What corporate affairs commission (cac) means
The CAC is Nigeria's business register. It is the body that brings companies into legal existence and keeps the public record of who owns and runs them.
It operates under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, and it handles three main kinds of registration: business names for sole proprietors and partnerships, limited liability companies, and incorporated trustees for NGOs, churches, associations and foundations.
When somebody says a business is registered, they almost always mean registered at the CAC.
How it is used
You meet the CAC at the start, when you reserve a name and file your incorporation documents, and then every year afterwards when annual returns fall due.
You also meet it whenever anything about the business changes. New directors, a new registered address, a change of trustees, an increase in share capital. Each of those is a filing, and each one keeps the public record accurate.
The register works in both directions. Just as you file, anyone else can search, which is how banks, investors and counterparties check whether you are real and current.
Key features
- Registers business names, limited liability companies and incorporated trustees
- Issues the RC number that identifies a registered entity
- Operates a public register that anyone can search
- Requires annual returns from every registered entity, trading or not
- Approves or rejects proposed names before registration proceeds
How this works in Nigeria
Registration is now handled through the CAC's online portal, and most straightforward business name registrations complete within days rather than weeks.
The CAC also ran the joint initiative with SMEDAN offering 250,000 free business name registrations to unregistered micro businesses, which covered business names only and not companies or NGOs.
One recurring source of confusion worth clearing up: the CAC is not the tax authority. Registering there gives you legal existence. Your tax obligations sit with the FIRS and, for some taxes, your state internal revenue service.
CAC vs FIRS vs SMEDAN
Three agencies, three different jobs, and Nigerian founders mix them up constantly.
The CAC registers your business and keeps the record of who runs it. The FIRS collects federal taxes, including company income tax and VAT, and issues your TIN. SMEDAN supports micro, small and medium enterprises and maintains its own MSME database, which is where the SUIN comes from.
Being current with one says nothing about the others. Plenty of companies are perfectly registered at the CAC and years behind at the FIRS.
Limits and risks
CAC registration proves existence, not quality. It does not mean a business is solvent, competent, licensed for a regulated activity, or tax compliant.
It also does not protect your brand. The CAC register stops somebody registering an identical entity name, but brand protection across markets and signage is a trademark matter, handled by a different registry entirely.
Worth knowing
Before paying any Nigerian company, run a public search on the CAC register. A minute spent confirming the RC number and status has saved a great many people from paying a business that does not exist.
Questions people ask
What does the CAC do?
It registers and regulates business names, limited liability companies and incorporated trustees in Nigeria, issues RC numbers, keeps the public register of directors and shareholders, and receives annual returns.
What is an RC number?
It is the registration number the CAC assigns to a registered entity, and it appears on the certificate. Business names carry a BN number instead. It is the reference used whenever anyone verifies you on the register.
Is CAC registration the same as getting a TIN?
No. The CAC gives you legal existence, the FIRS gives you a tax identification number. They are separate agencies with separate obligations, and being registered at one does not make you compliant with the other.
How do I check if a Nigerian company is registered?
Use the CAC public search with the company name or RC number. It shows whether the entity exists and its status. Doing this before you pay a new supplier is one of the cheapest pieces of due diligence available.
Does the CAC register NGOs?
Yes, as incorporated trustees. That is the format used for NGOs, foundations, churches and associations, and it comes with its own filing requirements including a mandatory newspaper publication at registration.
Do I have to file annual returns at the CAC?
Yes, every registered entity does, whether it traded or not. Penalties accumulate per year missed, and long stretches of non filing can lead to the entity being treated as inactive.
Documents that use this
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