Registering a Business Name No Longer Needs “My Guy at CAC”

You can register a business name without paying somebody to “help you know somebody” at CAC.

The Corporate Affairs Commission says it plainly: an individual proprietor can register a business name without a lawyer, chartered accountant or chartered secretary.

The process is online.

The confusing part is knowing which button comes first.

Step 1: Check the name

CAC says business-name registration starts with an availability check.

Its current iCRP FAQ says you can submit up to two proposed names and that the name-availability request costs ₦500.

You need a CAC portal account before doing this.

If the name passes, you get the approval needed to continue the registration.

This is the stage where “Apex Global Ventures” meets the 700 other people who also thought of Apex Global Ventures.

Have a second name.

Step 2: Register the business on the portal

The commission’s business-name page says the registration is end-to-end on the Company Registration Portal.

You complete the pre-registration form, upload the required information and documents, and pay the filing fee through the portal.

When registration is completed, CAC issues an electronic certificate and a certified extract of the registration information.

You do not need to walk into a CAC office to collect a paper certificate.

It lands in your dashboard.

Step 3: The new portal says AI is doing some of the checking

Here is where CAC’s own pages get interesting.

The current iCRP FAQ says business-name registrations are now AI-approved and processed instantly.

On another CAC page, the published service timeline still gives 24 working hours for new business-name registrations after the commission has the relevant documents and any query has been resolved.

Those two statements do not promise the same wait.

So if somebody is registering because a bank, client or application deadline needs the certificate tomorrow morning, do not build the whole plan around the word “instantly.”

The portal may process it immediately. CAC’s public service standard still gives it a day.

Step 4: Watch for a query

CAC says its timelines assume the application is complete and any query has been answered.

A spelling mismatch, unclear document or incomplete detail can turn a quick registration into repeated logins.

Read the preview page before paying.

The portal asks you to review the information for a reason.

What you do not need

You do not need a “CAC agent” simply because you are a sole proprietor registering a normal business name.

That is not the same as saying nobody ever needs professional help. Companies, partnerships, restricted names and unusual structures can be different.

But for an ordinary business name, CAC itself says proprietors can do the registration.

That is useful because many small businesses meet CAC through somebody’s price list before they ever see CAC’s own website.

Start with the official portal.

At least know what government is charging before somebody adds the price of “connection.”