All You Need To Know About CAC - Registration, Public Name Search & Annual Returns

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The acronym CAC is one that almost every business owner has heard in their entrepreneurial journey. When you decide to start a business in Nigeria, your dealings with CAC begin. And with good reason too.

CAC, which stands for Corporate Affairs Commission, is the Nigerian government body established to enforce the Companies and Allied Matters Act. It oversees the formation, registration, management, and dissolution of companies in Nigeria.

CAC plays a major role in legalising small businesses in Nigeria and if you’re a small business owner, there are so many reasons to understand how CAC can affect your business.

In this article, we’ll break down the importance of CAC, and everything you need to know about the government body that oversees the registration and management of businesses in Nigeria.

Related: 10 Things Every Small Business Owner in Nigeria Needs To Do in 2024

The Importance and Benefits of CAC Registration

Having ties with CAC - registering your business name, filing your annual returns and more - comes with many benefits that most business owners sometimes overlook. It’s not just about ticking one more thing on the box when you have a business. Let’s take a quick look at some of the important benefits you get from CAC registration of your business.

1. You can open a bank account for your business without any hitches. A business bank account can help boost the confidence of customers in your business when it’s time to pay, especially in this era of fake businesses and scams.

2. You can apply for a business loan with no problems, and it’s easier to apply for a business loan from a bank to fund your business, instead of applying for a personal loan.

3. You can apply for and get visas to travel for business purposes.

4. Registering your business in Nigeria gives you the exclusive right to your business name, protecting your brand identity and preventing legal conflicts over names. This helps in establishing and safeguarding your business reputation.

5. It increases the confidence potential investors have in your business and brand.

It goes on and on, but one can see without a doubt that registering a business name with CAC offers numerous advantages for entrepreneurs and businesses operating in the country.

How to Register Your Business Name with CAC.

The great part about CAC in 2024 is that you can now do everything online! This guide on CAC registration will show you how to register your business name online with CAC and you can find out how much it costs too.

CAC Public Name Search - What it Means & How it Works

One of the phrases that comes up a lot when people talk about CAC is the Public Name Search. Now, whether you’re a newbie business owner or you’re a seasoned player in the game, it is important to know how the CAC Public Name Search feature is, how it works and what you can use it for as a business owner.

How the CAC Public Name Search Works

When you want to register your business name with CAC, one of the first things you need to do is check for the availability of the business name. This is where the CAC Public Name Search works.

The Public Name Search is a feature integrated into the CAC website that helps a user know the availability of a business name they intend to register. When you search with this feature, you can see whether the business name you want to register is available, and this helps to prevent issues that can arise from using a business name that is already registered.

Suffice it to say, that it is super important to use this feature before making a business name reservation. But you should note that this search doesn’t guarantee that the name will be reserved or approved by CAC. You still need to go through the registration process for that.

Public name search also provides information on a registered business; whether it’s still active or inactive due to annual return payment, the registration number, business address, date of registration and more. It’s an easy tool for checking if a company is registered with CAC in Nigeria.

How to Use the CAC Public Search

1. Visit the CAC website.

2. Click on the “Public Search” button to navigate to the CAC Public Search.

3. Enter the business name or company name you’d like to search.

4. When the results appear, click on any of the categories (Business Name, Company, Incorporated Trustees, etc.) to be sure that the proposed business name is not in use yet by another business or entity. You can also see information about an already existing business, including whether it is active or inactive.

CAC Annual Returns Filing - What it Means & How it Works

In the course of this article, you’ve seen it mentioned once or twice that businesses registered with CAC can be categorised as active or inactive.

The difference between an active and an inactive business on the CAC database is the filing of annual returns with the commission, as that is the only way they know that your business is still active. This is the importance of filing your annual returns with CAC yearly.

The CAC annual returns filing is a mandatory process that every Nigerian business name must meet to inform the CAC that your company remains active and operational.

One important thing to note is that this filing is not to disclose the profits your business has earned in the year in review, and it is not a financial document. What it is, is a yearly report from your registered business to provide the CAC with updated information about your company’s activities, structure and financial status.

The great news is you can file your annual returns with CAC online now! It costs just N3,000 and the benefits are amazing.

Conclusion

The CAC plays an important role in the process of being a business owner in Nigeria and should be taken very seriously. As a business owner, you have to ensure that you’re up to date on everything related to this body; make sure that your business is registered, and that you file your annual returns yearly to avoid your business being delisted or marked as inactive in the CAC register.

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