Check your credit score in Nigeria before a lender checks it for you

Your file already exists with a CBN-licensed bureau. What to do first depends on your situation.

Young Nigerian woman checking her phone on a street in Nigeria — Illustrative photo. Independent editorial content.

The right first step depends on your situation — choose where to start:

I want to check my score I think I am blacklisted A loan app rejected me

You will stay on this site

What the guide answers

Three things most pages about credit in Nigeria get wrong

WhereThere are exactly three licensed bureausCRC Credit Bureau, FirstCentral and CreditRegistry are the bureaus licensed by the CBN, as confirmed by the Credit Bureau Association of Nigeria. All three ask for the same two things: your BVN and the phone number linked to it.
CostPart of it is genuinely freeFirstCentral advertises a free score check once a month and CreditRegistry advertises a free annual report through CreditConnection, while CRC lists its CRC Score from ₦400. Terms differ from bureau to bureau.
BlacklistThere is no personal government blacklistWhat Nigerians usually call blacklisting is a default reported to a licensed bureau, or a loan flagged as non-performing after 90 days inside the CBN’s Credit Risk Management System — a database, not a punishment list.

Why you can trust this

Who wrote it and where the facts come from

Marc Smith Founder of Budget Geridibiase, writing about credit and personal finance with over a decade of experience as a financial consultant. This content is editorial and independent: Budget Geridibiase does not process loans, does not check your credit and does not approve anyone.

Sources consulted Central Bank of Nigeria — Credit Reporting Act 2017, which gives every data subject the right to at least one free credit report a year and the right to dispute an inaccurate entry
Credit Bureau Association of Nigeria (CBAN) — the three CBN-licensed bureaus: CRC Credit Bureau, FirstCentral and CreditRegistry
FCCPC — reporting through June 2026: 457 digital lending apps fully approved, 45 blacklisted and 103 on a watchlist for non-compliance

Read the full guide to checking your score

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⚠️ DisclaimerBudget Geridibiase is an independent editorial site with no link to, sponsorship from or representation of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the FCCPC, any credit bureau or any lender. This content is informational and is not an offer, a proposal or a guarantee of credit. Fees, free-check terms and availability are set by each bureau and can change — always confirm on the bureau’s own official channel before acting. No step of this site charges the reader anything, and nobody can lawfully “clear your blacklist” for a fee.

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