How To Check if a Company is Registered in Nigeria

As an individual or company looking to do business with another company, it is essential that you confirm whether they are legally registered or not. This is to ensure you don't get tied up in illegal operations that could attract regulatory fines in the long run. Hence, one of the many questions start up businesses usually ask is what is cac number?

Checking if a company is registered in Nigeria is straightforward when you know where to look. In this guide, we explain how to check if a company is registered in Nigeria using the CAC public search by RC number tool. By following our detailed steps, you can quickly access the registration details you need directly from the Corporate Affairs Commission’s online tool.

Fortunately, there is a way to easily check if a company is registered in Nigeria with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in seconds. However, this free approach offers frustrating limitations for companies that establish a high number of business-customer relationships daily. 

However, the good news is that there’s also an easy way to solve this problem in record time. Let’s dive right in! 

What is CAC number?

CAC number is a unique registration identifier issued by Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) when a company is incorporated. It confirms that the business is legally registered and serves as a reference for official transactions, legal verification, and compliance purposes. CAC number means Corporate Affairs Commission Number for a business. It is also called cac registration number.

Registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria

Corporate entities need licencing to be able to do business in Nigeria, and they can only get one after registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). CAC was created under the Companies and Allied Matters Act of Nigeria. By law, all businesses must have fulfilled the necessary requirements as stated by the commission before they can be registered. 

Some of the information you need to provide include: 

• Name of the company
• Registered address
• Name of directors
• shareholders 
• Shareholding formula, etc.
• A filing fee determined by the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Upon fulfilling all the requirements and providing the necessary documents, the CAC will issue a Certificate of Incorporation to the company. The certificate contains the company’s name, an RC Number unique to it, and it's status (whether a private or public company). If you ever wondered how to check my cac certificate online, this certifi

Upon fulfilling all the requirements and providing the necessary documents, the CAC will issue a Certificate of Incorporation to the company. The certificate contains the company’s name, an RC Number unique to it, and its status (whether a private or public company). If you ever wonder [how to check my cac certificate online], this certificate will include your unique [business registration number in Nigeria] for future reference.

How to Check if a Company is Registered in Nigeria

The CAC has launched a free portal for businesses and individuals to easily verify the registration of a company as part of their KYC process. This is to reduce the risk of individuals or corporations transacting under pretence. It is known as Know Your Business (KYB).
 

Simply follow the steps below to check if a company is registered in Nigeria:

• Visit the official website of the CAC website Public Search by RC Number Tool or cac website public search by name Corporate Affairs Commission
• Scroll down till you see “Public Search” and click on it
• Supply the business name or RC number in the search box and click “Search”
• A dialogue would pop up, displaying the full name of the company, its office address and RC number

For a faster experience, you might also consider using the cac public search portal login if you have an account, or simply the cac search portal for quick access. You can also perform a cac.gov.ng name search if you prefer the government-run interface.

Following the processes above, it is easy to check if a company is registered or not in a matter of minutes. Also, it is completely free. You can even search for company registration number if you need to verify additional details, or view a list of companies registered with cac nigeria on the portal.

However, you can also choose to request the certificate of incorporation of the company for more details. For this information, you would be required to pay a sum on the CAC’s portal. If you're unsure how to check business name on cac, the process is similarly straightforward through the public search.

How to Check my CAC certificate Online

To check your CAC certificate online, follow these steps:

Step 1: Visit the Official CAC Website: Open your browser and go to the Corporate Affairs Commission’s website. https://www.cac.gov.ng/

Step 2: Access the Public Search Portal: Click on the “Public Search” option (or use the CAC public search portal login if you have an account).

Step 3: Enter Your Details: Type in your business name or RC number in the search box. This will help retrieve your company’s registration details and certificate information.

Step 4: Review Your Certificate: Once the details appear, you’ll be able to see your certificate information, which confirms your company’s registration status.

If needed, there may be a small fee to view more detailed information. This process allows you to quickly verify your business’s legitimacy online. This certificate will include your unique business registration number in Nigeria. for future reference.

How do I Know if a Business Name is Registered? 

Whether you are looking to register a business or you want to verify if a business with that name is actually registered, follow these steps:

• Visit the cac website public search CAC’s official website
• Click on Public Search
• Input the business name and search
• This would give you a list of businesses with the names (if any). 
• This would give you a list of businesses with the names (if any).

This way you can confirm if the name is already taken by a business or if the business you're looking for is registered (for those trying to verify it).  For instance, if you're planning to expand your network, you might need to go to the cac search portal to get a comprehensive view.

Additional Tips for New Registrations

For companies in the process of registration, it’s important to note details such as the cac registration number and any associated codes. If you're a new business wondering how to get an availability code for cac registration, this code is provided during the registration process to ensure the chosen business name is available and unique.

The Limitations of CAC Company Verification/ Business Names

Although the CAC website offers an avenue to freely verify business registrations, you have to manually visit their site and supply the name or RC number. This process has to be repeated for every single business you want to verify. 

As a large corporation, business relationships and partnerships are established on a daily basis and having to manually verify each one would be tedious, time-consuming and not cost-effectively. This is even more so when you realise that the business verification is just the first step of a series of due diligence processes.
 

As a solution, businesses turn to automated customer due diligence (CDD) platforms to handle the whole process from start to finish. This way, it is quicker and saves labour and cost. 
 

Performing Automated Business verification/ Customer Due Diligence using Youverify’s Operating System (YV OS)

Performing business verification and other customers due diligence steps is easy when using Youverify’s operating system (YV OS). This innovative software is Youverify’s flagship product that simplifies the whole company verification/ CDD process for your business. 

Book a demo session today to see how YV OS can help automate your business’s company verification and other Customer Due Diligence steps! Also, feel free to contact us here for any questions.