NDPC Increases DPCO Renewal, Registration Fees, Sets New Guidelines

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has increased the fee for new issuance and renewal of licence for Data Protection Compliance Organization (DPCOs) to N1m and N500,000 respectively.

The renewal is comming on the heels of various repositioning and upgrades being carried out by the Commission further to the enactment of the Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023.

The Commission had earlier announced in a publication that all Data Controllers of Major Impotance are required to register with the Commission, this is in addition to the requirment for audit filing requirements for specified organisations.

Earlier in 2019 when the NDPR was in operation, fee for obtaining licence was a token of N50,000, with the establishment of the Data Protection Bureau, the fee was increased to N500,000 with renewal fee pegged at N250,000. In 2024, the Commission has further increased application for licence fee to N1m and renewal fee to N500,000.

According to a notice by the Commission, the fee schedule as well as requirment for new licences are as follows:

Registration Requirements for New DPCOs

1. WHO CAN APPLY TO BE A DPCO?
   A DPCO may be one or more of the following:
   • Professional Service Consultancy firm
   • IT Service Provider
   • Audit firm
   • Law firm
2. TYPE OF SKILLS REQUIRED
   An Applicant must provide certificate from a reputable institution as evidence of training of at least one employee in any of the following areas:
   • Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) Implementation and Compliance
   • Data Science
   • Data Protection and privacy
   • Information Privacy
   • Information Audit
   • Data Management
   • Information security
   • Data protection legal services
   • Information Technology Due Diligence
   • EU GDPR implementation and compliance
   • Cyber Security/Cyber Security law
   • Data Analytics
   • Data Governance
3. THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR LICENSING:
   • CAC Registration
   • Evidence of Tax Clearance
   • Relevant professional or academic qualification of at least 2 listed staff (these need not be Directors)
   • Valid means of identification of two Directors i.e International Passport; Drivers’ License; NIN Registration etc.
   • Website registration on .ng domain
   • Evidence of payment of prescribed licensing fees by the Bureau. The non-administrative fee should be paid first. (See paragraphs 4, 5, and 6 below)
4. NON-REFUNDABLE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE
   Applicants are required to pay a non-refundable administrative fee of N50,000 (Fifty-Thousand Naira) only on remita.net
5. WHERE TO SUBMIT YOUR APLICATION
   Visit https://app.ndpc.gov.ng
   • Click on Register as a DPCO
   • Create an account using a .ng email address.
   • Confirm your email account by responding to the e-mail sent to your registered mail.
   • Go back to the registration portal and complete the application form.
6. LICENCE FEE
   If your application is successful based on the documents you submitted, you will receive a mail containing a provisional approval to pay: N1,000,000 (One-Million Naira) only on remita.net

Please note that you can only register as a new DPCO whenever NDPC opens up the DPCO Registration Window

Renewal Requirements for Existing DPCO

1. Letter of Application for renewal;
2. Number of audit reports filed since the license was issued;
3. Evidence of Trainings carried out;
4. Data Protection Certification of key personnel;
5. Supporting affidavit for Verification of the following facts:
   • All supporting documents submitted to the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau for the purpose of license renewal are genuine.
   • That none of the directors/proprietors of the firm has been convicted by any Court of law on any offense bordering on fraud or breach of trust.
6. Evidence of payment of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) being License Renewal Fee payable on remita.net