A well-researched guide to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of Nigeria is responsible for the incorporation of companies in Nigeria. This federal government-owned agency was established by the virtues of the companies and Allied Matters Act (LCN 2004) to regulate the formation and management of companies in Nigeria. The CAC is saddled with the responsibility of registering companies in Nigeria. It is a must for a business to be registered if you want to run a legal business in the country. The emergence of the Corporate Affairs Commission as an independent body was as a result of the felt incapability of the quondam Company Registry, that was a department within the federal ministry of commerce and tourism which was then tasked with responsibility for the administration and registration of the repealed Companies Act of 1968.

The Corporate Affairs Commission headquarters is located in the heart of Abuja city, but due to delicacy of their work, the commission has offices in all the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory. These state offices can most be found in the capital city of every state in the federation. The CAC headquarters is located at Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja. Nigeria 

Function/Job of Corporate Affairs Commission

The Corporate Affairs Commission performed other functions, and these are the functions that were assigned to it when the Corporate Affairs Commission was established. They include the following: 

1. To administer the Act, which consists of the regulation and supervision of the formation, incorporation and winding up of companies. 
2. To establish and maintain companies registry and offices in all the states of the federation suitably and adequately equipped to discharge its functions under the Companies and Allied Matters Act. 
3. Arrange and investigate the affairs of any company where the interest of the shareholders and the public so demand. 

This is just an overview of the numerous functions been carried out by the commission.

Corporate Affairs Commission Portal

Recently, the CAC developed a portal where individuals or businesses can be able to access their various services. You can now easily either register your company, search for a company name and also register incorporated trustees using this portal. 

The online portal was done to help remove the risk of unsuspecting individuals or companies transacting with unregistered companies with no legitimate status. This database will provide details like RC number, Company name, registered address and date of registration. 

Corporate Affairs Commission Forms

There are several forms that are provided by the Corporate Affairs Commission to a user that wants to employ the services of the commission. They include CAC 1: Availability check and reservation of name form, CAC1.1: Application for registration form etc. 

Each of the forms has a specific code number to differentiate them from the others. 

You can get the complete list of the forms using this link https://www.cac.gov.ng/forms/

Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja address

The Corporate Affairs Commission headquarters is located in Abuja. 

The CAC headquarters is located at Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja. Nigeria 

Corporate Affairs Commission Statutory fees

The public can access the various statutory fees required for registration and other services rendered by the corporate affairs commission. 

By simply visiting the link below, you would see the different categories of fees stipulated by the commission.

Link: https://www.cac.gov.ng/summary-of-fees/

Corporate Affairs Commission registration. How to do it?

With the CAC portal, it is possible to access the different services that are offered by the commission. Using the CAC registration portal, the types of registration available are of three forms. 

They include:

1. Company Registration 
2. Business Name Registration ( See exactly how to register a business in Nigeria) ( See exactly how to register a business in Nigeria)
3. Registration of incorporated trustees

Registration of company

When you visit the website, you will be provided with the option of either registration for a private or public company, or register a company that is limited by guarantee. In this section of the article, we would talk about the two major forms of company registration. 

Registration of a private or public company

1. First, it’s required for one to check if the preferred company is available.
2. Secondly, you must have to complete the pre-registration form – CAC1.1
3. You then have to pay for stamp and filling duties. This first three steps can be done at the CAC company portal.
4. Next, you need to provide the required documents for upload. They must be signed and stamped to be accepted. These documents are:

• • Form CAC 1.1
  • Recognized form of identification for director(s)/subscriber(s) and secretary
  • Memorandum and Article of Association (MEMART)
  • Evidence of payment 

         6. The documents would then be uploaded so that they can be processed. 

         7. You should then proceed to the CAC office where you will then submit the original copies of the uploaded documents listed              in  number 4 in exchange for the certified true documents copies as well as the certificate. 

Registering a company limited by guarantee

1. Ensure that the name you intend to use is available.
2. Ensure you reserve any name you intend to use.
3. By making use of the registration portal of the company, fill out the form CAC 1.1 
4. Make the required stamp duty payments to the Federal Board of Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
5. You also need to pay the filing fee. This fee should be paid directly to the CAC.
6. Next is to Scan the completed form CAC1.1. Save this in a PDF format. This newly saved form CAC1.1 should be attached together with the Memorandum and Articles of Association (MEMART), in addition to a form which identifies the directors/subscribers and the secretary. 
7. This scanned documents will now be uploaded to the CAC documents portal for processing.
8. CAC then needs to get approval from the Attorney general of the federation before it goes ahead to register the limited company by guarantee.

Corporate Affairs Commission official website 

The Corporate Affairs Commission has an official website where the public can obtain information concerning the commission and also, be able to access the different services rendered by the commission. 

You can visit the website by clicking on http://www.cac.gov.ng/ 

How to login to the corporate affairs commission

To login to the corporate affairs commission website and access the services provided there, you must first sign up. During the sign-up, you would be required to supply your personal details, including your name, addresses, and date of birth, gender, nationality, email, phone number and username. All this must be filled before you can click the Register button to complete the registration. 

After signing up, you have to log in to proceed with the services you may need. 

On the CAC portal, you can log in as either an accredited customer or as a general user. As an accredited user, you would follow the following steps:

1. Click on ‘create account’ on the home page of the website
2. Then, complete the forms displayed. You should note that there is the option of accredited users. 
3. If you are accredited, then on the CAC accreditation portal, select ‘’ Are you an accredited customer?’’ and then you would be required to enter your accreditation number in a particular format. 
4. All accredited users should enter the e-mail address they used at the accreditation.
5. Then enter the recaptcha as displayed so as to prove you are not a robot
6. Then finish by clicking on submit 

While as a general user, you should watch out for a display by the system where they will get the pre-entered ‘’ Username’’ and be required to put the auto-generated ‘’Password’’ as soon as it comes up.

To access the account once created:

1. You need to enter your username and password
2. Click on login
3. Accept the given terms of use
4. You will be required to change your password
5. Once this is done, it is possible to enjoy uninterrupted service with the commission.   

Corporate Affairs Commission list of registered companies 

With the new feature on the website, it’s now possible to check for the status of a company in Nigeria. 

To check if a company or business is registered, follow these simple steps

1. Visit CAC website by clicking here. In the space provided input the company name without ‘PLC’, ‘limited’ or ‘Ltd’
2. Verification must be done using the ‘’I am not a robot’’ CAPTCHA box to verify that you aren’t a robot
3. Click submit.

By following those simple steps you can verify the legitimacy of a company in Nigeria. In a case where the company exists, you will get the RC number, Company name, Address and Date of registration. In an instance where such company is not registered with CAC, it will show an empty result. Also, you will see many results if the company name has others companies bearing it, just scroll down to locate the company with matching name. Sometimes, a company might still be undergoing registration, in that case you won’t see its RC number, and you will see undergoing registration.   

Abbey

Abbey Johnson has a Masters degree as an engineer and has over 3 years of teaching and research experience. He is happiest when on a bike and is also interested in electric energy and computer Science.