because requirements, fees and timelines differ sharply across them. Registering a packaged food is a very different exercise from registering a pharmaceutical drug, which carries the heaviest documentation and testing burden, while cosmetics, chemicals and medical devices each sit somewhere on that spectrum. Read the specific requirements for your category on the NAFDAC site rather than assuming a single generic checklist covers everything.

At the same time, confirm the product actually falls under NAFDAC. Most consumable and applied products do, but knowing exactly which rules attach to your category early will save you from preparing the wrong dossier. If anything about the classification is unclear, it is worth confirming directly with NAFDAC before you invest in a full application.

Prepare your company, premises and paperwork

Registration assumes a properly set-up business behind the product. You will generally need a CAC-registered company, and crucially your production site is expected to meet Good Manufacturing Practice standards, because NAFDAC inspects the facility as part of the process. If you are importing rather than manufacturing, you must appoint a Nigerian local representative who will liaise with NAFDAC on your behalf, and the documentation for imported goods is usually heavier.

On the paperwork, expect to provide your CAC certificate, a clear description of the manufacturing process, a full list of ingredients and the product formulation, your labels and packaging artwork, and, where relevant, proof that you own the trademark. Drug and cosmetic dossiers go into considerably more detail than those for simple foods. Assemble these carefully, since gaps and inconsistencies are the most common reason an application is held up at review.

Applying through NAPAMS

Applications are submitted online through the NAFDAC Automated Product Administration and Monitoring System, known as NAPAMS, generally reached at registration.nafdac.gov.ng. You create an account, enter the product details for your category, and upload the documents you prepared. Keep your own copies of everything you submit, because you will refer back to them during review and at renewal.

Fees are paid through the approved channel for your product category, and this is an area where you should be careful with numbers. Charges differ greatly between product types and between locally made and imported goods, and foreign manufacturing sites may face additional inspection fees. Third-party guides quote widely conflicting figures, so as of 2026 you should confirm the current fees on the official NAFDAC portal before you budget. Anyone promising to make the fee “disappear” or to skip steps is not someone to trust.

Inspection, testing and your certificate

Once your application is in, the substantive assessment begins, and this is where most of the timeline is spent. Depending on the product, NAFDAC carries out document verification, a facility inspection and laboratory analysis of product samples. Each stage can raise observations you need to address, so responsiveness on your side directly affects how long it all takes. Estimates for the full process vary a great deal by category, from a couple of months for some products to the better part of a year for others, so plan well ahead of any launch date you have in mind.

When the product passes review, inspection and testing, NAFDAC issues a certificate and a registration number. For drugs, that certificate is typically valid for five years and is renewable; other categories have their own validity periods. Display the NAFDAC number as required and diarise the renewal, because letting a registration lapse means you can no longer legally sell the product until it is renewed. Treat this guide as general information rather than regulatory advice: the authoritative, current requirements and fees for your exact product live on the official NAFDAC portal, and for complex cases a regulatory consultant can help you prepare the dossier correctly.

SabiGuide is an independent guide and is not affiliated with any government agency. Fees, links and steps can change — always confirm on the official portal before you act. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.