Abuja, Nigeria — The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has announced a significant shift towards digital motor vehicle administration by introducing a contactless biometric capture system for issuing driver’s licences.
The new technology, which eliminates physical contact during fingerprint capture, is designed to drastically reduce delays and end the practice of issuing temporary driving documents, according to the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed.
Speaking on Monday at the launch of the Corps’ 2025 Ember Months Road Safety Campaign in Abuja, Mohammed explained that the system would fully integrate existing processes—from driving schools to the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO)—but in a faster, more streamlined manner.
“We are about to commence the contactless biometric capture with on-spot printing of the license, which will eliminate temporary licenses, thereby signalling the beginning of a digitalised one-stop-shop for processing driver’s licenses,” said Corps Marshal Mohammed.
He added that once an applicant reaches the point of biometric capture, the license will be printed instantly. The new system is also synchronised with the country’s National Identification Number (NIN) database to ensure data consistency and seamless identity verification.
Clearing the Backlog and Safety Campaign
The FRSC is simultaneously working to clear a massive backlog of unprocessed licences. The Corps Marshal noted that the printing facility has been upgraded to print an average of 15,000 driver’s licences daily, with plans to increase that production average to clear all pending requests by the second week of November 2025.
Deputy Corps Marshal Aliyu Datsama later confirmed the contactless system is operational and that a backlog of 800,000 unprocessed licences had already been reduced to 400,000. He stated that the Corps is now working 24/7 with a current daily production capacity of 40,000 licences to clear the remaining queue in the coming weeks.
The announcement was made as the FRSC launched its annual festive season road safety campaign, themed “Tech Responsibility for Your Safety: Stop Distracted Driving,” which targets high-risk driving behaviours during the busy period between December 15 and January 15.
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