Finding an error in your NIN as a student can be so frustrating, I must say. But to be sincere, the real frustration is when you don’t know what to do after seeing the error, especially when you know fully well that it will definitely affect you in one way or another in the future.
Some students discover this error before their UTME/DE registration, while others do so after registering already. But whatever the case may be, one thing certain is that such students will get affected later on due to this error.
Just in case you don’t know, below are some of the ways you might get affected as a student due to an error in your NIN.
- You might not be able to register for your post-UTME examination.
- You might be disqualified during your post-UTME screening.
- Your chances of gaining admission will be very slim due to a mismatch of details.
- You might not be able to do your NYSC due to this error and more.
Now that you have seen the effect, the big question is, “What can I do after detecting an error in my NIN?”. If you are one of those asking that question, then just relax because this article will be telling you what to do if you notice errors in your NIN before or after JAMB registration.
But before we proceed, I would like to first tell you about the possible errors students might notice in their NIN and give a little description about each of them. Then after that, we will move to the main topic of this article. Cool right? Let’s continue.
Possible Errors in Your NIN You Might Notice Before Or After JAMB Registration
There are like 8 possible errors you might notice in your NIN before or after UTME/DE registration. These errors can be either caused by you or the person who helped you register your NIN. They include errors in your;
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It could be that your surname, middle name, and first name weren’t arranged properly. Or maybe the spelling was wrong or you mistakenly added a single letter to your name, which is not supposed to be there. Below are some examples of what mistakes in names look like.
- A student who saw her name as “Christian” instead of “Christiana” in her NIN. You can see that the spelling of her name was wrong, as there was an omission.
- A student who saw her name as “Isabella” instead of “Isabel” in her NIN. There was an addition to her name, which resulted in the error.
- A student who saw his name as “Benard Stanley Eze” instead of “Benard Eze Stanley” in his NIN. Here you can see that the arrangement on his name was wrong, which resulted in the mistake.
2 Gender
This happens when you see your gender as male instead of female in your NIN and vice versa.
3 Date of Birth
This is one of the common mistakes students find in their NIN. Though some students do this on purpose during their registration due to one reason or the other not knowing it would affect them later on in the future.
4 Age
When the age on your NIN is less than your real age or more, it is considered an error. This alone can get you disqualified from your post-UTME screening and even deny you of getting admitted due to not meeting up with the required age or other complications as a result of this error.
5 LGA/State/Address/Town
Making errors in your LGA, State, Address, or Town also have effect just like the others. What if your institution uses catchment area as a criteria for admission? They will likely pick your location from your NIN, and it will only complicate things if the one on your NIN is wrong and more.
Now that you have seen the errors in NIN most students discover, let’s then proceed to discussing the next step to take if you are one of those students in a situation like this.
What to Do If You Notice Errors in Your NIN Before or After JAMB Registration
To make this part more understandable, I will be dividing it into two (2) sections. The first section will be directed to those who discovered this error before their JAMB registration, while the second will be directed to those who detected the error after their JAMB registration.
1 Before JAMB Registration
I will also be splitting this section into two subsections; the first will be referring to those who are about to register for JAMB for the first time and then notice an error in their NIN. While the second will refer to those who have registered for JAMB before but want to register this year again and have noticed that their NIN has errors.
In both cases, you can see that none have registered for JAMB this year yet. Let’s proceed.
i First Time
If you are just about to register for JAMB for the first time, it’s either you have generated your profile code already or you haven’t before you detected the error.
If you fall in the category of those who haven’t generated their profile code yet, then you should visit any NIMC office close to you and correct the error first before you proceed to generating your profile code.
Why do I say so? You should understand that your profile code is what contains all your details that will be received by JAMB during your registration. And all the details in your profile code are gotten from your NIN immediately after sending your NIN to 55019 or 66019.
This simply means that if there is an error in your NIN, that same error will reflect in your profile code. And once you use that profile code for JAMB registration, that same error will be displayed on your JAMB portal. So the best thing to do is to correct the error first at any NIMC office before generating your profile.
Now how about those who haven’t registered for JAMB before and have already generated their profile code? If you fall under this category, the first thing you need to do is to visit any NIMC office to correct the error. After the error is corrected, the change need to reflect on your profile code.
To make this change reflect, you need to send REQUERY followed by a space, then your 11-digit NIN to 55019 or 66019, depending on the one you used to generate your profile code. Then you will receive a confirmation SMS message; after that, you can then proceed to the CBT center for your registration. By doing this, your profile code will be updated with the correct details.
Below is a screenshot of JAMB’s response to a candidate on X (formerly Twitter) who made a mistake in her NIN. After she corrected the error, she tried generating her profile code, but it brought out her old details instead of the corrected one.
The screenshot above is proof that the wrong details on your JAMB profile won’t be updated automatically after correcting the errors in your NIN without you sending REQUERY to 55019 or 66019, as explained above. Now let’s move to those who have registered for JAMB before, probably last year or so, then notice an error in their NIN but haven’t registered for this year’s JAMB yet.
ii Not First Time
If this year will not be your first time registering for JAMB, it simply means you have a profile code already. If that profile code was generated with a NIN that has an error, then you will also need to visit any NIMC office to correct it. This is because the details on your JAMB profile will definitely be wrong due to the error in your NIN
After the error has been corrected, you will then need to send REQUERY followed by a space and your 11-digit NIN. After that, you will receive a confirmation SMS, and then you can proceed to do your registration.
2 After JAMB Registration
If you discovered an error in your NIN after JAMB registration, there are still things you can do, but your chances of gaining admission will be very slim. Before, JAMB normally gave room for candidates to correct errors even after registering for JAMB, but they changed this policy in early 2024.
Currently, JAMB doesn’t give room for candidates to change their details anymore after registration, except for change of course and institution. According to JAMB, they said any change a candidate wants to make to his/her details should be done before registering for JAMB.
Now how about those who noticed this error after registering for JAMB? If you are one of them, below are the two things I suggest you can do.
- Visit Any NIMC Office To Correct Your Details
If you noticed errors in your NIN after registering for JAMB, you can still correct your details at any NIMC office. But the only thing here is that your details will only change in your NIN and not on your JAMB profile. After correcting the error, you can try processing your admission if you wish, but take note that your chances of gaining admission will be very low.
Almost all institutions in Nigeria will definitely not admit candidates with incorrect details. Even if you end up getting admitted, you will face complications when you want to graduate because of a mismatch of details.
- Take Another JAMB
To prevent complications, the best thing to do is to wait for next year and take JAMB again. By then, you should have corrected the errors in your NIN. This will save you from complications that might end up leaving you frustrated. Before you register for the JAMB next year, make sure you send REQUERY followed by a space, then your 11-digit NIN to 55019 or 66019 so that your profile code will be updated with the corrected details.
So to wrap this article up, the best time to change your details is before your JAMB registration. And if you notice an error in your NIN after registration, it’s advisable to wait for the next JAMB because your chances of getting admission will be very low. Do you have any questions on this topic? Kindly drop them in the comment section below; we are always available to respond. Thanks for your time.