Docufy

Who is required to register with BPP?

Who must register with BPP? every contractor, consultant and service provider doing or seeking business with the Federal Government, including foreign firms. Joint ventures register company by company, not as one entity.

2 min readBy the Docufy editorial team

Quick answer

BPP requires every contractor, consultant and service provider doing or seeking business with the Federal Government to register. That includes foreign firms, who are not exempt. A joint venture does not register as a single entity; each company in it registers on its own. A manufacturer that does not supply directly is not covered by this requirement.

Who must register
every contractor, consultant and service provider doing or seeking business with the Federal Government
Foreign firms
must register too
Joint ventures
each company registers separately
Law behind the database
Public Procurement Act 2007, section 5(h)
On this page

Before you register, it helps to know whether your firm needs to at all. The rule is wide in some ways. It is narrow in others, and the exceptions catch people out more than the main rule does.

The general rule

BPP's rule is wide: every contractor, consultant and service provider doing or seeking business with the Federal Government must register. If that describes your business, registration is expected of you.

Foreign firms are not exempt

Some people assume this database is for Nigerian companies only. It is not. BPP's own FAQ is clear: foreign firms must register too. Same portal, same steps, no shortcut.

A foreign contractor planning to bid for federal work should treat this as normal preparation, not an extra task.

Joint ventures register company by company

A joint venture does not get its own single profile. Each company inside it registers on its own. There is no combined joint venture entity on the system.

This matters for planning ahead. If your business often bids through joint ventures, check every partner firm's own registration. Do not only check yours.

The manufacturer carve-out

Not every firm in a supply chain is covered. Take a manufacturer that sells only through distributors, and never supplies government buyers directly. Per BPP's own FAQ, that firm sits outside this rule.

Not sure which side you fall on? Look at how your goods actually reach the buyer: directly from you, or through someone else first.

Where this rule comes from

This is not a made-up rule. Section 5(h) of Public Procurement Act 2007 requires BPP to keep a database of contractors, consultants and service providers doing business with the Federal Government. Registering on federalcontractors.bpp.gov.ng is how that legal duty plays out in practice, for you as a bidder.

Checking your own position

  1. Confirm whether your business does, or wants to do, business with the Federal Government directly.
  2. If foreign-owned, register anyway. Nationality changes nothing here.
  3. If you bid through a joint venture, check every partner's registration, not only your own.
  4. If you manufacture goods, check whether you supply buyers directly before you assume you are exempt.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming foreign ownership removes the need to register.
  • Registering a joint venture as though it were one single company.
  • Skipping registration as a manufacturer without checking the direct-supply rule properly.
  • Letting a partner firm's registration lapse while keeping your own current.
  • Guessing at the rule instead of checking BPP's own FAQ for your specific situation.

Once you know registration applies to you, how to register as a BPP contractor and the BPP registration checklist cover what to prepare and how to submit it. The tender compliance certificates checklist covers the rest of a federal bid pack.

Questions people ask

Does a foreign company bidding for a federal contract need to register?

Yes. BPP's own FAQ is clear that foreign firms must register, the same as Nigerian ones.

How does a joint venture register?

Not as a single joint venture entity. Each company forming the joint venture registers separately on federalcontractors.bpp.gov.ng.

Are manufacturers required to register?

Only if they supply directly. A manufacturer that does not supply directly is not covered by this requirement, per BPP's own FAQ.

What is the legal basis for this database?

Section 5(h) of Public Procurement Act 2007 requires BPP to keep a database of federal contractors and service providers, which is what this registration feeds.

Sources

Last checked 27 Sep 2026. Fees and rules change; the agency that issues the document has the final word. See our editorial policy.

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