How to start a logistics business in Nigeria, the legal way

Choose your model before you buy anything

“Logistics” covers very different businesses. They need different amounts of money, different vehicles and different licences, so choose one before you spend.

Dispatch and last-mile delivery

Riders on motorcycles or tricycles collect parcels from sellers, shops and restaurants and deliver them across town, often collecting cash on delivery. It needs the least money to start, but each delivery earns little, so you need steady volume and tight control of cash.

Parcel and courier between cities

You collect parcels and move them to other towns through your own vans or partner hubs. You need drop-off points, waybills and tracking, and customers will hold you responsible for parcels you hand on to others.

E-commerce fulfilment

You store stock for online sellers, pack their orders and deliver them. It needs a warehouse, stock records you can trust and a delivery arm, so it suits someone already running dispatch for steady sellers.

Haulage

Trucks move goods in bulk for traders, farms and factories. It needs the most money: trucks, drivers with commercial licences, insurance, repairs and fuel for long trips. Some people start as agents who match loads with truck owners, then buy trucks once they have steady contracts. The CLRD says its licence covers logistics services as well as courier work, so ask it how your haulage plans fit.

Which one to start with: if you’re starting small, start with dispatch for businesses in one area, such as online sellers, shops and restaurants that send parcels every week. You learn routes, pricing and cash handling with a few riders before you risk money on vans or a warehouse.

The licences and papers you need

This is where most beginners cut corners, and where the trouble starts. Here’s what applies and who issues it.

A limited company with CAC

The Nigerian Postal Service Act says no one may run a courier service unless they are registered as a company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act and licensed. A business name isn’t enough. NIPOST also asks for your certificate of incorporation with courier or logistics among the company’s objects, so include that when you register.

You register on the CAC’s Company Registration Portal: search and reserve the name, file the company’s details, pay the filing fee and stamp duty, then download the certificate. The fee depends on the share capital you choose, so check CAC’s current fee schedule on its website before you pay.

The NIPOST courier and logistics licence

Courier licences come through the Courier and Logistics Regulatory Department (CLRD) of the Nigerian Postal Service, under the Nigerian Postal Service Act and the Courier and Logistics Services (Operations) Regulations 2020. The Postmaster General recommends each application and the Minister responsible for communications grants the licence.

The CLRD says anyone who delivers for the public for a fee needs one, and it names dispatch riders making deliveries for clients and e-commerce fulfilment operators. There are four categories:

As well as the licence fee, there’s a non-refundable ₦20,000 application fee, paid through Remita. The application goes in with Form A and documents including:

• your certificate of incorporation;
• proof that you lease an office or warehouse;
• a business plan;
• a goods-in-transit insurance policy;
• evidence of the minimum share capital, or a bond of the same value;
• samples of your waybill, receipt, labels and packaging;
• an affidavit of non-conviction for each director.

Expect an inspection of your premises. The CLRD says it decides within 30 days of a complete application, and treats the application as approved if it doesn’t. A licence lasts one year: apply to renew at least three months before it expires, because late renewals carry a 12.5% penalty on the renewal fee.

Operating without a licence is an offence, and the CLRD lists orders to stop operating, fines, seizure of vehicles and prosecution among the penalties. The Act adds a quieter risk: an unlicensed courier company can’t go to court to recover fees a client owes it.

Riders, drivers and vehicles (FRSC)

Every rider and driver needs a valid licence for the vehicle they use, and motorcycles fall under Class A. On the FRSC licence portal, a new Class A licence costs ₦7,000 for three years or ₦11,000 for five; other classes cost ₦15,000 or ₦21,000, and payment channels may add charges.

First-time applicants must train at a driving school approved by the FRSC. Commercial licences for van and truck drivers can’t be started online: the driver goes to a licence centre with a medical certificate.

Register every motorcycle, tricycle and van and get its number plate through the FRSC’s National Vehicle Identification System (NVIS) or your state’s motor licensing authority. The NVIS site also lets you check a number plate, which is worth doing before you buy a used vehicle. Keep each vehicle’s papers and insurance certificate current and in the vehicle.

Once you run five or more vehicles, the FRSC treats you as a fleet operator under its Road Transport Safety Standardisation Scheme (RTSSS): you register, appoint a safety manager, use trained drivers and go through a yearly certification. Ask your nearest FRSC office how it applies to your fleet.

Insurance (NAICOM)

Third-party motor insurance is compulsory for every motor vehicle used on the road, and the law counts motorcycles and tricycles as motor vehicles. That’s section 84 of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025, and the penalty is a fine of at least ₦250k, up to 12 months in prison, or both.

Buy only from an insurer licensed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), which lists them on its website, and check each policy by plate number on NAICOM’s free motor insurance checker.

Third-party motor cover is for injury and damage your vehicle causes to others on the road. The parcels you carry need their own cover, goods-in-transit insurance, which the CLRD requires for the licence anyway. Ask two or three licensed insurers to quote for both, and ask what cover exists for a rider injured at work.

State, local and other rules

States and local governments set their own rules for commercial motorcycles, tricycles and trucks: where they may operate, which permits and levies apply, and how riders must register. These vary widely, and some places restrict commercial motorcycles on certain roads or in certain areas. Before you buy vehicles, ask your state’s ministry of transport and your local government council what applies where you’ll work.

Carrying medicines or medical devices brings in more rules: the CLRD says you need a National or International licence, and NAFDAC’s Good Distribution Practice rules apply as well. International parcels also bring in the Nigeria Customs Service.

Keep proper books from day one. The licence checklist asks for tax clearance certificates where they apply, and many business clients will ask for your tax details before they pay your invoices.

Step by step: from idea to first delivery

1. Choose your model and area. One model, one part of the country. That choice decides your licence category.
2. Line up your first clients. Talk to sellers and shops that send parcels every week. Ask how many they send, where to, what they pay now and what goes wrong, and get their interest in writing before you spend on vehicles.
3. Register a limited company. Put courier and logistics in its objects, open a business bank account and set up your books.
4. Rent a small office or storage space. You need proof of the lease for the licence, and somewhere for parcels to wait.
5. Apply for the CLRD licence. Confirm your category, gather the documents, pay through Remita and apply. Don’t take paid deliveries for others until it’s granted.
6. Get your vehicles and riders ready. Buy or lease the vehicles, register and insure them, and check every rider’s licence, ID, address and guarantors.
7. Set your zones and prices. Price from your real cost per delivery (see below), with written rules for failed deliveries, waiting time and cash on delivery.
8. Set up the daily routine. Orders logged, riders assigned, proof of delivery collected, and cash counted and banked the same day.
9. Sign written terms with each client. Cover what you won’t carry, who pays for lost or damaged parcels, and how fast you hand over cash collected on delivery.
10. Grow from the numbers. Each week, check deliveries per rider, cost per delivery, failed deliveries and cash still with riders. Add riders, vehicles or software when the numbers say so.

What it costs to start

Your total depends on the model, the number of vehicles and where you work, so be wary of anyone who quotes one figure for every logistics business. These fees have published prices, checked in October 2026:

The Paystack figure uses its published local rate of 1.5% + ₦100, capped at ₦2,000. For everything else, get written, dated quotes, because these prices move:

• Vehicles. New and used motorcycles, tricycles or vans. Get quotes from two or three dealers in the same week, and check any used vehicle’s plate on NVIS.
• Insurance. Third-party cover for each vehicle and goods-in-transit cover for the parcels.
• Office or warehouse rent. You need a lease for the licence anyway.
• Rider pay. A salary, pay per delivery, or both. Decide who pays for fuel and repairs.
• Fuel and maintenance. Fuel prices change often, so track what you actually spend each week.
• Branding and kit. Delivery boxes, helmets, reflective jackets, waybills and labels.
• Phones and data. Each rider needs a working smartphone and data to receive jobs and send proof of delivery.
• Working capital. Cash to pay riders and buy fuel while business clients take a week or a month to pay you.

Work out your cost per delivery

Before you set prices, add up a normal day’s cost for one rider: fuel, pay, maintenance, phone and data, plus that rider’s share of insurance, licence fees and rent. Divide it by the number of deliveries the rider can do in a day. That’s your cost per delivery, and your price must sit above it, with room for failed deliveries and waiting time.

Work it out again whenever fuel prices change. A price that made money three months ago can lose money today.

Start on WhatsApp, or build an app?

You don’t need an app on day one. A WhatsApp Business number, a shared spreadsheet and a simple waybill will run a business with a few riders. Orders come in on WhatsApp, each job goes in the sheet with the rider’s name and the cash to collect, and a photo or the receiver’s signature is your proof of delivery. Clients who prepay can use a Paystack or Flutterwave payment link.

You’ve outgrown that set-up when jobs get lost in chats, customers keep asking where their parcel is, you can’t tell which rider holds whose cash, or reconciling takes hours every night. That’s when software starts paying for itself.

A delivery app usually has three parts: a customer side to book, pay and track; a rider app with jobs and proof of delivery; and a dashboard for dispatch, cash on delivery and reports. You can rent ready-made delivery software by the month or have your own built. Renting is cheaper to start, but check that you can export your data, that it bills in Naira, and that it handles cash on delivery the way you work.

Your own app makes sense when the way you work is your advantage, or when you want your brand in the app stores. We build delivery, rider and admin apps from one Flutter codebase, from ₦2.5M, and we built Grontto, an ordering and delivery app with drivers and admin software. A dispatch platform for several branches or partner companies is custom software, from ₦4M.

We don’t run a delivery business and we hold no courier licence: we build the software. Our guide to what an app costs in Nigeria covers the running costs, every starting price is on our pricing page, and you can contact us with your questions.

Mistakes that sink new logistics businesses

• Delivering for others without a licence. It’s an offence, vehicles can be seized, and an unlicensed company can’t sue a client who refuses to pay.
• Registering only a business name. The law requires a company, so you’ll end up registering twice.
• Buying vehicles before you have clients. An idle bike still needs insurance, papers and repairs.
• Losing track of cash on delivery. Record who collected what, and count and bank it every day.
• Pricing to be the cheapest. When fuel goes up, the cheapest dispatch business loses money on every trip.
• No written terms. Without them, every lost or damaged parcel becomes an argument about who pays.
• Skipping goods-in-transit insurance. One lost bag of phones can wipe out months of profit.
• Weak rider checks. Verify ID, address and guarantors, and keep a copy of each rider’s licence.
• Ignoring state and local rules. Find out where commercial motorcycles may run before you buy them.

Frequently asked questions

General information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; check the current version with NIPOST’s CLRD, CAC, the FRSC and NAICOM before you act.