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Requirements For Registering A Company In Nigeria

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REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPANY REGISTRATION

A company is a corporate structure with separate legal personality status. It is statutorily regulated and incorporated for the purpose of profit maximization. All companies, whether a private company limited by shares, private unlimited or a company limited by guarantee must be registered in accordance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), which is the principal law that regulates companies in Nigeria. The requirements for registering a company in Nigeria are straightforward with no intricacies.

The commission in charge of the regulation and supervision of the registration and companies is the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) established pursuant to the provisions of CAMA. In one of our previous articles, we explained a step by step guide for company registration, but we shall briefly highlight the basic requirements for an incorporation of a limited liability company here.

It should be noted that the minimum number of persons required to form a company is two (2), with the age capacity not less than 18 years. The only exception for a person less than 18 years to register a company is where there are two or more adults involved in the formation of the company.

Requirements to register a limited liability company

  1. The first step required by the applicant is to choose two suitable proposed names for the company. Where this is done, an availability check will be conducted on the CAC online portal to find out if the name is available and not already in use.
  2. Choosing the type of company to be registered whether a private limited company or private unlimited company or company limited by guarantee.
  3. The objectives and business of the company must be provided.
  4. The registered principal address of the company.
  5. The share capital and shareholding formula among shareholders will be required.
  6. The particulars of a minimum of two (2) Directors will be required. A copy of their means of identification such as voter’s card, national ID, drivers’ license or international passport.
  7. Particulars of the company secretary (one of the directors may also act as the Secretary of the company)
  8. The applicant will be required to furnish details of the shareholders of the company. Details such as names, occupation, residential address, email address, mobile phone number and means of identification such as driver’s license, international passport or national identity card. It should be noted that the directors listed can also hold the capacity of shareholders in the company if desired.
  9. The memorandum and Articles of association of the company to be registered which is advisable to be drafted professionally by a Legal Practitioner. However, the CAC has provided a generic MEMART, which any new company can be adopted.

Fees required

The applicant will also be required to pay a filing fee to the CAC and stamp duty paid to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Where this information is provided for, the following statutory forms will be required to be filled and submitted along with the evidence of payment at the CAC and other requirements:

  • Form CAC 1- Availability search and reservation of name
  • Form CAC 1.1-Pre-registration form.

Incorporation can be commenced online by an individual applicant or through a CAC accredited agent at the CAC’s online portal. Where an individual commenced the incorporation himself or herself, such a person will still require the services of a legal practitioner for an attestation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, to operate any company in Nigeria, such a company must be incorporated. Although the company registration can be initiated online, the original copies of the documents used for the registration must be submitted to the CAC before the Certificate of Incorporation can be issued to the owners or their agent.

 

How to Check if a Company is Registered in Nigeria with CAC – Corporate Affairs Commission

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Verifying the existence or authenticity of a registered company in Nigeria used to be a timing consuming and daunting task requiring you to visit a CAC office to fill paper forms. However, it is now very easy, this write up will show you how to check if a company is registered in Nigeria with CAC – Corporate Affairs Commission and FIRS (Federal Inland Revenue Service).

There are several reasons for verifying the registration status of a company, maybe you want to go into business with the company, apply for a job in the company or patronize the business online. Whatever the reasons, you can now check the registration status of a company anywhere and anytime using your mobile phone or computer.

The process requires just two steps, first step is checking the registration status on CAC website and the second step is verifying the Tax registration status on FIRS website.

 

How to Check Company Registration Status with CAC

 

Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is an autonomous body charged with the responsibility to regulate the formation and management of companies in Nigeria.

 

To check if a company or business is registered, follow this simple steps:

 

  1. Visit CAC website by clicking here,
  2. Type the company name in the field provided without “Plc”, “Limited” or “Ltd”.
  3. Check the “I am not a robot” CAPTCHA box
  4. Click submit .

 

Corporate Affair Commission Registration Check

 

If the company exists, you will get a result with (the RC Number, Company Name, Address and Date of Registration). However, if the company doesn’t exist you will get an empty result. Sometimes, you will get many results if the company has other companies bearing similar name, just scroll down to locate the company with matching name. Sometimes, a company might still be undergoing registration, in that case you won’t see it’s RC Number, you will see Undergoing Registration.

 

How to Check Company Registration Status with FIRS or Joint Tax Board

 

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is the institution saddled with the responsibility of collection and payment of Federal government taxes in Nigeria. After getting the company’s RC Number using the steps above, you can check a company’s TIN and registration status on the FIRS website using the following steps

Option One

  1. Visit the FIRS Official TIN Verification page by clicking here
  2. Scroll down to the Search form
  3. Select CAC Registration number in the search criteria dropdown list
  4. Enter the CAC Registration Number preceded by the corresponding alphabets (RC for Corporate entities (public/limited liability companies) and BN for Enterprises (Sole proprietorships or partnerships)) in the search value field. E.g RC11111111 or BN1111111. Note the RC Number you get from the CAC website doesn’t bear the prefix letters RC or BN you have to append it.
  5. Type the correct Captcha Image text and click on the search button

 

If the Number is correct the name of the company will be displayed with details shown below (remember to scroll down to view results)

 

FIRS TIN Verification System

Option Two

  1. Visit the Joint Tax Board TIN Verification page
  2. On the TIN Registration Search Panel enter company registration date (You can get this from the CAC step above)
  3. Select Search Criteria (TIN/BVN/Company Registration Number (RCxxxxxx or BNxxxxx) or Registered Phone Number
  4. Check the “I am not a robot” CAPTCHA box
  5. Click submit .

If the information is correct the name of the company will be displayed with details shown below (you can also get the details emailed to you)

Joint tax board TIN verification