Source: http://apcon.gov.ng/services.php
Timestamp: 2018-03-19 20:06:35
Document Index: 69631233

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 2', 'art 3', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art3', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 3']

. Registration - Individual/Corporate
APCON registers students currently undergoing studies leading to the award of HND, Degree or their equivalents in any of the following disciplines:
a) Mass communication
d) Graphic Arts.
Registration Guidelines Registration Fees
Only candidates who possess a Degree or Higher National Diploma in any discipline are eligible to enrol in the programme.
All candidates are to enrol initially in the part 1 and progress to Part 2, and Part 3 subsequently.
Candidates whose Degree/HND is in Advertising, Mass Communication, Marketing, or Graphics Arts will be exempted from courses thay have passed in their Degree/HND programmes, on presentation of valid acedemic transcripts.
Successful completion of the three Parts (Part 1, Part 2, Part3) of the examinations qualifies a candidate for;
i. the APCON Professional Diploma in Advertising,
ii. for registration as Associate Member of the Advertising Profession, and
iii. to lawfully practice advertising in Nigeria.
Registration/Enrollment 	- N22,000.00
Examination Fee 		- N50,000.00 / Part
- N10,000.00 / Course
Exemption Fee   		- N15,000.00 / Course
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Successful completion of the three Parts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) of the examinations qualifies a candidate for registration as Associate Member of the Advertising Profession.
Corporate Registration (Corporate Licensing)
Registration is mandatory for all categories of organizations/firms practising advertising for gain in Nigeria.
Licensing Guidelines Licensing Fees
1	National Agency. This shall apply to advertising organisations whose total equity participation by Nigerians is equal to or above 74.9% or aggregate foreign investment in equity is equal to or below 25.1%.
2	Foreign Agency. This shall apply to advertising organisations whose total equity participation by Nigerians is equal to or below 25.1% or aggregate foreign investment in equity is equal to or above 25.2% (up to 100%). Foreign Agency shall practice advertising targeted at market outside the shores of Nigeria.
For any organisation to be licensed, the Chief Executive Officer must be a registered practitioner at the level of rpa. However, for local organisations, under special consideration, the licensing committee may accept Associate registration, arpa.
Except for Support Service Departments, all heads of Operational Departments in the organization must be registered practitioners at a level not lower than Associate Member, arpa. However, for purposes of media organisations, the Chief Executive Officer does not need of necessity to be an Advertising Practitioner. Facilities and staffing must be considered adequate for the level of licensing.
Bearing the above classification of advertising organizations as stated above, the first step in the licensing process would be to determine if your organization belongs to any Sectoral Group, or has any sectoral affiliation with any of the Organizations through which APCON regulates the practice of advertising in Nigeria.
For ease of reference, these Sectoral Groups are listed below:
a.	The Association of Advertising
Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN)
b.	The Advertisers Association
of Nigeria (ADVAN)
c.	The Broadcasting Organisation
of Nigeria (BON)
d.	The Newspapers Proprietors
Association of Nigeria (NPAN)
e.	The Outdoor Advertising
Association of Nigeria (OAAN)
f.	The Media Independent Practitioners
Association of Nigeria (MIPAN)
If your organization belongs to any of theSsectoral Groups listed above, then all you have to do is to approach the Secretariat of the Sectoral Group to which you belong to, and obtain a letter of reference which you will then present to the Corporate Licensing Department of APCON.
The license is renewable every three years. This application method is known as Window 1. It is for organizations with sectoral affiliations.
For organizations without sectoral affiliations, a window of application; Window 2, has also been made available through which such organizations can also be registered.
Please find below the requirements for organizations falling under this window.
1.	Name and contact details of the applicant agency i.e. (this shall include but will not be limited to office address, telephone numbers, email address, website etc.).
2.	Copy of Registration documents for the special purpose vehicle floated for the purpose of the specialised advertising business as well as comprehensive particulars of Owners/Promoters/Directors’ details as the case may be.
This information/documentation must include amongst other details, and as the case may be:
3. Names and details of management staff. This shall include but will not be limited to:
i. Names and qualifications of management staff, including evidence of APCON registration and certificate.
ii. Details and evidence of working experience of management staff.
4. Financial report. This shall include but will not be limited to the current Audited Report (where applicable).
5. Tax Clearance Certificate (where applicable).
6. Letter of compliance from the Nigeria Pension Fund in compliance with relevant sections of the Pension Act (for Company already in operation).
8. In addition, an organization will be required to produce a bankers’ credit guarantee from a Nigerian bank acceptable to APCON in the sum of N200 million for a National agency and N500 million for a Foreign agency.
9.	National and Foreign categories applicants shall also be required to produce and submit an Agency Business Insurance to the tune of N200 million for a National agency and N500 million for Foreign agency from a Nigerian Insurance company acceptable to APCON.
These documents when submitted to the Corporate Licensing Department should be accompanied with the application fees applicable for Window 1 applicants.
Kindly note that you will have to indicate the area of specialization in the application forms (whether operating in the advertising sector as any of the following:
1.	Duly Licensed Advertising Organization;
2.	Duly Licensed Full Service Advertising Agency;
3.	Duly Licensed Creative Advertising Agency;
4.	Duly Licensed Media Agency;
5.	Duly Licensed Interactive Agency;
6.	Duly Licensed Advertising Medium;
7.	Duly Licensed Advertising Production Organization; and
8.	Duly Licensed Advertising Artistes’ Agency)
These areas of specialization should be adhered to strictly and no organization is permitted to delve into another sphere of advertising business without the required license.
As regards the issue of foreign practitioners and their eligibility to practice advertising in the Nigerian market, the APCON Council has made a proclamation guiding the practice of advertising by foreign practitioners which is to be strictly adhered to.
Please find these requirements below:
Foreign practitioners are welcome to practice the Advertising profession in Nigeria; however such practitioners shall be certified and licensed by APCON.
In addition to the requirement for Membership, such practitioners must show:
i. Evidence of work permit obtained from the relevant agencies like the NIS, etc. relevant visa, etc.
ii. A letter of attestation from the organization intending to employ the expatriate on:
(c) The foreign practitioner is filling a labor shortage.
(d) The employment of foreigner will directly impact or create new job opportunities or help retain jobs for Nigerians.
(f) The hiring of foreigner will not affect the employment of Nigerians negatively.
APCON Professional Diploma in Advertising
The APCON Professional Diploma in Advertising is a qualifying certificate for registration into the advertising profession.
The basic qualification for enrolment into the programme is a bachelors degree or the Higher National Diploma in any Discipline.
Candidates whose degree or HND are in Advertising, Marketing, Mass communication or Graphic Arts will be exempted from courses they have passed on the presentation of the original and valid academic transcripts from their awarding institutions.
An eighteen month programme, run in diets of 6 months. Examinations are conducted in May/June and November/December every year.
Vetting Guidelines Vetting Fees
The Vetting guidelines apply to;
I. All individuals registered as Advertising Practitioner
II. Organisations, Corporate Bodies and Individuals which/who use advertising services
1)	The vetting guidelines apply to the entire contents of an advertisement, including words and numbers (spoken or written), visual presentations, music and sound effects.
2)	All advertisements shall be legal, respectful, decent, honest, truthful, and mindful of Nigeria’s culture.
3)	They shall be prepared with a high sense of social responsibility, and shall avoid misinformation.
4)	All adverts shall conform to the principle of fair competition generally acceptable in business, and of fair comments expected in free human communication. They shall aim at enhancing public confidence in advertising and shall always be in the interest of the consumer and the wider Nigerian society.
These principles shall apply to all brands of advertising and marketing communication as follows:
•	Communications to On-and- Off Trade
And to all media, including but not limited to;
•	Out Of Home
•	Labelling (Including product names)
Regular Vetting		-	N25,000.00
8 Hours Accelerted
Vetting			-	N280,000.00
16 Hours Accelerted
Vetting			-	N150,000.00
Use of Foreign Model	-	N500,000.00
Foreign Production	-	N500,000.00
Promotion (Lagos)	-	N250,000.00
Verification of Promotion
(Outside Lagos)		-	N500,000.00
Penalty for Violation	-	N500,000.00
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