Are you a business owner and don’t like your business to bear your real name? In this article, I will show you how to register a business name in Nigeria with CAC step-by-step.
Registering a business enables people to give a unique name to their business thereby making them look professional. If you are interested to know how to register a business in Nigeria, please keep reading this guide as that is what I am going to discuss with you today in this article.
Note that this guide that you are about to go through today, will help show you that after registering your business, there will be a certificate that contains your business registration number which can be collected at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) office.
When a business is running smoothly, sometimes people investigate the name of the founder of it for so many reasons especially when it is making a profit (I don’t know if you study this). Frankly speaking, nobody cared to know if your business is well known.
Unhappily, some business owners can’t hide their real name from their customers because they must know if they are transferring money from the service or product they buy. You may see our expert guide on how to integrate PayStack how to integrate Paystack payment gateway into your websites so that your customers can seamlessly pay you for your services or products online.
Why registering your business is important as an entrepreneur?
By registering your business name, you prove to people (investors, your customers, and your competitors) that you are a professional entrepreneur and you value your business. It helps you get a distinctive name on your bank account.
That is, if you don’t want many people to know your name due to your own decision (which is most important), what should you do? The best way is to register your business.
If your business is registered and you open any bank account with your business certificate, it is your business name that people will see, for example, Popcorn Nigeria Limited or MR John Group. If you want to register your business in Nigeria with CAC, here, we will guide you step by step.
Registration of business names in Nigeria is done by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). You can register your business on their website at www.cac.gov.ng.
During your registration process, you would need to upload some documents for verification, pay some fees as a registration fee, must note that your business is real and legit. In this article, we will show you all the requirements needed to register your business in Nigeria and how to do it very fast step by step.
Without your business being registered and getting a registration number and business name, no commercial bank can change your current bank name to a business name for you. That is to say, to name your adventure (business), you must register your business first.
Now, that you have known the top importance of registering your business name as an entrepreneur, let’s move on to discuss how to register your business name in Nigeria.
How to register a business in Nigeria (the recommended ways)
First, visit the registration portal of CAC at www.cac.gov.ng and follow the steps below:
- Step one: check for availability of the Business Name
- Step two: Reserve company name
- Step three: complete pre-registration form – CAC-BNo1 and upload relevant registration documents
- Step four: pay the filing fee.
By the time of creating this guide, the registration of the business name can be carried out on the CAC website, COMPANY REGISTRATION PORTAL (CRP). If you register online, they will issue an electronic Certificate of Registration which has their Certified stamp, registrar signature, your business name registration information such as your business address, the date it was registered, etc.
The duration of business name registration with CAC in Nigeria usually takes a minimum of 5 working days for them to complete the reviewing and approving process.
In some cases, if needed, for your business name registration to be approved, CAC may send one or more of their agents to your business place or need you to submit more certificates if your business is specialized in niche like drug, health, food, finance, etc. for verification. However, if they need to visit, everything will go beyond 2 weeks of your registration.
If you are an individual or proprietor, you can register a business name without the services of a legal practitioner, chartered Accountant, or Chartered Secretary. For more information, you may visit the nearest CAC office in your location.
If you follow the steps and instructions listed above, it may be fast for you to get your business registration certificate. Usually, the process of registering a business name may take one to two weeks depending on the CAC workload and other factors, according to the commission. You can register it yourself or engage an expert (a person who has done it before).
For more information, quick issue resolution, or to check if your business name registration request is approved, you can visit the website at www.cac.gov.ng or visit their head office in Abuja at Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama.
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2. How to search for an available domain name for your business
Documents for business name registration with CAC in Nigeria
- Available printout of your business address and proposal name.
- Your details and address.
- Your identification document (national identification number)
- Registration Form Number which you issued during your first registration.
- Identification of Directors and Shareholders.
- Registration payment proof.
- Stamp Duty Certificate.
- Memorandum and Article of Association.
The requirements for registering a business name in Nigeria with CAC are friendly and they simply involve your business name, your own name and that of your proprietors or CEO, identification of the partners, the type of the business, and the registration fee which ranges from 5, 000 Naira to 10, 000 Naira depending on the type of your business.
Now, let’s list to you the requirements for registering a business name in Nigeria.
Requirements for registering a business name in Nigeria
- Business must be existing within a minimum of two weeks.
- The type of business you want to register must be legit.
- Must provide the physical address of your business.
- If it’s an online company, indicate your website and the type of service or product you deal in.
- You must be over 18 years old.
- The registration fee is 10, 000 Naira, hence, you must be able to pay.
If you are a business owner in Nigeria, I advise you to register your business name because there are a lot of benefits in it. Some of the best benefits of registering a business in Nigeria are:
- Your customers will not easily forget your business name.
- You have trust and look professional in the eyes of your customers.
- You can create a bank account using your business certificate.
- Tony Elumelu Foundation grant requires entrepreneurs who have a registered business with CAC or its alternative, hence, you can apply for it with your business certificate.
- Business certificate also serves as a means of address verification, that is to say, if you don’t have a government-issued ID card like a national ID card, you can use it in terms of that.
Conclusion
Registering your business in Nigeria is completely simple if you follow the steps above in this guide religiously. But it is also good to have an online presence like a website, social media handles, and blog name before you even start to disclose your business idea to many people, because, they can go ahead and get it registered as a domain name and create a website for it.
That is why we created a Domain Name Checker to help you check an available domain for your business for free. You may check a domain name for your business and register it for free before registering it with CAC so that you get the same name across every platform on the internet.
Hope this guide has helped you know how to register a business name with CAC in Nigeria. You may see our expert guide on how to register a domain name for your business for free.
If you know that this article has helped you know how to register a business name in Nigeria and the requirements involved, then subscribe to our YouTube channel for expert guides on how to design a website for your business, how to sell your products and services digital, how to outrank your competitors, and lot more. You can also find me on Facebook.
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Hi. friend! I’m happy to found about what you are doing in this space.
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Hi Mathew
Thanks for reaching out. I’m glad you found my blog. It’s great to hear about your project. Best of luck with it!”
This CAC registration of a thing. I even read recently that every small business owner including POS owners should register their business with CAC else their terminal will be blocked.
May you contact me via the contact page to discuss to help you with your request? This type of help should be made privately.
Thank you for this insightful straight-to-the-point article. I really appreciate your work 🤝
What a very informative post. Please continue your writing.