There are various reasons why anyone would like to find out the registration status of a company. Many have fallen victims of fraudulent activities when they have gone into business with fake companies. This is one of the many reasons why doing business with an unregistered company is very dangerous. Some have also gained employment with companies they did not know were fake. Bot situations are very dangerous and traumatic.
How to Check if a Company is Registered in Nigeria
All companies and businesses operating in Nigeria are mandated to be registered under the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission) was established in 1990 under the Companies and Allied Matters Act. The commission was created to govern how companies in Nigeria are being formed and managed.
History of the Corporate Affairs Commission
The Corporate Affairs Commission was established by the Companies and Allied Matters Act. The Act was declared in 1990 to regulate and supervise the formation and management of companies in Nigeria.
Prior to this time, the body in charge of registration of companies was the Company Registry, a department within the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Tourism. Due to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the Company Registry, the Corporate Affairs Commission was established to carry out its duties as an autonomous body.
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is an autonomous body charged with the responsibility to regulate and supervise the formation and management of companies and businesses in Nigeria.
Functions of the Corporate Affairs Commission
- The duties of the Corporate Affairs Commission include the following:
- To regulate and supervise the formation, incorporation, management and winding up processes of companies
- To establish and maintain offices of the commission in all the states of the federation and ensure it carries out its duties responsibly
- Enabled to conduct investigations into the activities of any company when the interests of its shareholders and the public demand so.
- To register business names and incorporated trustees as well as provide other services in line with the performance of is duties according to the provisions of the Act.
Before you make transactions or go into business with any company, it is advisable you find out the legitimacy of the business. One way to find how the legitimacy of a business is if the company has been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. In the past, it used to be quite a difficult and time consuming task to find out the registration status of a company because you will have to physically go down to the CAC office and fill out paper forms to confirm. But you do not have to go through that stress anymore. You can check this information online, from the comfort of your home or office.
How to check if a Company is Registered in Nigeria
In 2016, the Corporate Affairs Commission launched a public search portal on their website where people can check if a company or business is registered in Nigeria. Whatever your reasons are for verifying the registration status of a company, you can now check the registration status of a company anywhere and anytime using your mobile phone or computer.
This article provides you with information on how to check if a company is registered in Nigeria. If you want to go into business with any company, apply for a job in the company or patronize the business online, it is essential you check out the registration status of such a company.
To check if a company or business is registered with CAC, follow the steps below:
- Visit CAC website: Log on to the corporate affairs commission website and chose the “Public Search” service on the landing page.
- Type the company name in question in the field provided without adding “Plc”, “Limited” or “Ltd”.
- You will be directed to the search page
- Enter the name of the company in the search engine with heading “Search Record by Name”
- Click on the square box below the search engine to verify that you are not a robot. Check the “I am not a robot” CAPTCHA box
- After this, you can click on “Search”
- Click submit
If the company exists and has been registered, you will get a result displaying the RC number which means that the company has been registered, Company Name, Address and Date of Registration. However, if the company doesn’t exist you will get an empty result.
If there are many other companies bearing same name with the company in question, you will have many results from your search. All you need to do is scroll down to locate the company with the matching name. If a company is still undergoing registration, you will not see its RC number, but will see ‘Undergoing Registration’.
A registered company
For any corporate body or form of business to carry out services in Nigeria, it is mandatory that it be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). In order to successfully register a company with CAC, that company must have fulfilled all the necessary requirements of the commission. This includes providing details of the company such as:
- Name of the company
- Registered Address
- Directors
- Shareholders
- Shareholding formula
- Payment of fees required by the commission
After registering with the commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission will issue a Certificate of Incorporation to the company which will contain the name of the company and its status that is if it is a public or private company. The RC number is peculiar to each company and is used to verify the company as an incorporated entity. It also shows the date and seal of the Registrar- General of the Commission.
If you cannot find the name of a company on the corporate affairs commission list of registered companies, then you have to be very cautious in your dealings with such a company. It could mean that the company is fake or simply not yet registered.