The National Examinations Council, NECO, has approved an extension of the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination, BECE, Normal Registration period. The new deadline is 12 midnight on Saturday, 4 April 2026.
The approval came after concerns raised by State Coordinators. The extension is meant to give newly accredited BECE schools time to complete the registration of their candidates.
Why NECO extended the registration period
NECO gave this extra window to address requests from State Coordinators. Those requests focused on newly accredited BECE schools that still needed to register candidates.
That means both old and new BECE schools now have extra time to complete the process; the Council has kept that window open for a short period.
New deadline for NECO BECE 2026 normal registration
The Normal Registration period now ends at 12 midnight on Saturday, 4 April 2026.
Schools are expected to use this period well and complete candidate registration before the deadline passes.
Late registration fee after 4 April 2026
After the Normal Registration window closes, a Late Registration fee will apply.
The fee is Five Thousand Naira (N5,000.00) only per candidate.
Final website closure date remains unchanged
While NECO extended the Normal Registration period, the final Website Closure date has not changed.
The website will still close at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, 8 April 2026 and NECO stated that there will be no extension after that date.
What BECE schools should note
All BECE schools, both old and new, are expected to register their candidates within this approved window. After 4 April 2026, the Late Registration charge begins; after 11:59 pm on 8 April 2026, the website closes without any extra time.
