How to Ship a Car from Cotonou to Lagos: Steps, Documents, Costs

You found a car in Cotonou and you want it in Lagos. The route that works is by sea, from the Port of Cotonou to a Lagos port, with the car cleared in Nigeria. This guide walks through each step, the papers you need, the time it takes and what it costs.

Want a quick number first? Try our car cost calculator: Benin vs Nigeria. It compares the Cotonou price with the Lagos landed cost for each car.

Rules and rates last checked: 20 October 2026. Every figure below shows its source.

• Buyers in Nigeria who want a car from a Cotonou dealer or yard.

• Dealers and traders who move cars from Benin to Lagos.

• Nigerians in Benin who plan to take a car home when they move back.

If you will keep the car in Benin, our guide to clearing a tokunbo car in Cotonou is the one for you.

1. Choose the car and check its age. Count from the year of manufacture on the VIN, not the model year. Nigeria's age limit is 12 years on the stricter reading. The official trade portal says under 15. Use 12 and confirm with your agent.

2. Check the car's history. Run a VIN history check (Carfax, AutoCheck or NMVTIS). Flood and salvage cars from US auctions do reach West Africa.

3. Hire a licensed Lagos clearing agent first. Your agent opens the paperwork and tells you the exact duty up front, so you know the full cost of the car.

4. Open a Form M through a Nigerian bank. It is required for vehicle imports above US$10,000. The Nigeria Trade Information Portal lists the supporting papers (see the checklist below).

5. Get the car ready for export in Cotonou. The seller or a transitaire handles the Benin export declaration with Benin customs. We have not found the official procedure or fees, so ask the transitaire for both in writing.

6. Book the sea leg. Ask a shipping line or forwarder at the Port of Cotonou for a Cotonou to Lagos quote, RoRo or container. Sea freight is quoted by the shipping line, so ask for the current price.

7. Get the PAAR. Your agent obtains the SONCAP and NESREA clearances on the National Single Window, then the PAAR (Pre-Arrival Assessment Report). The PAAR gives your real duty figure.

8. Ship and track the car. The car sails to a Lagos port such as Apapa, Tin Can or PTML. Keep the bill of lading with you.

9. Clear it in Lagos. Your agent declares the car. Nigeria Customs values it, you pay duty, levies and VAT, and the terminal releases it.

10. Truck it and register it. A car carrier takes it to your address. Register it in your state with your proof of duty and get your plates.

A Japanese or Chinese car bought in Cotonou is not of ECOWAS origin, so it gets no ECOWAS duty-free treatment. It pays the same Nigerian duty as a car shipped straight from Dubai or China.

• Your passport or company papers, and your tax ID.

• Form M, opened through your bank.

• Proforma invoice from the seller.

• Bill of lading from the shipping line.

• Combined certificate of value and origin (CCVO).

• Packing list.

• Insurance certificate.

• The car's title or carte grise and the Benin export papers.

• SONCAP and NESREA clearances, and the PAAR (your agent obtains these).

Source for the Form M papers and the US$10,000 threshold: Nigeria Trade Information Portal, importing motor vehicles (read 20 October 2026).

Plan for three stages: Cotonou, the sea leg and Lagos.

• In Cotonou. Cargo spends about 4 days in the Port of Cotonou, according to figures quoted by Nigeria's Vice President and reported by Nairametrics on 13 September 2026.

• At sea. We found no published sailing time for Cotonou to Lagos, so ask the shipping line for its next sailing date.

• In Lagos. Cargo spends 18 to 21 days at Nigeria's major ports (same source). Express clearance of 3 to 5 days is offered by some agents for an extra ₦100,000 to ₦150,000 (Awajis, updated 3 May 2026).

Every day past the free days at the terminal adds demurrage (see costs below), so get the Form M and PAAR done before the ship arrives.

This is the Nigerian side, as reported in 2026. Use the car cost calculator to run your own car.

Duty and taxes (reported August 2026):

• import duty 20% of the CIF value;

• a levy of 5% of CIF on used cars (cut from 15% in July 2026). For new cars, reports disagree, so ask your agent;

• a 7% surcharge on the duty, an ECOWAS levy of 0.5% and a CISS charge of 1% of FOB (some sources say 4%);

• a green tax from July 2026: 0% under 2,000 cc, 2% from 2,000 to 3,999 cc, 4% from 4,000 cc;

• VAT of 7.5% on the value plus all of the above.

Customs values the car from its own database, not from your invoice, so the base can be higher than what you paid. Only a PAAR gives the real number.

Lagos port and agent costs per car (Awajis clearing guide, updated 3 May 2026):

• agent fee: ₦200,000 to ₦400,000;

• terminal charges: ₦260,000 to ₦500,000, depending on the terminal and whether the car comes RoRo or in a container;

• trucking within Lagos: ₦60,000 to ₦120,000;

• demurrage after the free days: ₦25,000 to ₦60,000 a day.

Plate and registration fees depend on the state, and we have not found a published tariff.

Sea freight from Cotonou to Lagos: not included in the examples below. We found no published price, so ask a shipping line for a quote.

Worked examples (October 2026)

• Used: 2015 Toyota Corolla 1.8. CIF about ₦9.8M (US$7,393 at ₦1,329.16 per dollar, CBN rate of 2 October 2026). Nigerian duties and taxes come to about ₦3.66M. With agent, terminal and trucking, it lands in Lagos at about ₦14.3M before plates and sea freight.

• New: Toyota RAV4 2.0 Comfort 4x4 at 26,900,000 FCFA at Toyota CFAO Bénin. Its Lagos landed cost is about ₦88M to ₦104M before sea freight, because sources disagree on the duty rate. Nigerian listings for the same model ask ₦63M to ₦90M. So for this model the Lagos landed cost is close to or above the Nigerian price.

Watch the currency. 50 million FCFA is about ₦114 million at the official CBN rate (19 October 2026), not ₦50 million. Check any rate with our naira to CFA converter.

• Use a licensed customs agent and ask to see the licence.

• Ask for a written quote with every line: agent fee, terminal, trucking, express fee and demurrage.

• Ask for the PAAR when you agree the price with the seller, and compare the duty with the calculator.

• Ask which terminal the car will use and how many free days it has.

• Keep copies of every receipt from the Port of Cotonou to the Lagos terminal.

The Port of Cotonou guide shows where the port and the main yards are.

How do I ship a car from Cotonou to Lagos?
By sea. Open a Form M, get a PAAR through a licensed agent, book a RoRo or container sailing from the Port of Cotonou to a Lagos port, then clear the car in Lagos and register it.

How much does it cost to ship a car from Cotonou to Lagos?
We found no published sea freight price, so ask a shipping line. Add the Nigerian duty and taxes, plus about ₦520,000 to ₦1,020,000 for agent, terminal and trucking (before express fee and demurrage). The calculator shows the full landed cost.

Is it cheaper to ship a car from Cotonou to Lagos?
Usually not for a car you will use in Nigeria. After Nigerian duty, levies and VAT, a car bought in Cotonou costs about the same as, or more than, the same car in Nigeria. The big savings are on cars bought and used in Benin.

Which documents do I need?
Form M, proforma invoice, bill of lading, CCVO, packing list, insurance certificate and the car's title, plus the SONCAP, NESREA and PAAR that your agent obtains. See the checklist above.

What is the age limit?
Official sources say 12 or 15 years from manufacture. Use 12 and confirm with a licensed agent.

Which rate should I use for FCFA to naira?
Ask which rate the seller uses. The official CBN rate was ₦2,274.6 per 1,000 FCFA on 19 October 2026. Check today's rate on the converter.

• Car cost calculator: Benin vs Nigeria

• Tokunbo car clearing in Cotonou

• Top ten cheap cars in Cotonou, Benin Republic

Nigeria accepts vehicle imports through its seaports, which is why this guide follows the sea route, and cars must be within its age limit. Rules and rates change, so confirm with a licensed customs agent before you buy. Final duty is set by Nigeria Customs at clearance.