Admission seekers in Nigeria have long been required to verify the same credentials multiple times across different institutions. That changes now. Candidates seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions will pay N4,000 only once to verify their West African Senior School Certificate Examination results under a new arrangement introduced by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and the West African Examinations Council.
The new arrangement replaces the more fragmented process under which candidates could be required to submit results through different channels and undergo additional verification demanded by individual institutions or examination bodies. For many candidates, that meant paying multiple times for the same document, creating both a financial strain and an administrative burden that disproportionately affected those applying to several institutions simultaneously.
The two examination bodies made the clarification in a joint statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, following consultations on the recently introduced policy for verification of West African Senior School Certificate Examination results. JAMB spokesperson Dr. Fabian Benjamin made the statement available.
Candidates are required to pay N4,000 only for the verification service through the specified JAMB platform and not through their preferred institutions. Paying directly to a university or polytechnic for the same service is no longer permitted.
“Tertiary institutions are to utilize the verified results shared by JAMB for screening, processing candidate admission, and other administrative purposes,” the statement said. Institutions that demand a separate fee after JAMB has completed verification will be acting outside the policy.
“The institutions, therefore, are not expected to demand another payment from candidates for verification of the same WASSCE O’Level results,” the organizations warned. The directive was addressed directly to tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
WAEC has formally authorized JAMB to share the outcome of that verification with relevant tertiary institutions for admission-related purposes, removing the need for candidates to repeat the exercise. That authorization is what gives the single-payment arrangement its legal weight and ensures that verified results carry the same standing as those processed through previous multi-step channels.
The new arrangement would enable candidates to verify their results through JAMB without having to repeatedly visit tertiary institutions or JAMB-approved computer-based test centers. Candidates can now complete the process remotely.
The outcome of the verification will subsequently be made available to the tertiary institution to which the candidate sought admission. No further action is required from the candidate once the N4,000 payment has been processed through JAMB.
Candidates participating in the 2026/2027 admission exercise have been advised to complete their WASSCE verification through the designated JAMB platform and retain the relevant verification details. The bodies did not specify a deadline for completing verification.
The announcement came as several candidates had already reported issues with admission status delays, SMS failures, and payment problems ahead of the August 31 deadline, with students flooding JAMB’s official channels with complaints. Tuesday’s joint statement was issued against that backdrop, and the clarification was seen as a direct response to the growing confusion surrounding verification requirements and associated costs.
The policy followed a series of meetings and consultations between JAMB and WAEC aimed at simplifying the verification process and reducing the financial and logistical burden on admission seekers. Neither body disclosed how many rounds of talks preceded the agreement.
The agencies emphasized that the N4,000 charge is a one-time payment and not a separate fee payable to each institution where a candidate seeks admission. Candidates applying to more than one institution will still pay only once.
JAMB and WAEC described the collaboration as a candidate-centered initiative designed to simplify the admission process while protecting the integrity and security of academic records. What remains unclear is how institutions that breach the no-repeat-payment directive will be sanctioned, and neither body addressed that question in Tuesday’s statement.
