NYSC Makes NERD Verification Mandatory for All Graduates Ahead of 2026 Mobilization

Graduating students preparing for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) face a strict new requirement after the scheme declared that participation in national service will now be impossible without official clearance from the National Electronic Registration Database (NERD).

Issuing an official public notice ahead of the 2026 Batch ‘B’ mobilization exercise, the management of the scheme cautioned prospective corps members to complete their digital verification early or risk being left out of orientation camp.

The directive forms part of a broader federal push to eliminate certificate forgery and unverified graduates by building a central digital database for all academic outputs generated across Nigerian tertiary institutions. Under the NERD framework, graduating students are required to upload their final academic project reports and personal details to the portal, while their respective universities or polytechnics upload official transcripts and statements of result.

Once authenticated, the system logs the record permanently and issues a clearance slip, which now serves as mandatory proof of academic eligibility for NYSC registration.

Beyond the digital verification update, the scheme re-emphasized its safety advisories for corps members traveling across the country. Management urged prospective corps members embarking on long journeys to avoid traveling at night, advising them to break their trips and lodge at approved military or security formations along major transit corridors.

With orientation camp preparations gathering momentum, NYSC urged both tertiary institutions and prospective corps members to finalize all documentation and digital verifications promptly to ensure a smooth mobilization process.