Register A Company By Yourself With CAC Nigeria (For Small businesses/Entrepreneurs' Business Names or Companies)
The CAC website allows all types of businesses and non-profits to register online from anywhere in the world. It can take only a few days to complete the process end to end and get the certificate. You do not need a legal practitioner or anybody else to get a valid registration. Anyone can do this registration with a laptop or phone connection.
Let’s identify what type of business you should register.
If you are just starting out and are the only person running the business day to day or have less than 10 employees, you should register as a Limited Liability Company — Business name, in this case, you get a business name and it ends with XYZ Enterprises. If you plan to export or do some heavy lifting, you are advised to add the LTD or PLC at the end of your business name so you register as a ‘Company’.
BEFORE YOU PROCEED…
Gather the following documentation and requirements:
- A Nigerian bank account or payment card to make payment. See the fees here. Acceptable payment forms are by card, bank account, bank branch, USSD, internet banking, remita, wallet, or phone number.
- A valid address — personal or business
- Photocopy of your signature (pdf) and at least one witness
- Identification documents of the owner (NIN, driver's license, international passport, etc)
- Passport photograph
- Others e.g proof of address, but this is optional
- An account online with the Company registration portal (CRP) at www.cac.gov.ng (you must be a director, trustee, proprietor/partner)
- Go to the CAC website(www.cac.gov.ng/home)
- Scroll to the bottom of the page, click on ‘account creation’ then follow all the steps to create a new account as a public user and log in to the system. You will need to enter your personal details including email and business address and a type of ID. Enter ‘Business’ under Occupation/Description. And make sure you remember your login details. No need to register as an accredited agent, just as a public user for now. There is an additional fee and documents involved to be an accredited agent, no need for that now.
After you complete the registration, a link will be sent to the email address you provided. Login to the email and verify that link in the email. Now you can log in to the account with your username, email, or phone n
Step by Step process to register a business name in Nigeria
- STEP 1: SEARCH FOR THE AVAILABILITY OF YOUR BUSINESS NAME
Once you are logged in, return to https://pre.cac.gov.ng/home, and you will be shown the four steps for business name registration. Start with the ‘Public Search’. Click on ‘Search now’. This is to perform a public search for all businesses registered under CAC to ensure that the business name you are trying to register is available. If you register a similar or existing business name, your application may be rejected and you will lose the registration fee.
I am using a fictitious random company name ‘ABC printing’, in the example below. Enter your own preferred business name into the search box on Search page 1. Click search and you will be taken to search page 2.
Search page 2: There are five different types of searches that you can perform. Make sure the tab ‘Business name’ is highlighted, then click on ‘search’.
- STEP 2: RESERVE YOUR BUSINESS NAME
If your name is available, either as a business name, or company, proceed to reserve the business name by clicking on ‘new name registration’. Here you will be asked to upload the following backup documentation and make a payment:
You will be brought to the new name reservation dashboard. You have to complete forms 1 to 4.
Name and type
Classification: ‘Business name’ is the most likely selection in this use case.
Select specific type: Business name sole proprietor or partnership, or private company limited by shares for companies
Proposed name: you can type 2 options, I will suggest you do so in case the first option gets rejected. then you save and continue to ‘objectives’.
Objectives
Reason for availability search: Select ‘new incorporation or registration’.
Nature of business category & specific nature of business: select the category that most suits your business.
Preview
Check all your details and make sure they are correct. You can go back if you want to make a correction.
Payment: You will be asked to make payment for the name reservation, which as of the date of this article costs N500 plus the service charge.
After payment, your reservation will be marked as pending on the new name reservation dashboard. If your business name reservation is approved you will receive an email confirmation in a few hours.
Congratulations! You have successfully reserved the business name. But it is not over yet, you need to now register the business.
You have a few days to start the actual business name, do not delay as the name can be returned back to the pool.
Go to your dashboard — My reservations — Reservations — Click on ‘Start Registration.
Business details — enter details for the business, these are public facing. The start date can be in the past or future.
Particulars of proprietors — details, and address of the business. Make it public or you will have to pay additional fees. Add the particulars by clicking the ‘Add Proprietor’. Save and continue.
Nature of business — click on add nature of business, select the appropriate nature of the business category and specific nature of business from the dropdown. Copy these into the description box.
Document upload- PDF format is required for means of identification and others. Signature and passport photos can be jpg/png. Scan and upload all the backup documents one after another by using the upload button for each upload.
Preview — ensure that you have entered all the details correctly. If you are satisfied, continue to the payment page.
Payment — pay for your registration with Remita similar to the process above for business name reservation. It cost from N5000 to N10000 with tax depending on the type of business. You can download your receipt from the dashboard under ‘Approval history’. If approved, you can also download your ‘Certificate’ here as well.
Done! If you only want a CAC certification you have completed the basic requirements. However, if you want to register a business as a company, see below.
Company registration: Return back to the dashboard and repeat the above steps. But this time after you start a new registration, you must select the reason for registration as ‘Registration of business name as LTD’.
The requirements look like the image below. (see steps 1 to 10 on the right-hand side). Here is a breakdown I found of the details of the form and how to complete the forms. If you are interested in the process for company registration, visit the CAC website for further details or send an email to their support.
The contact details for the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria are:
Address: Plot 899, Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, Nigeria
Phone: +234 9 462 0110
Email: info@cac.gov.ng or create a support ticket online
You can also do same-day post-incorporation at the CAC office. For further information about the company registration read this article.