Budget for CAC registration using the current filing category and the official invoice. A business name, a private company and a company limited by guarantee have different requirements. A low advertised package price is not enough to establish what has been included, whether a name needs consent, or whether later filings are covered.
Sources reviewed: October 11, 2026. This guide uses CAC's gazetted fee schedule, published notices, CRP 3.0 guide and CAMA 2020. It is a preparation guide and planning estimate, not legal advice, a filing service or an approval guarantee. Check the sources again when you apply.
Start with the African Business Name Shortlist Workshop if you need naming ideas. It runs locally in your browser and does not check CAC, trademark, domain or social-handle availability. Keep identification documents and actual application records out of a naming brief. Use the official registry for clearance.
Choose the registration category first
A business name is the proprietor or partnership route. A private company is incorporated separately; CAMA section 18 allows one person to form a private company. Limited liability is not protection against every personal obligation, especially a separately signed guarantee. A company limited by guarantee is a different legal route, not a low-cost substitute for either option. Read CAMA 2020 and obtain advice where ownership or liability is uncertain.
Write down who owns the business, who will sign contracts and whether an investor or regulator requires a particular entity. Resolve disagreements before paying for a name. Keeping the decision explicit makes it easier to check that the portal application, adviser quote and eventual registration documents describe the same arrangement.
Do not choose an entity solely because its filing fee is lower. Compare the practical consequences: who controls the business, how another owner could join, who keeps the records and what continuing work will be needed. A professional quote should explain the proposed structure before asking you to fund its registration.
CAC fees to check in 2026
The Official Gazette of May 29, 2025, pages B625 and B628, replaces the old figures used in this guide. CAC's August 30, 2025 notice names October 1, 2025 as the extended implementation date.
| Filing | NGN |
|---|---|
| Ordinary name reservation | 1,000 |
| Restricted-name reservation | 5,000 |
| Business name registration, including CTC of registration documents | 20,000 |
| Small or other private company incorporation with share capital | 10,000 per 1,000,000 of share capital or part thereof |
| Company limited by guarantee incorporation, including CTC of first documents | 40,000 |
| Business name annual returns | 5,000 |
A separate CAC notice dated April 2, 2026 announces AI service charges from April 1: NGN 200 for name reservation and NGN 500 for business name registration. For an ordinary business name, the reviewed components therefore sum to NGN 21,700. This is a subtotal, not a universal all-in price.
Keep payment-provider charges, consent-related costs and an agent's professional fee separate. For companies, establish the applicable stamp-duty assessment and any additional filing costs from the official application. This guide does not supply an unverified stamp-duty rate or a fixed lawyer-fee range.
Before approving a bundled quote, ask for each service, its official fee, the professional charge and the work included after registration. Check whether a quoted document is already included in the statutory filing. Mark any amount that has not been confirmed as pending; do not turn it into a compulsory charge merely to complete a budget.
Save the dated quotation privately alongside the invoice and payment receipt. If the invoice differs from the published schedule, ask for an explanation of the category and extra charge. Compare the underlying items before deciding that either the quote or the portal is wrong. Avoid paying a second time while an earlier payment is unresolved.
Prepare a private application folder
Keep the proposed name, entity decision, ownership notes, addresses and supporting records in one private folder. Use a short checklist to distinguish information already confirmed from information still awaiting a proprietor or adviser. This prevents an unfinished draft from being mistaken for a ready application.
CAC's CRP 3.0 user guide lists business information and proprietor details, then image uploads for identification, photograph and signature. Follow the actual portal prompts for format and size. The old blanket instruction to upload every document as PDF or JPEG below 2MB is not supported by that guide.
For a company, CAMA section 36 identifies the proposed name, office, liability type, issued capital and shareholdings, directors, and relevant articles. Use the checklist for that entity. Do not assume a business-name checklist covers a company.
Read every scan at normal size before uploading. Check that the spelling in the draft agrees with the supporting record and that no page is missing. Do not alter an identity document to make inconsistent application text appear correct. Resolve the underlying discrepancy or seek the official correction route.
Share only the records needed for an agreed task with an adviser. Keep access to the registration account and its recovery email under your control. Do not paste passwords, one-time codes, identification numbers or document scans into a public message, naming tool or example filing plan.
Use the current iCRP route
Open the official CAC iCRP portal. The linked CRP 3.0 guide uses this address. Start from an official link when a saved bookmark or an adviser sends you elsewhere.
- Sign in and complete the account verification required by the portal.
- Select the entity, enter the proposed name and activity, and check availability. Use the consent route where required.
- After reservation, retain the AV code and continue to the relevant filing.
- Review the application and payment request before submission.
- Track the dashboard. Resolve a queried application; after approval, download the certificate and status report.
Keep a progress note showing the last completed step and the exact next action. A reserved name is not a registered business. A payment receipt is not an approval. A downloaded certificate should be reviewed against the submitted particulars before being used in a bank, contract or supplier onboarding packet.
When something fails, record the time, reference and non-sensitive description of the problem. Avoid repeated speculative edits or duplicate submissions. Separate a payment problem from an application query so that the support request explains which step needs attention. Keep the full private record available for the official support channel.
Read service standards as conditional targets
CAC's published service timelines list four working hours for ordinary availability search and 24 working hours for company and business-name registrations. The registration standard starts after receipt of all relevant documents or compliance with a query. It is not a promise that every applicant receives a certificate one calendar day after first opening the portal.
Plan around the status of your own application. If another deadline depends on registration, ask what evidence is acceptable while it is pending. Do not commit to an approval date based solely on an agent's advertisement, a past applicant's experience or a general service target.
Check the records and continuing obligations
Review the certificate, status report and registration reference against your application. Keep the reservation, filing and payment records with them. Record who will maintain the folder and who will check future official notices. A certificate should be the start of a records process, not the point where that process stops.
Read the portal's business-name annual-return notice before filing returns. At this review it says filing is available for names registered before July 2025 and describes a future process covering older and newer names. That announcement is not evidence that every registration cohort can already use the proposed process.
Confirm the next applicable return and the route for your record. If the portal does not support your case, keep evidence of the enquiry and seek CAC guidance. Do not infer that a missing button cancels an obligation, and do not assume a future rollout has happened because it was announced.
Registration does not settle every tax, employment, premises or sector-licence question. Keep these as separate checks with the relevant authority. This refresh does not retain the old blanket NGN 25 million VAT-registration rule, automatic tax-ID promise or unsourced payroll and permit charges. Their applicability needs a current review of the business and the relevant rules.
For the tax changes reviewed separately, see the 2026 tax update guide. The Nigeria VAT Calculator can support arithmetic using its stated assumptions; a calculation cannot establish registration liability or prove a return was filed.
Separate naming ideas from official clearance
A suggested name needs independent checks. CAMA section 852 addresses identical or deceptive names, conflicting marks and restricted wording. A memorable spelling or an available-looking website address cannot establish registry approval.
Keep each shortlisted name beside its check status and the date of the evidence. Treat registry, trademark, domain and social-handle checks as separate tasks. If a result is unclear, leave it unresolved until the appropriate authority or adviser explains it. Do not label a name available merely because an ideas tool produced it.
The business-name selection guide helps organise this decision. Verify its country-specific details against the official source before relying on them. Avoid spending on permanent signage or final legal documents before the name decision is settled.
Agree the scope before hiring help
CAC's business-name service page says individual proprietors may register without a legal practitioner, chartered accountant or chartered secretary. CAMA also provides for model articles in applicable company formations. The former claim that every company's articles must be purchased from a lawyer was too broad.
Seek advice where several owners, an investor, foreign participation, a regulated activity or a liability concern makes the structure uncertain. Ask what the adviser will prepare, what you must approve, which fees are official and how you will receive the records. An arrangement that leaves the owner unable to access the registration account is a practical risk even when the quoted fee seems attractive.
Prepare a name shortlist
Use a brief without personal identifiers. Export your ideas locally, then verify them through the relevant official services.
Open the name shortlist workshop →Sources and review limits
- CAC fee gazette, May 29, 2025: selected statutory fees.
- CAC notices, August 30, 2025 and April 2, 2026: implementation date and separate service charges.
- Interim CRP 3.0 guide: filing steps; no publication date stated in the document.
- CAMA 2020: cited company and naming provisions.
- CAC service timelines and business-name service page: published guidance without a visible update date.
- Public iCRP landing page: annual-return availability notice observed on October 11, 2026.
This review covers public documents and published guidance. It does not verify an authenticated filing, a payment, a name decision or an individual approval. The published schedule and notices inform planning; confirm the current invoice and requirements inside your own official application.
Frequently Asked Questions
For an ordinary name, the reviewed components total NGN 21,700: NGN 1,000 reservation, NGN 20,000 registration, and NGN 200 plus NGN 500 in separately announced AI service charges. This is a planning subtotal, excluding payment-provider charges, restricted-name consent and professional fees. Confirm the actual portal invoice before paying.
CAC publishes a 24-working-hour service standard for companies and business names after receipt of all relevant documents or compliance with a query. It is not a guaranteed elapsed time from starting an application. Track your own status and resolve any query before relying on an approval date.
The official iCRP portal and CRP 3.0 guide provide an online registration route. Use the CAC link, review the requirements for your entity, and download the certificate and status report after approval. Public guidance does not prove that a particular application has been accepted.
A business name identifies a sole proprietor or partnership; it does not itself incorporate a company. A private company has a separate corporate identity. Liability, ownership and compliance consequences need review for the actual business, including any personal guarantees.
CAC says individual proprietors can register business names themselves. A company formation may need professional advice for ownership, articles or regulated activities. CAMA permits model articles in applicable cases, so there is no basis for claiming every applicant must buy a lawyer-drafted document. Obtain a written scope and quote if using an adviser.