Blog · Licensing · 5 min read
Hospital registration in Nigeria: the Abuja steps
Which body registers a private clinic or hospital in Abuja, the order of steps from CAC to PHERMC, and what to confirm with the FCT Health Secretariat first.
By the Kren Agency team ·
Hospital registration in Nigeria for a private clinic or hospital in Abuja involves three bodies. You register the business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), make sure every doctor holds a current licence from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), and register the facility with the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat through its Private Health Establishment, Monitoring & Registration Committee (PHERMC).
The FCT Administration’s website names PHERMC but doesn’t publish its forms, document list or fees. So this post sticks to what official sources say, and shows you what to confirm with the Secretariat before you spend on premises.
Who registers private clinics and hospitals in Abuja?
The Health and Human Services Secretariat was set up by a presidential order in 2004 as a self-accounting mandate secretariat under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). It oversees the FCT’s health sector, and its listed functions include regulatory and oversight functions for all private medical service providers (FCTA: Health and Human Services Secretariat).
Among its departments and units is PHERMC, the committee that registers and monitors private health establishments. A Voice of Nigeria report places the committee under the Secretariat’s Department of Medical and Diagnostics.
The Secretariat’s address, from the same FCTA page: Plot 1, Kapital Street, Area 11, Garki, Abuja.
How to register a hospital or clinic in Abuja, in order
The facility step has no published checklist, so treat it as a list of things to confirm.
- Decide your scope. Settle whether you are a clinic or a hospital, and exactly which services you will offer. PHERMC holds registered facilities to the services they registered for.
- Register the business with CAC. CAC lists three registration types: Company Registration, Business Name and Incorporated Trustees. Applications start on its online portal at icrp.cac.gov.ng.
- Line up licensed staff. Doctors and dentists need a current MDCN practising licence. Check each one yourself.
- Contact the Health Secretariat before you sign a lease. Ask PHERMC for its current application form, document list, premises standards, fees and inspection process.
- Apply, then open only after approval. Keep your approval letter or certificate safe; monitoring teams check what you were registered to do.
Step 2 in detail: CAC comes first
Your CAC certificate and number are what you will quote on the applications that follow. A business name is the lighter route; a company has more steps.
Choose the structure with your lawyer or accountant. Our CAC business name registration walkthrough covers each portal screen, from name reservation to downloading the certificate.
Step 3 in detail: qualified staff
Staffing is where Abuja inspectors have been firmest. In a May 2023 monitoring drive, the Secretariat’s Director of Medical and Diagnostics said facilities operating without qualified personnel would be shut down.
Verify every doctor’s and dentist’s MDCN licence before their first shift, and keep copies on file. Our MDCN portal post explains how practitioners register and renew. Nurses, pharmacists and laboratory scientists answer to their own councils, so confirm those licences too.
What PHERMC checks once you are open
Voice of Nigeria reported on a three-day PHERMC monitoring tour in May 2023. Five teams were set to inspect at least 200 private facilities (Voice of Nigeria report).
What the officials said matters for any owner:
- Stick to your registered services. The tour checked that facilities operate according to the services they registered for. One facility had a service sealed for going beyond its scope.
- Adding a service needs approval. Facilities must seek approval to go beyond their scope, so the facility can be inspected first.
- Below standard means sealing. The Director said minor gaps might be tolerated, but facilities that fall below standard would be sealed.
What to ask the Health Secretariat before you commit
Because the forms and fees aren’t published online, a visit or call to the Secretariat is your first real step. Take this list:
- Which category fits your facility, and what each category must have
- The current application form and full document list
- Premises, equipment and staffing standards for your services
- Registration and renewal fees, and how to pay
- Whether an inspection happens before approval, and how long approval takes
- How often you renew, and what you receive as proof of registration
Opening in Lagos as well? That registration runs through a different agency. Our HEFAMAA registration post covers it step by step.
Registered. Now fill your bookings.
Approval lets you open the doors. It doesn’t bring patients through them.
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Questions clinic owners ask about hospital registration in Nigeria
Who registers private hospitals and clinics in Abuja?
The FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, through its Private Health Establishment, Monitoring & Registration Committee (PHERMC). The Secretariat holds regulatory and oversight functions for all private medical service providers in the FCT.
How much does it cost to register a clinic in Abuja?
The FCTA doesn’t publish PHERMC’s fees online. Ask the Health Secretariat for the current fee for your facility category, and get it in writing before you budget.
Does a HEFAMAA licence cover a clinic in Abuja?
It doesn’t. HEFAMAA is a Lagos State agency that registers facilities in Lagos. A facility in the FCT deals with the FCT Health Secretariat and PHERMC.
Can I add a new service after registration?
Seek approval first. PHERMC officials have said facilities must get approval to go beyond their registered scope, so the facility can be inspected. A facility in Abuja had a service sealed for operating outside its scope.