If you're starting a business in Nigeria, registering your business name with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is usually the first official step — and it's one a lot of people put off longer than they need to, either because the process seems confusing or because they're not sure what's actually required.
Here's what it actually involves.
What is a CAC business name registration?
A business name registration gives you legal recognition to operate under a specific name — it's the lighter-weight option compared to incorporating a full limited liability company, and it's what most sole proprietors and small partnerships use. It doesn't create a separate legal entity from you personally, but it does let you open a corporate bank account, sign contracts under the business name, and apply for government contracts and licenses that require a registered business.
What you'll need
- Two proposed business names, in order of preference (CAC checks availability and rejects names too similar to existing ones)
- A valid means of ID (National ID, international passport, driver's license, or voter's card) for each proprietor/partner
- Passport photograph
- Proposed business address
- Nature of business (a short description of what the business does)
- For partnerships: details of all partners
The process, step by step
- Name reservation — CAC checks your proposed name(s) against its database and reserves the available one for you, typically valid for 60 days.
- Filing the registration — Your business details, proprietor information, and address are submitted through CAC's portal.
- Payment of statutory fees — Fees are set by CAC and can change, so always confirm the current amount rather than relying on an old figure you saw online.
- Certificate issuance — Once approved, you receive your Certificate of Registration and a unique CAC registration number (this is what most banks, agencies, and clients will ask you for going forward).
How long does it take?
When everything is filed correctly the first time, business name registration is usually completed within a few business days. The most common cause of delay isn't the process itself — it's incomplete documentation or a name that gets rejected for being too similar to an existing one, which sends you back to the name-reservation step.
Common mistakes that slow things down
- Submitting a business name that's a close match to an already-registered one
- Inconsistent spelling of names/addresses across the submitted documents
- Missing or low-quality scanned ID documents
- Choosing a "nature of business" description that's too vague for CAC's classification system
Do you need a lawyer to register a business name?
No — it's not a legal requirement. But between the name-availability nuances, document formatting, and making sure nothing bounces back for correction, a lot of people find it faster to have someone who does this regularly handle it, rather than losing days to back-and-forth.