Hiring graduates without national service certificates is illegal – NSA warns

The National Service Authority (NSA) has disclosed that hiring graduates without national service certificates is illegal.

The NSA has revealed that to curb the practice, it is getting ready to start a nationwide inspection in workplaces to make sure that employers in both the public and private sectors have employed only graduates with valid National Service certificates.
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‎Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu, who is the Deputy Director-General in charge of operations at the NSA, made it clear in an interview on Joy FM on April 20, 2026, by stating that the exercise would help strengthen the authority’s fight against measures to stop fraud beyond payroll, reaching workplaces nationwide across the country.
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‎Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu stated that “Very soon we are going to embark on an exercise. We are going to reach out to institutions and the HR units that have employed people without a certificate. It is a requirement for employment.” He drew attention to the fact that the instruction applies to all employers, including those in the private sector.
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‎Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu highlighted that “by law, whether you are in the private sector or not, you must do national service. It is an offence to employ somebody without a National Service Certificate.”
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‎According to the National Service Authority Act, 2024 (Act 1119), employers who hire graduates without valid certificates may be punished. Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu made it clear that the exercise would start by focusing on education and compliance rather than punitive action.
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‎Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu, the Deputy Director-General in charge of Operations at the NSA, added that “We are not saying dismiss them from your institution. We need to regularise it. They will be given a window of opportunity to reach out to us, and we will rectify it.”

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All students who graduate from public or private tertiary institutions with a minimum of a diploma are required to take formal steps to be captured in the database of the NSA towards their mandatory national service before gaining formal employment in the country. Students who fail to undergo this important national exercise are deemed unqualified for any job in the country. Such NSA defaulters are expected to correct the wrong by visiting the nearest NSA office or contacting the NSA online to get their details captured so that they can embark on the national service duties as the law demands.

All defaulters can visit the portal to commence the registration process towards this important national assignment.

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