NYSC Camps: Required and Prohibited Documents, Items, etc

NYSC clearance session

Congratulations as you're on your way to the camp. I rejoice with you as an incoming corps member. The world celebrates you today!

At the point of registering for your NYSC or after printing your green card or call-up letters, you may want to know the list of items that must be taken along when going to your state of deployment.

As a matter of fact, NYSC makes a few credentials or documents compulsory for all prospective corps members to come along with. And these items are uniform across all 37 camps of the nation.

Hence, you won't do yourself any good if you miss any of the said compulsory items. In fact, that may lead to sending you back to be remobilized.

Similarly, there are a few things that are not compulsory, for all corpers to be taken to the camps. These will be relative to an individual person and their general or special needs.

In this post, I will be breaking things down into the list of compulsory items, optional things to be taken along while reporting to your camp, and a list of things not to be found in your luggage.

Compulsory Documents, Credentials, and Items For Clearance and Documentation at NYSC Camps

There are generally about ten items required compulsorily at your camp. These items include a few documents, personal and academic which must be ready with you during the clearance period at the camp.

There is a need to give you a brief explanation about each, which I've done below. And at the end of the whole section, I will be talking about the number of photocopies of these items, you should take along.

1. NYSC Call-Up Letter

NYSC call-up letter is the letter containing information such as the address of the state's NYSC camp, your call-up number, and a few other information.

You're to print the call-up letter, during the printing schedule and of course, in color. This is the only way you can differentiate that from a photocopy.

Note that, no camp will ask for two call-up letters. It's just one! However, if you can afford it, you may need to print two copies of this call-up letter.

Some camps will collect one colored copy and photocopies and retain it with them. Hence, you have one original copy left with you. You may be asked to provide that again if you're planning for redeployment, at the new state's NYSC secretariat.

NOTE: If you want to avoid printing two original copies, you can just download it to your mobile device or flash drive for future needs.

2. NYSC Green Card

NYSC Green Card contains the details filled in during the mobilization registration e.g. shirt and shoe size, and a few others sent by your school and JAMB e.g. names, course, date of birth, state of origin, etc.

You will print this within 24 hours of submitting your NYSC online registration. It has to be your number 2 document when going camping.

Just like the call-up letter, print two color copies of this, you may need it during the deployment processes, if you're planning for it.

As earlier noted, if you want to avoid printing two original copies, you can just download it to your mobile device or flash drive for future needs.

3. Statements of Result, Certificate, or To Whom It May Concern

You should go camping with your certificate or the statement of result. As a BSC or its equivalent holder, your degree certificate or statement of result (acceptable where the certificate is not ready or not yet collected) should be with you at the point of clearance.

Higher National Diploma holders should not only go with their HND certificates or statements of results but also with their ND results.

Where a BSC underwent a foundation programme, such as ND, HND, NCE, IJMB, JUPEB, etc., it will be wise to go along with its certificate or result too. While some camps don't bother with the foundation certificates/results, some can get mad if you're presenting an excuse instead of the papers.

For certain graduates, their statements of results or certificates may not be available yet. As a result, they may want to consider "To Whom It May Concern". This is a letter indicating that a graduate has completed his studies and is awaiting the final result or certificate.

Unfortunately, this is not tenable in camps or accepted by the screening officials. Get your certificate or statement of result, if you must go camping. Else, you should wait till that is ready and validate your NYSC registration to go with the next stream or batch.

4. Medical Fitness Certificate or Letter

Every prospective corps member is required to come to camp with his or her medical fitness certificate. This is the evidence of your medical fitness for the 1-year clarion call.

This document will show the results of some tests conducted at a federal-owned or state-owned hospital. In other words, NYSC will not honor or accept medical fitness from any private hospital no matter the standards.

In case, you've heard about the type of medical fitness being downloaded, modified, and shared with prospective corpers, you can use that too.

Of course, such is not official but a kind of fake medical fitness showing on the letterhead of a recognized state or federal hospital with a stamp.

Some corpers are using these and it's being accepted as long as it has recognized letterheads, the right set of tests and results, the stamp, and the name of the medical officer.

However, your camp may not accept this if the signature on the letter is not in pen. In other words, they will suspect it's fake if the signature is in ink - meaning that the letter was printed together with the signature on it.

If you must use this fake medical fitness, print it with the stamp only and sign it with a pen. Don't use your personal signature. Use any fake sign just as the medical fitness itself or ask a friend to do the signing for you.

5. Medical Report (For Redeployment)

A medical report is an official state or federal hospital statement or letter narrating a story of a disease, ailment, or infection that may need regular attention during your service year.

The main purpose of the Medical report is to redeploy. You don't have to do this until you know where you're being posted.

If you're posted to a state that you don't want and you'll like to be redeployed to another state after your camping at the odd state, you will need to take a medical report to the camp.

The report should be specific about the type of medical condition you're passing through, even though may not be real, and instructs NYSC to repost you to another state usually a neighboring state to your state of origin or specifically to your state of origin, where you can be closer to that very hospital issuing the medical report.

Hence, in most cases, and under normal circumstances, the same hospital that issues the medical fitness should be the one to issue the medical report as well.

If it differs, you may raise some concerns and suspicion from the NYSC officials.

In fact, that's why I said you should wait for your posting letter before deciding whether you should do the report or otherwise.

Also, I've got cases of corpers who didn't go to camps with their medical reports but after reporting they sent homes to families or friends to help them to get the medical reports so that could scan, and send to them which they would print on camps.

Don't make such a mistake, some camps are monitoring if some computer centers are printing such for corpers and it may implicate you if they find out. In fact, some camps' computer operators are not doing it because of possible sanctions.

In other words, prepare the medical report before leaving home. You won't need it at the point of the clearance though, you should wait until they ask for it at a later date.

6. White-Background Passports

Each prospective corps member is required to go camping with his or her recent passport photographs.

The number of copies may vary. Yet, you will be right with at least 8 - 12 copies.

The open secret is that some activities are not uniform among the camps. While some may accept just 4, some will raise their number to 8 or 12. Just be prepared.

7. School ID Card

You should go camping with your school ID card. It's an important identification for NYSC clearance.

Of course, some schools issue this every year to their students while some will give one throughout their studies.

Hence, it doesn't matter if you're going with the final year ID card or the first year. Just be sure you have this means of identification with you or else, you're toasted at the clearance venue.

You should do a color photocopy or reproduction of the ID card, in plastic, if your school has the poly of collecting the original one during students' final clarence.

If you've school has collected your ID cars, during the final clearance in school, be sure you have a reference letter backing that up from the school.

8. COVID-19 Slip Printout/Vaccination Card

NYSC has made it compulsory for all prospective members to come along with their NCDC Covid-19 RDT CIF slip printed after filling and submitting their online Covid-19 RDT Self Reporting Form. This should equally be accompanied by the COVID-19 vaccination card issued to you after your first or second jab as this was being made compulsory starting in 2022,

The COVID-19 slip printed online should be in color, of course. You will need that at camp. The vaccination card may contain only the first jab information if that's all you've taken. And if you'd taken the second, it doesn't make any difference. Just go with your card.

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9. O'level (SSCE) Results

Similarly, some corps members are strictly required to come to camps with their WAEC, NECO, GCE, or NABTEB results.

There are a few points to note here.

Generally, all married women, who had registered as such on the NYSC portal and those who want to file for it at the camps, must go with their O'level results
Some camps want to see your O'leve results whether you're a married woman or not and for all men as well. It's not uniform among these NYSC camps. Hence, it will be on the safe side if you take it along.
Note that the result must be the original. And if not available, the online printout of your O'level result may be considered as well.
All foreign students are required to come in compulsory with their O'level results together with other documents listed in the next section.

10. Official License For Your Course/Discipline

For some corps members with licensed-based courses, there is a need to go to camps with your licenses. Graduates of Nursing, Public Health, Environmental Health, Medicine and Surgery, etc. are concerned here.

Of course, during your camping days, NYSC may want to use your services as a nurse, doctor, health assistant, etc. That's why it's compulsory for them to ask for this official backing.

In the absence of a license, you should get an official letter from your institution to support your certificate and the discipline claimed.

Recommended: After NYSC Registration, What Next?

Documents/Credentials Foreign Students Should Take to NYSC Camp

The case of graduates who studied abroad can be a bit different from homegrown graduates. While some items are uniform, very many differ.

This list shouldn't be strange because, earlier than camping time, you must have uploaded some documents online or gone for physical screening at a chosen NYSC secretariat. At this venue, you're asked to present some documents. That won't be any different from what your camp will ask for.

If you're a foreign-trained graduate, below is the list of items to take to the NYSC camp.

Original O'Level Certificate (WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, or equivalent)
International Passport Data Page
Student Visa/ Residence Permit
Visa Showing Date of Departure from Nigeria.
Visa Showing Date of Departure to Nigeria.
Complete Transcripts of the Degree or HND Programme
First University Degree or HND Certificate.
Evaluation Letter Form Your School

Photocopies of Credentials Required During the Clearance

I decided to bring this under a separate section because we need to talk.

Literally, each of the items listed above must accompany you with their photocopies.

Some camps will check both the original copies and the photocopies before they return the original copies to you and retain the photocopies.

The original copies of your statement of result or certificates, O'level result (if it's asked for), and school ID card will be returned to you. While the original copies of your call-up letters, green cards, COVID-19 slip, medical fitness, and of course, the medical report will be retained together with their photocopies.

That is why you should have the soft copies of those documents backed up on your mobile device if possible, should you will need them again.

However, when it comes to the number of photocopies to be collected or retained by an NYSC camp, you should still understand that that is not uniform across the nation.

Some will take 2 copies, while some will have reasons to accept 3, 4, or 5. As a matter of fact, it will be wise to have 5 photocopies of these credentials with you. If they take all, fine, and if otherwise, you can have the rest used while searching for jobs or any other official reasons - if still valid.

It's important to note that you can do the photocopies on camp if you're contemplating. However, the fee for photocopies or anything at all on camps can get very unbearable and extorting for many corpers. Hence, do your photocopies from home. It shouldn't be too heavy to carry dude!

Speaking of NYSC Documents and Credentials, Don't Laminate Any

I've dedicated a post to warning not only the PCMs about the lamination of documents but also everybody. This warning still remains valid to date. You don't want to go camping with laminated credentials. The official may not be lenient with you about this violation.

NYSC has warned, a few times, that prospective and outgoing corps members shouldn't laminate their credentials.

NYSC's warning!

Above was an open warning by the corps on its official Twitter page.

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Other Peripherals Required at NYSC Camps

Of course, don't be deceived by the claim that NYSC will provide everything for you. That claim can be correct but may not be enough to trust all camps.

As a result, apart from the compulsory credentials listed above, the following items should be taken into account if they affect your lifestyle and financial readiness.

White shirt (round-neck), white Shorts, white tennies shoes, white shocks: These are items that NYSC will provide, of course. Yet, they may not be enough for you if you're not the tidy type or you won't fall for the quality of the materials the NYSC ones' are made of.
Security Accessories: items such as padlocks, waist pouch, touch, mosquito net, power bank, and cash are important parts of your days on camp. You can buy them at camp, of course. But will be at exhausting prices.

What You Shouldn't Take To NYSC Camps

Generally, items such as television, pets, iron, boiling ring, hot plates, cars, bikes, mattresses, nail cutters, laptops, electric sockets, knives, musical gadgets, radios, gas cylinders, stoves, foodstuff, condoms, charms, and any items that can't be easily identified by the officials, are prohibited on NYSC camps.

Hence, it will be wise not to go with any of these. Otherwise, there are sanctions awaiting you which may include decamping and remobilization.

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