NIN Verification API: Nigerian National ID Lookup

Use the LumiID NIN Verification API to verify a customer’s Nigerian National Identification Number (NIN) against records held by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). Submit an 11-digit NIN to retrieve verified identity data including full name, date of birth, residential address, and biometric photo. This API supports KYC, customer onboarding, compliance workflows, and fraud prevention across banks, fintechs, lending platforms, and government services.

Overview

Property	Details
Country	🇳🇬 Nigeria
Data Source	National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)
NIN Format	11-digit numeric
Verification Tiers	Basic • Premium
Typical Latency	< 2 seconds
Sandbox	Supported
Compliance	NDPR Compliant

Basic NIN Verification

Use the Basic endpoint for standard customer onboarding and identity verification. It returns core identity fields including full name, date of birth, gender, phone number, residential address, and a Base64-encoded biometric photo.

Endpoint

POST https://api.lumiid.com/v1/ng/nin-basic/

Request Headers

Header	Value
`Authorization`	`Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY`
`Content-Type`	`application/json`

Request Body

string

required

The customer’s 11-digit National Identification Number.

Example Request

{
  "nin": "89184072280"
}

Success Response

{
  "success": true,
  "code": "NIN_VERIFIED",
  "message": "NIN verification successful",
  "verification_type": "NIN",
  "summary": {
    "verified": true,
    "verification_type": "NIN",
    "provider": "LumiID",
    "confidence_score": 1.0
  },
  "data": {
    "nin": "89184072280",
    "firstname": "TERHEMBA",
    "lastname": "JUDE",
    "middlename": "",
    "phone": "08000000000",
    "gender": "m",
    "birthdate": "06-01-1974",
    "photo": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgAAAQABAAD...",
    "residence": {
      "address1": "8637 Larkin Ports",
      "town": "Abuja",
      "lga": "Abuja Municipal",
      "state": "FCT Abuja"
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_a3f9c21d9b4e",
    "timestamp": "2026-03-19T08:14:22.445821Z"
  }
}

Response Fields

boolean

Indicates whether the verification completed successfully.

string

Machine-readable response code. Returns NIN_VERIFIED on success.

string

Human-readable response message.

string

Always NIN.

object

Verification summary.

Show summary fields

boolean

Whether the NIN was successfully verified.

string

Always NIN.

string

Always LumiID.

number

Confidence score for the verification result. Returns 1.0 for a confirmed match.

object

Verified NIMC identity record.

Show data fields

string

Verified National Identification Number.

string

First name.

string

Last name.

string

Middle name, if available.

string

Registered phone number.

string

Gender.

string

Date of birth (DD-MM-YYYY).

string

Base64-encoded biometric photograph.

object

Registered residential address.

Show residence fields

string

Street address.

string

Town or city.

string

Local Government Area.

string

State.

object

Request metadata.

Show meta fields

string

Unique request identifier for auditing and support.

string

ISO 8601 timestamp of when the request was processed.

Premium NIN Verification

Use the Premium endpoint when enhanced due diligence (EDD) requires a complete NIMC identity profile. It returns all Basic fields plus additional demographic and regulatory data.

The Premium endpoint is recommended for banks, fintechs, lending platforms, government services, and enterprise KYC workflows that require full regulatory compliance.

Endpoint

POST https://api.lumiid.com/v1/ng/nin-premium/

Request Headers

Header	Value
`Authorization`	`Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY`
`Content-Type`	`application/json`

Request Body

string

required

The customer’s 11-digit National Identification Number.

Example Request

{
  "nin": "89184072280"
}

Additional Response Fields

The Premium endpoint returns all Basic fields, plus the following:

string

Customer title (e.g., mr, mrs).

string

Registered email address.

string

Profession.

string

Employment status.

string

Marital status.

string

State of birth.

string

Country of birth.

string

State of origin.

string

Local Government Area of origin.

string

Religion.

string

Primary spoken language.

object

Masked next-of-kin information.

Show next_of_kin fields

string

Masked first name.

string

Masked last name.

string

Masked address.

string

Masked state.

string

Base64-encoded signature.

string

NIMC tracking identifier.

Premium Additional Fields — Example

{
  "data": {
    "title": "mr",
    "email": "example@gmail.com",
    "profession": "ENGINEER",
    "marital_status": "single",
    "employment_status": "employed",
    "birth_state": "FCT",
    "birth_country": "Nigeria",
    "state_of_origin": "FCT",
    "lga_of_origin": "Kabu",
    "religion": "islam",
    "nspokenlang": "ESAN",
    "next_of_kin": {
      "firstname": "****",
      "lastname": "****",
      "address1": "****",
      "state": "****"
    },
    "signature": "base64==",
    "tracking_id": "S000000000000000"
  }
}

Tier Comparison

Identity Data	Basic	Premium
Full name	✓	✓
Gender	✓	✓
Date of birth	✓	✓
Phone number	✓	✓
Residential address	✓	✓
Biometric photo	✓	✓
Email address	—	✓
Profession	—	✓
Employment status	—	✓
Marital status	—	✓
Religion	—	✓
Spoken language	—	✓
Birth state & country	—	✓
State & LGA of origin	—	✓
Next-of-kin (masked)	—	✓
Signature	—	✓
Tracking ID	—	✓

Error Codes

HTTP	Code	Resolution
400	`NIN_VERIFICATION_FAILED`	Verification failed. Retry once before contacting support.
400	`NIN_NOT_FOUND`	No record exists for the supplied NIN. Ensure it contains exactly 11 digits.
401	`INVALID_API_KEY`	Verify your API credentials.
401	`UNAPPROVED_ORGANIZATION`	Complete organization approval before using the Production API.
401	`SUBSCRIPTION_REQUIRED`	Enable NIN Verification from the LumiID Console.
402	`INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS`	Fund your LumiID wallet before retrying.
500	`SERVER_ERROR`	Unexpected internal error. Retry once.
503	`SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE`	The NIMC service is temporarily unavailable. Retry with exponential backoff.
504	`TIMEOUT`	The request timed out. Retry after a short delay.

Recommended Verification Flow

For the highest level of assurance during onboarding, LumiID recommends the following workflow:

Verify the NIN

Submit the customer’s NIN to POST /v1/ng/nin-basic/ or POST /v1/ng/nin-premium/ and confirm the identity record.

Perform a Liveness Check

Use the Liveness Detection API to verify the customer is physically present using their selfie.

Run Face Comparison

Compare the customer’s selfie against the NIMC biometric photo using the Face Comparison API.

Proceed with Onboarding

Continue onboarding only after all verification checks succeed. This workflow detects identity fraud, impersonation, and presentation attacks while meeting KYC and AML requirements.

Security & Compliance

All identity records are retrieved directly from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
All API requests must use HTTPS.
Every verification request includes a unique request_id for auditing and support.
Process sensitive information in accordance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) and applicable privacy regulations.
Only collect Premium fields such as religion and next_of_kin where there is a lawful basis.

Code Example

import requests

url = "https://api.lumiid.com/v1/ng/nin-basic/"

headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

payload = {
    "nin": "89184072280"
}

response = requests.post(
    url,
    json=payload,
    headers=headers
)

print(response.json())

To use the Premium endpoint, change the URL to https://api.lumiid.com/v1/ng/nin-premium/. The request body remains the same.

Get Started

General

Government Verification

Business Verification

Biometric & AML

SDKs & Integration

Reference

NIN Verification API: Nigerian National ID Lookup

Overview

Basic NIN Verification

Endpoint

Request Headers

Request Body

Example Request

Success Response

Response Fields

Premium NIN Verification

Endpoint

Request Headers

Request Body

Example Request

Additional Response Fields

Premium Additional Fields — Example

Tier Comparison

Error Codes

Recommended Verification Flow

Security & Compliance

Code Example

​Overview

​Basic NIN Verification

​Endpoint

​Request Headers

​Request Body

​Example Request

​Success Response

​Response Fields

​Premium NIN Verification

​Endpoint

​Request Headers

​Request Body

​Example Request

​Additional Response Fields

​Premium Additional Fields — Example

​Tier Comparison

​Error Codes

​Recommended Verification Flow

​Security & Compliance

​Code Example

Overview

Basic NIN Verification

Endpoint

Request Headers

Request Body

Example Request

Success Response

Response Fields

Premium NIN Verification

Endpoint

Request Headers

Request Body

Example Request

Additional Response Fields

Premium Additional Fields — Example

Tier Comparison

Error Codes

Recommended Verification Flow

Security & Compliance

Code Example