The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) digitised its registration process significantly in 2020 under the Companies and Allied Matters Act. In theory, a business name or private limited company can be registered online in days. In practice, founders still lose weeks to avoidable errors. This is a plain account of the current process and where time is lost.
The four registration steps
- Name availability search and reservation. Search on CAC's online portal. Reserve your chosen name — it holds for sixty days. Common errors: choosing names too similar to existing registered names, or names containing restricted words (Federal, National, Group) that require additional approval.
- CAC online application. Complete the incorporation form on the CAC portal, upload the Memorandum and Articles of Association (CAC provides standard templates), provide director details and addresses, and pay the registration fee. The fee for a private limited company is currently ₦10,000 for share capital up to ₦1,000,000, with additional fees above that threshold.
- FIRS Tax Identification Number. Once CAC issues the Certificate of Incorporation, apply for a TIN at the Federal Inland Revenue Service. This is now integrated with the CAC portal for new registrations — the TIN is issued alongside the certificate in most cases, though delays still occur.
- SCUML registration. If your business falls under the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering's scope — which covers financial institutions, professional service firms, real estate agents, car dealers, and others — you must register with SCUML separately. This is the step most founders miss and the one most likely to create compliance issues later.
What has genuinely improved since 2020
The online portal works. Name searches are real-time. The Certificate of Incorporation is issued digitally and is verifiable by QR code — which means no more courier delays for the physical certificate. CAC's customer service has improved, though volume still creates backlogs at peak periods.
What still creates delays
- Memorandum and Articles of Association that do not match the stated business objects exactly — CAC rejects applications where the M&A refers to activities not listed in the objects clause
- Director addresses that cannot be verified — residential addresses require proof, and PO boxes are not accepted
- Share capital mismatches — the stated share capital must be consistent across all form fields
- Missing SCUML registration for businesses in regulated sectors — discovered only when opening a business bank account