Lagos tax clearance certificates: verify the barcode and protect the document

Update reviewed: 27 October 2026 Source: LIRS public notice dated September 2026, reference LIRS/012/09/2026. A tax clearance certificate is more than an attachment to a business application. It contains confidential taxpayer information and should be handled with the same care as other sensitive financial records. In its September 2026 notice, LIRS explains the proper use, confidentiality and verification of the tax clearance certificates it issues, referring to Section 72 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025. Protect your own certificate The notice makes taxpayers responsible for keeping their certificates secure and protecting them from unauthorised access, disclosure or misuse. Information should be disclosed only for lawful and legitimate transactions. Taxpayers are advised not to reproduce, alter, lend or allow unauthorised use of their certificates. For a small business, practical controls could include storing the document in an access-restricted location, sharing it only with the intended recipient through an appropriate channel, and avoiding unnecessary copies in group chats. These are suggested controls, not additional requirements stated in the notice. Verify a certificate before accepting it LIRS says every certificate it issues contains a unique barcode for verification. Recipients—including organisations, government agencies and financial institutions—are encouraged to scan that barcode and verify authenticity before relying on the certificate. If verification indicates that the certificate is not authentic, or there is doubt about its validity, the notice says it should not be accepted and the matter should be reported immediately to LIRS. Do not rely solely on the appearance of a scanned document or an assurance from the person presenting it. Use the information only for its intended purpose Recipients should keep the information confidential and use it only for the purpose for which the certificate was presented. A useful internal-control step is to assign a responsible person to verification and record the outcome without spreading the taxpayer’s information unnecessarily. ATOS can support teams in developing document-handling and verification procedures suited to their operations. Official source: https://lirs.gov.ng/assets/docs/notice_sept2026_2.pdf This article provides general information based on a dated public notice. Confirm the current verification process directly with LIRS where clarification is needed.