How To Register Business Name in Nigeria

How Can I Register My Business Name in Nigeria with CAC?
How Much is the Cost of Registering a Business Name in Nigeria
What are the Requirements for Business Name Registration?
What are the Benefits of Business Name Registration?
What Mistakes Should I Avoid While Registering My Business Name?
What is CAC?
How To Login to My CAC Account/Dashboard

How To Register Business Name in Nigeria in less than seven (7) days is the focus of this article, yes you can get your business name registered and certificate issued to you in less than seven working days. Yes, you heard me right, We have detailed answers to the questions above and lots more in this article. keep reading to see how it works.

Registering a business name in Nigeria is one of the ways an entrepreneur could best start up a business process, because of its legal rights and trustworthiness to clients who may want to patronize your business or partner. Registration of business of any kind can be done online through the CAC portal or at their various state offices.

Get your business name registered in less than seven (7) days! Yes we can help you get your business name registered with CAC and the certificate issued to you in less than seven working (7) days – Contact Us >>> Here

~Advertisements~

How Can I Register My Business Name in Nigeria with CAC?

In Nigeria, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is the organization in charge of registering businesses, the registration process is now easier, it can be done at any CAC office nationwide, or through the CAC online Registration Portal, but the business registration process can be confusing for first-timers, and that brings us to the point of this article, which is about; How To Get Your Business Name Registered in Nigeria with CAC (Step by step guide).

How To Register Business Name in Nigeria – With CAC 2024

Contents show

Step-by-step guides on How You Can Get Your Business Names Registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria with ease.

Step 1. Open Your Device Browser

Using your smartphone or Personal Computer (PC), open your device browser either Chrome or any other

Step 2. Visit CAC Business Registration Portal at https://pre.cac.gov.ng/home

Visit the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Business Registration Portal at https://pre.cac.gov.ng/home. Just copy the URL (https://pre.cac.gov.ng/home) and paste it on your browser search bar to load the page.

Step 3. Click on ‘Search Now’/Public Search

On the CAC Business Registration Portal search existing entities to see if your proposed Business Name(s) is free before using it. To do that Locate and click on the ‘Search Now‘ button. After clicking on it enter your proposed business name in the provided box and search. If the business name you entered is already registered you will see details about the name and it cannot be registered again, but if you get the message ‘Search not found’ that means the name has not been registered in CAC, so you can register it.

Note: Certain names cannot be registered which include;

Identical name to an existing business,
Names that contain the word “Chamber of Commerce”
Misleading or offensive Names,
Names that are capable of conflicting or violating other existing trademarks or business names, and
Names that contain the word Government.

Step 4. Click on the ‘Create Account’ or ‘Login’ Button

Before you can register your Business Name with CAC you will have to log into your account, but if you are a first-time user, you will have to click on the ‘Create Account’ (Sign Up) button to create an account with your email address and password, phone number and other required details.

To Login/Create Account on the CAC Business Registration Portal, just Locate and Click on the ‘Login’ or ‘Create Account’ (Sign Up) Button.

Note: During the process of creating your account, a verification message will be sent by CAC to your registered email, just log in to your email, and click on the link attached to the message to verify your account. After verification is done proceed to log into the CAC portal using the login details you just created. See also How To Create an Email Address Here for free. See also How To Create an Email Address >>>Here for free.

Step 5. Click on ‘Reserve Name Now’/New Name Reservation

The next step after the public search for free/nonexistence names is ‘Reserve Name Now’/New Name Reservation’. On this page, click on the ‘Reserve Name Now’/’New Name Reservation’ button and fill the form accurately with your two proposed business names, make the required payment, and submit your Preferred Business Names to CAC for approval.

Note: Public Search does not guarantee that the proposed name is approved for registration by CAC, it is just a starting point. To get the name reserved for you for a stipulated period (sixty days) before Pre-registration, you must apply for it under ‘Reserve Name Now’ or ‘New Name Reservation’.

During this period Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) carries out an Availability Check on the Names provided, you are required to provide two nonexistent proposed Business Names, fill in the necessary details, and also make payment. After that, CAC carries out a New Name Reservation/Availability Check on the names provided to confirm if the names qualify for registration. If the name is confirmed, an Availability Code will be issued to you through the approval note, this Availability Code is what you will use to start the registration.

Note that the New Name Reservation/Availability Check can take up to 24 to 48 hours (one or two working days) before feedback from CAC. If the Business Name is approved it will show on your dashboard as ‘Reserved’.

Step 6. Click on ‘Start Here’/’New Company Registration’

After getting your proposed business name approved and the availability code is issued to you through the approval note, you will have to Pre-register the Business Name using the Availability Code. To get the Availability Code from your dashboard click on the term ‘Reserved’ and then ‘Approval Note’ at the right top corner of the page, from the approval note locate and copy out the Availability Code. How To Use the Availability Code in continuing the pre-registration process is explained below. ⇓

After copying the Availability Code, return to the dashboard and do the following;

Click on the ‘New Company Registration’ button from your CAC dashboard.
Enter the ‘Availability Code’ in the provided box to continue.
Fill out the forms with the accurate details required. See How To Fill out the CAC Pre-Registration form in Steps 7,8,9, and 10.

Step 7. Enter Your Business Details (Filling out Form)

In the provided columns, enter your business Commencement Date, Email Address, Phone number, Principal Place of Business, and Branch Address (optional)

Step 8. Enter Your ‘Particulars of Proprietors’

In this stage, you will be required to provide some information about the Proprietor(s) of the business. Sometimes the details will be provided automatically from the information you entered during account registration, but if that is not the case, you will have to input it as required.

Step 9. Click on ‘Add Nature of Business’

Fill in or select the Nature of Business that is in line with the proposed business.

Step 10. ‘Document Upload’

In this stage, you will be required to upload the Means of Identification of the Proprietor in PDF format, Signature of the Proprietor in JPEG/PNG Image, A Passport Photograph of the Proprietor in JPEG/PNG Image.

Step 11. ‘Preview’

Preview the details you entered starting from ‘Business Details’ down to ‘Document Upload’ to see if it is accurate before proceeding to make payment.

Step 12. Click on the ‘Proceed To Make Payment’ Button

After reviewing the details and ensuring that they are entered accurately, click on the ‘Proceed To Make Payment’ button to pay for it. After payment, your registration is submitted to CAC for review, it usually takes three (3) to Seven (7) working days for CAC to approve or query your application. If the application is approved proceed to the dashboard and click on the ‘Download Certificate’ button, but if the registration is queried go back to the dashboard and click on the ‘Queried’ button to see and also know the reason why it was queried.

If it was queried make the necessary correction according to the query note after which you submit it again, then if approved you download the Business Name Registration Certificate, the receipt, and any other downloadable documents issued to you.

How Much is the Cost of Registering a Business in Nigeria?

The Fee for Business Registration in Nigeria differs in terms of the kind of business you are registering for, see the fee breakdown below⇓

TYPES OF BUSINESS REGISTRATION	AMOUNT
Private Business Name Registration	₦10,000
Incorporation of Company Limited	₦20,000
Incorporation of Private/Public Company Limited (Issued share capital of ₦ 1 million or less)	₦10,000
Incorporation of Private/Public Company Limited (Issued share capital above ₦ 1 million and up to ₦500million)	₦5,000 for every ₦ 1 million share capital incorporation
n of Private/Public Company Limited (Issued share above ₦500million)	₦7,500 for every ₦ 1 million share capital

What are the Requirements for Business Name Registration?

Two Proposed Business Names
Your passport Photograph in JPEG/PNG format
An Image of the proprietor(s) signature(s) in JPEG/PNG format
Address of the Principal Place of Business.

What are the Benefits of Business Name Registration?

Getting your Business Name Registered with CAC comes with some benefits than an unregistered Business, below are some of the Benefits.

1. Certificate of Incorporation (CAC Certificate):
When a Business Name is duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) a certificate of incorporation is issued to the proprietor.

2. Separate Legal Entity:
After registration, the business becomes a separate legal entity and is also recognized by Nigerian law.

3. Attracts Investors:
When a Business is registered it attracts other partners or investors to invest in the business which helps in growing the business, because most investors would not like to invest in an unregistered business for which they are not sure of its continuity.

4. Business Account Opening:
When a Business Name is being registered the proprietor(s) can proceed to the bank with their issued Business Certificate with other required documents to open a Business Account with the Business Name.

5. It Attracts More Customers:
A registered business gives customers that feeling that you render quality goods and services, it boosts their confidence and reliability, and also it makes them feel that they are paying for the goods and services into the right account name that bears the Business Name.

6. Business Name Uniqueness:
After the registration of your Business Name with CAC, the name is sealed and reserved, no other business or entity could bear that exact or similar business name.

7. Easy Access To Loans:
A registered business can easily obtain loans from banks, individuals, and other entities. Unlike an unregistered business.

What is CAC?

In Nigeria, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is a government agency in charge of registering businesses/Companies in Nigeria. It was established in 1990 under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

How To Register Business Name in Nigeria – With CAC 2024