Business name registration with Corporate
Affairs Commission (CAC) confers legal protection and credibility on a business. CAC
is saddled with the responsibilities of regulation and supervision of the
formation, incorporation, registration, management and winding up of companies
among others. Once a business name is registered it becomes actual and legitimate.
The owner of the business can do business with Government, organizations (local
or international) or individuals without any doubt or fear. It is one of the steps
to successful business launching. Before proceeding with your business
registration, it is important to determine the legal structure for your
business, the ownership structure that’s right for your business—a sole
proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation—depends on how many people
will own the business and what type of services or products it will provide, for
instance, if you know that you will be the only owner, then a partnership is
obviously not your thing. (A partnership has more than one owner) and if your
business will engage in risky activities (e.g. trading stocks), you’ll want not
only to buy insurance, but also to consider forming an entity that provides
personal liability protection (a corporation or a limited liability company),
which can shield your personal assets from business debts and claims, if you
plan to raise capital by selling stock to the public or want to give your
employees stock options, then you should form a corporation. To register your
business with CAC, the following steps are important to consider;
1. Business Name: This is the first step
in registering a business with CAC. You’ve got to be creative in picking a name
for your business. A business owner must choose a name that is unique, catchy,
professional and not too similar to a competitor’s name or else you could find
yourself accused of violating the competitor’s trademark and you could be
forced to change your business name and possibly pay money damages.
2. Name Search Availability: Having to change a business name can be a
serious blow to a business that has worked hard to build name recognition among
its customers—not to mention the cost of changing signs, stationery, pre-printed
invoices, and the like however, it
is important to conduct a name search availability and be approved to continue
business registration. If the name is similar to any competitors or business,
it will not be approved, you will need to conduct another search. Name
search can simply be conducted online without going to CAC office and you could
get result in 3 days. To conduct a name search, you need to submit 2 business name
options in case one is declined, the other can be approved of. Log on to CAC website; create a CAC-CRP portal
account access by clicking 'Create Account' button; fill in the form, submit
and your account details would be sent to the email address you entered. You need a form of identification such as National ID Number (NIN) to successfully create account. Each
name search cost N500, the payment can
be done online with debit/credit and you can still make the payment inside any
bank branch in Nigeria. You will need to fill in some information about the
business during the search. Status of name search will be sent to the
registered email address.
3. Registration of Business Name: After
the business name has been approved, print out ‘Notice of Approval’ and ‘Payment
Receipt’. The business name will be reserved for 60 days but if the business name
is not registered in 60 days, it can be claimed by another person. Download ‘Application
for Registration of Business Name’ and fill in the form with 2 passport
affixed at right hand side of the application form. Last portion of the form
need attestation of Magistrate, Legal Practitioner or Police Officer of the
rank of ASP and above. If attestation is done at State High Court, you may need
to pay a sum of N200 at revenue
collection centre. The next stage is to proceed with the registration of the
business name at CAC office. Check
at the nearest office in your state. Ensure you go to the office with printed
approval, receipt and your application. You will open a file at CAC office with
a sum of N200, you will also pay a sum
of N10,000 for Sole proprietorship, N40,000 for Partnership while NGO takes longer process and the amount is up to N60,000,
business having a branch office attract additional N1,000.
4. Collect your Certificatee: The certificate of registration of
business name will processed and be made available for collection in 3 - 4 days
after the filing.
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