How to Check if a Company is Registered in Nigeria

In this post, I will show you how to check if a company is registered in Nigeria. In order to avoid the risk of doing business with an unregistered company, you need to check if a company is registered. Without checking it like this, there is no other way you could know this fact.

Doing business with fake companies have caused many people to lose their money, and you should not fall a victim of scam because you have come to the right place for information on how to find out if a company is registered in Nigeria.

Corporate Affairs Commission was founded in 1990 under Companies and Allied Matters Act, mandating all the companies and businesses that operate in Nigeria to get registered.

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was created to regulate how companies in Nigeria are formed and managed. They help those who care to know how legitimate a company is before going into transactions with it.

Formally, it was not easy to find out a company’s reputation because you would have to go down to their office to confirm. However, the situation has changed as you don’t need to do that now.

People can check if a company or business is registered in Nigeria through a public search portal on Corporate Affairs Commission’s website launched in 2016. You can now check this information online for free by following this link: http://publicsearch.cac.gov.ng/comsearch/index.php

Steps to Follow to Check If a Company is Registered

The following steps will guide you to discover how to check if a company is registered in Nigeria:

Step 1: Log on to the Corporate Affairs Commission website at http://services.cac.gov.ng/ and choose the “Public Search” service on the landing page.

Step 2: You will find yourself on the search page where you will have to input the name of the company in the search engine with this heading: “Search Record by Name”.

Step 3: Below the search engine is a square box you will need to check to verify that you are human and not a robot.

Step 4: After verifying that you are not a robot, click on “Search” to check if the company is registered. The search will display result showing the details of the company and CAC registered status if it is registered,. The name of the company, the RC number, the address of the company and the date of registration will be included in the result.

The result will return empty if the company is not registered. Then if the company is still undergoing registration, the result will return without RC number and address.

If you check a company’s registration details and you can’t find its name on the corporate Affairs Commission list of registered companies, then you have to be very cautious as you go into transactions with them. It is either the company is fake or simply not registered. You need to be extra careful or conduct a necessary research about the company’s genuineness.

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Lots of Benefits When You Register Your Business

If you are thinking of starting a new company or already have an existing one, then you should consider registering the company. There are lots of benefits registering your company or business in Nigeria, and the process is very understandable.

Registering Your Business Brings More Trust

The competition in the commercial industry is high and requires 100% trust so you can become successful running your business. The trust comes only when your business is registered. Registering your business also provides you with legal backing for your business. When starting out a business, it is very important to take things seriously especially at the beginning.

Registering a Company Provides Protection for Your Company Name

You will come to discover the importance of registering a company’s name and the protection this will bring in the future. Before registering your company in Nigeria with the Corporate Affairs Commission, you need to know the requirements first. This will help you to do things right.

Your Company Must Have At Least Two Members

One of the requirements of registering your company’s name is to have at least 2 members or more but they should not exceed 50 members. The members of your company must be at least 18 years old with sound mind and must meet CAMA qualifications demand.

Read Also: How to Register a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Nigeria

Minimum Share Capital of Your Business

The least share capital of your business should be from N10,000 upwards and not less. The process of registering your company may take 3 to 6 weeks based on the schedule of the CAC. That’s why you need to be patient.

Find a Good Lawyer

You need a good lawyer that will help you to fill the documents and will assist you throughout the process of the registration.

Choose a Name

Choose a name that has not been taken for your company and submit it to CAC. They will perform a search to know whether the name you submitted is available. For you to save yourself some time, submit about two names for your company and you need to run a personal search in order to succeed in one or two attempts.

Summary of How to Check If a Company is Registered in Nigeria with CAC

Follow these simple steps

Step 1: Visit the CAC official website https://services.cac.gov.ng/ and click on public search or go straight to http://publicsearch.cac.gov.ng/ComSearch/

Step 2: Put the name of the business, company or NGO

Step 3: Tick the box written “I’m not a Robot” to prove you are human

Step 4: A list emerges with diverse variation of your search keywords

Step 5: How to know if the company is registered is the inclusion of the name of the company, the RC number, the address of the company and the date of registration in the result. If the company is not registered, it bounces back empty. And if it is still going through registration, the status will also show it but without RC number.

Read Also: How to Register Church in Nigeria: A Step by Step Guide

Conclusion

Are you about to go into business deal with some company and the information in this post has helped you to know the best approach to use? Kindly use the comment box to tell us.

Do you know any other way that one can check if a company is registered in Nigeria that is not included in this post? Feel free to share with us in the comment box below.

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