A stolen vehicle needs a report at a police station. It also has an online channel worth using afterwards, so the vehicle is logged in the police's own system.
Report to a station first
The starting point is still a police station, for the incident itself. This is where a formal report gets opened, and it is not something the online portal replaces.
Go to the station nearest to where the vehicle was taken, or the one covering where you live, and give a clear account of when and where you last saw the vehicle. Ask for a reference number or a copy of your statement before you leave, since you will likely need to quote it later, including for an insurance claim.
Then log the vehicle online
Once the incident is reported, reportcmr.npf.gov.ng is the police's dedicated portal for logging a stolen vehicle. This sits separately from cmris.npf.gov.ng, which handles vehicle registration and the eCMR, covered in the CMRIS portal.
The details you need ready
Logging a vehicle needs the plate number, chassis number and engine number. These are the same identifiers used for eCMR registration, which is why matching them exactly matters here too.
If your vehicle was already registered for an eCMR, use the identical numbers from that record. A small mismatch, such as a transposed digit, can separate what should be one connected record into two.
Keep your vehicle's papers, insurance certificate and your police station reference together while you fill in the online form. Having them side by side is the easiest way to avoid a typo under stress, which is a realistic risk right after a theft.
After you log the vehicle
Once logged, the vehicle's details sit in the police's system for anyone checking a plate, chassis or engine number against a reported-stolen list. This does not replace following up with the investigating station yourself.
Keep your own note of the date you logged the vehicle online, alongside your station reference. If you later need to prove you reported the theft promptly, for an insurer or for a replacement vehicle's paperwork, both records together tell a clearer story than either alone.
Why the online step is worth doing
A vehicle logged online is more visible to any check run against a reported-stolen list, using its plate, chassis or engine number. That is a reasonable reason to complete this step, even though the station report is what opens the case.
The police have said publicly that vehicles logged through their online system have been recovered. This site will not restate a specific count of its own, since the only figures available come from a single press statement rather than a source this article can verify directly.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the station report and going straight online. The station step is where the formal case begins.
- Mistyping a chassis or engine number. Copy each one directly from your vehicle's papers, not from memory.
- Assuming this portal also handles registration. That is cmris.npf.gov.ng instead, a separate system.
For registering a vehicle before anything goes wrong, see the CMRIS portal and what is the eCMR. Browse our police certificate articles for the rest of this cluster.