How to apply for a PenCom pension clearance certificate

PenCom now runs this application online. Here is what the process asks for, based on PenCom's own guide.

Before you start: gather the evidence

PenCom's guide and requirement sheet name these items. Have them ready before you open the portal:

1. Your CAC certificate.
2. A certified staff list as at the end of the last financial year, as registered with your pension fund administrators (PFAs).
3. Your contribution schedule.
4. Group life insurance details, covering three times each employee's annual total emolument.
5. Evidence of remittances for all employees for the last 3 financial years. A newer organisation shows remittances since it was incorporated or registered.
6. Evidence that all outstanding contributions and penalties have been paid.

Gather everything first, because the portal asks you to upload these items.

The portal steps

The application runs on pcc.pencom.gov.ng.

1. Register on the portal, starting with your PenCom employer code.
2. Tick the declaration that 3 or more staff are the entire staff of your organisation.
3. Upload your CAC certificate, staff list, contribution schedule, group life details and payment evidence.
4. Submit the request.
5. Watch the status. A new request first shows "Awaiting PFC confirmation".
6. Once approved, print the certificate from the portal.

Read PenCom's own guide alongside the portal, in case the screens differ from this list.

The staff declaration

The declaration in step 2 matters. PenCom's online form uses this headcount as its own threshold for who it will certify. The Pension Reform Act sets a different number for when the scheme itself applies. How many staff before PenCom registration explains both.

After you submit

PenCom's guide says to expect the electronic certificate within 72 hours of submission, if the request is not rejected. That is a stated target, not a promise.

That target holds only if the request is not rejected, so check these points before you submit:

• The remittance history has no gaps for the period PenCom asks for.
• Everyone on payroll is on the staff list, and the reverse.
• The group life policy is in force, not just quoted. The Act requires the premium to be paid no later than the date the cover starts.
• Outstanding contributions and penalties are paid, and you hold the evidence.

Renewing later

A first application and a renewal do not ask for quite the same paperwork. See PenCom certificate renewal: documents checklist for what changes.

Set a reminder well before the expiry date, not when a tender notice arrives. How long a PenCom certificate is valid explains why the date can come sooner than the issue date suggests.

Common mistakes

• Submitting before the group life policy is in force.
• Letting the staff list drift away from your PFA records.
• Uploading a remittance history with gaps and hoping the review skips them.
• Treating PenCom's processing target as a promise.

For where this certificate sits in a tender pack, see how TCC, CAC, ITF, NSITF and PenCom fit together and the tender compliance hub.