How to Verify a Nigerian Company Before Doing Business
The authoritative source for Nigerian company verification is the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Here is how to use it correctly, and what it does and does not prove.
Nigerian company verification has improved substantially since the CAC migrated to its online portal in 2021. The authoritative records are accessible — but the workflow has specific quirks that determine whether a verification is reliable.
The CAC record
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is the statutory registrar under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020. Every Nigerian limited company, business name, and incorporated trustee is on the CAC register. The public-search portal is at search.cac.gov.ng.
The core fields to confirm:
- RC Number (Registration Certificate Number) — the unique CAC identifier. Format varies by entity type (RC for companies, BN for business names).
- Company name — exact match to the proforma invoice. Suffix matters: "Ltd" and "Limited" are interchangeable, but "Nigeria Ltd" vs "Ltd" are distinct entities.
- Registration date and status — active vs dormant, struck off, or in liquidation.
- Registered address — must match invoice and bank account address.
- Directors and shareholders — disclosed on Forms CAC 7 (directors) and CAC 2A (shareholding).
The TIN check
A CAC record alone is not sufficient. Every legitimate operating company has a TIN issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) or the Joint Tax Board (JTB). The TIN should:
- Be in the exact legal name on the CAC record.
- Show active filing history if requested.
A company with a CAC record but no TIN is either non-operational or evading tax — either way, not a counterparty to wire to.
UBO disclosure
CAMA 2020 introduced beneficial-ownership disclosure for Nigerian companies (Persons with Significant Control register). For any supplier where the order value exceeds USD 25,000, request the PSC register extract.
Methodology note
Conflicts of interest: none disclosed. Last reviewed May 29, 2026.
Aisha leads KeyBS Trust's country risk desk. She previously ran KYB operations at a tier-1 West African bank and built fraud detection pipelines for cross-border SME lending. Her work focuses on Africa, the Gulf, and South Asia.
View profileElena owns editorial governance and operational risk review for KeyBS Trust Intelligence. She approves every published article and chairs the methodology review board.
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