Companies in Nigeria are registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the statutory registrar established under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA 2020). Registration and post-registration filings are made through the CAC company registration portal at cac.gov.ng, and the Commission also maintains a public register of persons with significant control.

The company registry in Nigeria

CAMA 2020, supplemented by the Companies Regulations 2021, replaced the 1990 Act and restructured registration around a single Commission covering six distinct registers. Part B of the Act covers companies, Part C limited liability partnerships, Part D limited partnerships, Part E business names and Part F incorporated trustees. The Commission maintains a company registry in the States as well as centrally, and keeps copies of incorporation documents and the registers of charges, debentures and members interests.

Nigeria therefore keeps companies and sole traders in the same institution but under different Parts of the same Act: a sole proprietor or partnership registers a business name under Part E, which does not create a legal person, while incorporation under Part B does.

The most significant modernisation for small business is in section 18: while any two or more persons may form and incorporate a company, one person may form and incorporate a private company. Single-member private companies were not possible under the previous law.

Beneficial ownership is the other major change. The Persons with Significant Control Regulations 2022, implementing sections 119 and 791 of CAMA 2020, require companies registered under Part B and limited liability partnerships registered under Part C, together with foreign exempted companies, to disclose their controllers to the Commission, which enters the particulars in a central register.

Legal forms that can be registered in Nigeria

  • Private company limited by shares (Ltd) — the standard vehicle; members are liable only for the amount unpaid on their shares, and a single person may form one.
  • Public company limited by shares (Plc) — may offer shares to the public and, if listed, is additionally regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Exchange.
  • Company limited by guarantee (Ltd/Gte) — has no share capital; members undertake to contribute a specified amount towards the assets on winding up. Used for non-profit and membership bodies.
  • Unlimited company (Ultd) — the members bear unrestricted personal liability for the obligations of the company; it may be private or public.
  • Limited liability partnership (LLP) — a body corporate under Part C in which the partners enjoy limited liability while the entity is governed as a partnership. LLPs are within the scope of the PSC disclosure regime.
  • Limited partnership (LP) — under Part D, combining general partners liable without limit with limited partners liable up to their contributions.
  • Business name — under Part E, the registration of a trading name by an individual or a firm. It confers no separate legal personality and does not limit liability.
  • Incorporated trustees — under Part F, the vehicle for associations, community organisations, religious bodies and NGOs, which obtain legal personality through registered trustees.
  • Foreign company — a company incorporated outside Nigeria must generally incorporate a Nigerian company to carry on business, unless it holds an exemption; foreign exempted companies are expressly covered by the PSC Regulations.

Each company form may be private or public, so the liability categories in the Act combine with that distinction to produce the classifications shown on a certificate of incorporation.

Information available from the Nigerian registry

The Commission publishes a public search over registered entities, and its registration portal exposes the status and basic particulars of companies, business names and incorporated trustees: the name, the registration number, the date of registration, the type of entity, the registered address and the status.

Nigeria is unusual in the region in making beneficial ownership genuinely public. Regulation 10(1) of the PSC Regulations 2022 specifies the PSC information that is made freely available: the full name of the person with significant control, the date on which the reportable ownership or control started, the occupation, the service address, the nationality, the nature of the ownership or control and a unique identifier. Residential addresses are withheld under Regulation 9. The threshold for disclosure is low: a person qualifies by directly or indirectly holding at least 5 per cent of the shares or interest, at least 5 per cent of the voting rights, the right to appoint or remove a majority of the directors or partners, or by otherwise exercising significant influence or control.

What is less open is financial reporting. Annual returns are filed with the Commission and form part of the company file, but Nigeria does not operate a free public financial-statement database comparable with its PSC register; audited accounts of listed companies are disclosed through the securities regulator and the exchange instead.

Documents that can be obtained from the registry

  • Certificate of Incorporation — the Commission certificate evidencing that the company exists and stating its liability structure. The primary proof of legal existence for banks, tenders and contracts.
  • Certified True Copy of Memorandum and Articles of Association — the certified constitutional documents of the company as registered.
  • Status Report — the Commission statement of a company current registered particulars, including directors, shareholders and share capital; the standard due-diligence document.
  • Altered Certificate — issued where a company changes its name or status, linking its former and current identities.
  • Certificate of Registration of Business Name — the equivalent document for a Part E business name.
  • Certificate of Registration of Incorporated Trustees — the equivalent document for a Part F association.
  • Annual return filings — the yearly returns lodged with the Commission and held on the entity file.
  • PSC information from the central register — the freely available particulars of persons with significant control listed in Regulation 10(1).
  • Register of charges entries — particulars of charges and debentures registered against a company.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who registers companies in Nigeria?

The Corporate Affairs Commission, under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and the Companies Regulations 2021.

Can one person register a company in Nigeria?

Yes. Section 18 of CAMA 2020 allows one person to form and incorporate a private company, in addition to the general rule that two or more persons may incorporate a company.

Are beneficial owners of Nigerian companies public?

Yes. Regulation 10(1) of the Persons with Significant Control Regulations 2022 makes the name, start date of control, occupation, service address, nationality, nature of control and unique identifier of each PSC freely available; residential addresses are withheld.

What counts as significant control?

Holding, directly or indirectly, at least 5 per cent of the shares or interest or of the voting rights, holding the right to appoint or remove a majority of directors or partners, or otherwise exercising significant influence or control.

Is a business name the same as a company?

No. A business name registered under Part E of CAMA 2020 is a registration of a trading name and creates no separate legal personality; incorporation under Part B does.

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