CAC Registration
CAC company registration: If you are a business owner or if you have ambition to own a legitimate company in Nigeria, this article will give you insight on how to go about legal registration for licensing. The body to do so with in Nigeria is The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) through its online platform has now made incorporation of a company easier. An individual can now register a company online with CAC, with little or no help from anyone, except for Section E in the Registration Form CAC 1.1, which requires the signature of a Legal Practitioner and attestation by a Notary Public or Commissioner for Oaths. This post is about How to register a company online in Nigeria with CAC company registration in Nigeria
Before incorporation, it is important to check whether the proposed name to be chosen or reserved has been registered by another individual. How to check if a company is registered in Nigeria can be done through the CAC’s public search website before making any reservation. Company registration online with CAC through its online platform involves several steps that must be adhered to strictly in getting the desired results.
Steps for company registration in Nigeria
RESERVATION OF NAME
The first major step during incorporation of a company online with CAC is by filing for a name reservation online. This step is necessary as it helps to reserve the proposed company name for 60days until it is open for use by another person.
The steps to follow in this section include: create a sign up with the CAC for first-time users or to log in for existing users; then click on Name Reservation — then New Name Reservation; fill the necessary column and pay the necessary fee. Then wait for 24hrs for a response from the CAC officials. If successful, ensure to print out the “Approval note”
PRE-INCORPORATION
This is the most important step as the success of this determines the incorporation of the company. The steps to follow in this section include;
- Filling all necessary columns in the Registration Form CAC 1.1 rightly and submit same online. Below is the information to fill:
- Particulars of the Company
- (Nature of Principal business the company will be engaged in, The Registered Office Address of the Company, Email address of the Company).
- Particulars of the 1st Directors (minimum of 2 persons above 18years ) :
- (Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Phone Number, Email Address, Forms of Identification-(National Identity card, Permanent Voters card, Driver’s Licence or International Passport), Percentage of shares to be held: if the director is also a shareholder).
- Particulars of Shareholders (minimum of 2 persons) :
- (Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Phone Number, Email Address, Forms of Identification-(National Identity card, Permanent Voters card, Driver’s Licence or International Passport), Percentage of shares to be held).
- Particulars of the Company Secretary (He/she could be an individual or a corporate body)
- (Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Phone Number, Email Address, Forms of Identification-(National Identity card, Permanent Voters card, Driver’s Licence or International Passport ).
- Statutory Declaration of compliance with the requirements of CAMA by a Legal Practitioner. (To be signed by a Legal Practitioner, and attested to by a Notary Public or Commissioner for Oaths)
- Particulars of alien participants, if any.
- (Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Phone Number, Email Address, Nationality, Forms of Identification-(National Identity card, Permanent Voters card, Driver’s Licence or International Passport).
- Particulars of the Articles and Memorandum of Association. It is important to note that there is a template for already drafted Article of Association from CAC portal, which can be adopted by any person registering a company. However, any new company that intends to include additional information pertaining to the company’s governance or pre-incorporation agreements among shareholders and directors through its article can seek service of professional such as a legal practitioner to draft different articles solely for the company.
- After the successful filling of the form, an applicant is to proceed to payment to effect payment for the necessary fee. The specific payment to be paid to for incorporation include:
- CAC Fee
- Stamp Duty to the Federal Inland Revenue Service Fees (FIRS).
- Subsequently, an applicant is expected to print the completed and electronically stamped Form CAC 1.1 and the Memorandum and Article of Association online, sign in the necessary columns, notarize the attestations page and then proceed to upload the scanned copy of the signed and dated documents.
UPLOADING ALL THE INCORPORATION DOCUMENTS DURING CAC company registration
An applicant is expected to now login back to the CAC portal to upload all the incorporation documents.
Below are the documents to be scanned and uploaded on the CAC portal:
- Availability Printout, (It is the same as the Approval Note).
- Registration Form CAC 1.1
- Identification of Directors and Shareholders
- Payment Receipt of CAC
- Stamp Duty Certificate (This is to be printed, once the stamp duty fee is paid).
- Memorandum and Article of Association
- Certificate of Incorporation of the Company Secretary (required only where the Secretary is a corporate body).
All the above documents must be in Pdf format.
The CAC will register the company and issue incorporation through online in less than 48 hours and the applicant can then visit the commission with all his or her original documents to pick up the certificate.
Finally, the procedure for how to register a company online has been simplified. The timeline to complete a company registration has now been significantly reduced to just about 3 days, provided all the required documents and information are ready.
However, some parts of incorporation still require external support, especially from a legal practitioner. For instance, Section E of the form requires a legal practitioner to attest to all incorporation by completing the form. A service of a corporate lawyer may also be required for the drafting of articles of association different from general articles’ template provided by the CAC.
What you must know before you click Start
- Who are accredited agents?
Accredited agents are person(s) or institutions certified by the corporate affairs commission to process and submit pre-incorporation and post-incorporation filings on-behalf of individuals and businesses.
- I have forgotten my Password, What can I do?
On the Login prompt; use the forgot password feature; this would send you an electronic mail notification on further steps to take to reset your password or get a new one
- What do I do If I do not receive my password after account creation?
Go to the ‘Sign in’ page and click ‘Forgot Password’ link and follow the instructions. An email containing a password reset link will be sent to your registered email address. Click on the link or paste it on your browser and follow the steps provided.
- What does CAC-CRP mean?
This stands for the Corporate Affairs Commission – Company Registration Portal.
- How can I get a CAC-CRP Portal Account Access?
It is easy as visiting this link and clicking ‘Create Account’ button; fill in the form, submit and your account details would be sent to the email address you entered.
- What can I do with my CAC-CRP Portal Account?
With your CAC-CRP portal account you can submit pre-incorporation and post-incorporation filings with the Corporate Affairs Commission online in real time. You can also conveniently make payment for these filings from the comfort of your home; 24/7 a year.
- What is the first thing I must do to register a business in Nigeria?
To register a business in Nigeria; you would need to conduct a name search of the business. You can achieve this using your CAC-CRP account
- What do I need to submit a successful Name Availability Request?
To submit a name availability request successfully; you would need the following:
The name(s) to search; a maximum of two options
Your CAC-CRP account access (username and password) N500 only
Other required information about the type of business (Please use an accredited agent if in doubt)
- But I don’t have an e-payment credit/debit card; how can I pay online?
If you do not have a debit/credit card to use for payment online; you can still use your internet banking to pay for fees in the CAC-CRP. If you don’t have internet banking either; just generate the bill from the CAC-CRP; walk into any bank branch in Nigeria and make the payment.
- But I am outside Nigeria how am I affected?
This service is available for anybody to use from anywhere in the world at any point in time. Payment options available through debit/credit cards as well as internet banking with any of the Nigerian banks.
- How will I know if My Name Availability Was Approved or Declined?
Once your name search request has been processed; you would receive an email notification in your officially registered email address. Then on logging in to your CAC-CRP account; you would be able to see the status of your application as well as generate the availability approval/disapproval form.
- What do I do if My Name Availability request is declined?
You can seek advice from an accredited agent; or make another name search application.
- What is the Closest CAC office to me?
Please check the CAC official website for information on offices Nationwide
- Where can I get more information?
CAC company registration: Please check the CAC official website for information