Lost CAC Certificate — How to Obtain a Replacement

A lost CAC certificate is rarely the operation most readers think it is. The CAC does not issue a new original certificate to replace a lost one — the underlying registration record sits on the CAC database and there is only ever one original record for any RC or BN number. What CAC does issue is a Certified True Copy (CTC) of that record: a fresh authenticated PDF carrying the Registrar-General's seal, treated by banks, government agencies, and counterparties as the equivalent of the original.

The distinction that matters at the start of any lost-certificate conversation:

Running through the table top to bottom before starting a CTC application is what stops applicants paying ₦5,000 for an operation that the free re-download would have solved in a minute. Most "lost certificate" conversations are actually missing-print-not-missing-PDF cases, and they clear without touching the CTC flow.

The CTC is the right call in three scenarios:

• The e-certificate PDF on the iCRP dashboard is also unavailable. The dashboard copy was deleted (accidental account housekeeping, a portal-side problem after a long dormancy), the iCRP account was lost (forgotten credentials, dormant email address), or the original case-file was filed under an accredited agent who is no longer engaged. Where the dashboard PDF is not retrievable, the CTC against the underlying record is the path back to an authenticated artefact.
• The original certificate predates the December 2020 / January 2021 e-certificate rollout. Companies registered before the portal upgrade hold paper certificates only; there is no PDF on a dashboard. A lost or damaged pre-2020 certificate routes through the CTC against the archived paper record. CAC began electronic service delivery from August 2020 and rolled out the full e-certificate format in the portal upgrade between 28 December 2020 and 4 January 2021. The upgrade enacted CAMA 2020 and replaced the older paper-and-counter-collection format with the PDF-on-dashboard format that is current now. Certificates issued from late 2020 onward are PDFs by default — no physical certificate is printed at CAC; the PDF on the iCRP dashboard is the canonical original, and a printed copy is a printed-out version of the PDF. Certificates issued before the rollout exist as scanned paper records; CAC issues a re-typed or scanned PDF version on a certified-true-copy request. After the April 2026 cybersecurity incident the iCRP portal requires every user to reset their password and enable two-factor authentication through an authenticator app before regaining access.
• A counterparty specifically requires a CTC rather than the dashboard PDF. Some banks, tender desks, and overseas authorities ask for a CTC explicitly because the CTC carries a fresh CAC seal and date stamp. The dashboard PDF carries the original issue date; the CTC adds a confirmation date that some counterparties prefer for due-diligence purposes.

For every other "lost certificate" case the routine re-download is the right step. Check the dashboard before paying for a CTC.

The supporting bundle for a CTC application against a lost certificate:

• Police report. Visit the nearest police station and request a report documenting the loss. The report typically names the proprietor, the company name and RC or BN number, the approximate date of loss, and the circumstances. Signed by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) or a designated officer. Scan as PDF.
• Affidavit of loss. Sworn at a High Court or Magistrate Court Registry. The affidavit names the deponent (proprietor or director), the company, the lost certificate, the approximate date of loss, and a declaration that the certificate "has not been used for any unlawful purpose". Signed in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths. Scan as PDF.
• Cover letter. Addressed to the Registrar-General, requesting the CTC. The letter names the company, the RC or BN number, the date of the original registration, and the supporting documents enclosed.
• Identification of the applicant. Government-issued ID of the director or proprietor making the application: NIN slip, international passport, driver's licence, or PVC. The portal's iCRP account already holds this identity, but a fresh scan is sometimes asked for at the CTC step.
• Newspaper publication (Incorporated Trustees and optional for others). For Part F incorporated trustees a published notice of the loss in a national newspaper is sometimes required as protection against fraudulent use. For Part A companies and Part C business names the publication is optional but adds belt-and-braces protection where the lost certificate may be in the possession of an unknown third party.

The bundle is uploaded as PDFs through the iCRP portal at the CTC application step. The portal validates file format and size at the upload field; see CAC document upload error for the upload diagnostics if a file is rejected.

1. 1
   Sign in to iCRP at icrp.cac.gov.ngOpen the iCRP dashboard with the proprietor's or director's credentials. Complete the post-April-2026 password reset and 2FA enrolment if not already done. Locate the company on the dashboard using the RC or BN number.
2. 2
   Select 'Application for Certified True Copy (CTC)'Within the post-incorporation services menu at post.cac.gov.ng the CTC application sits under 'Certified True Copy of Documents'. Select the certificate type (Certificate of Incorporation for Part A companies; Business Name Certificate for Part C; Certificate of Incorporation of Trustees for Part F).
3. 3
   Upload the supporting bundleUpload the police report, the affidavit of loss, the cover letter, and the applicant's identification as PDFs. The portal accepts PDF for documents and JPG or PNG for any photograph fields. File-format and size checks apply per the EDMS upload rules.
4. 4
   Pay the ₦5,000 statutory fee through RemitaThe portal generates a Remita Retrieval Reference for the CTC fee. Pay by card on the portal for fastest reconciliation; bank-counter payments work but add 24 to 48 hours. The fee is the statutory CAC line; agent bundles where engaged sit on top of this figure.
5. 5
   Submit and track on the dashboardSubmission flips the case-file to Under Review. Typical processing is 2 to 10 working days for a clean application. The dashboard shows the status; once approved, the CTC PDF is available for download from the dashboard with the Registrar-General's seal and a fresh confirmation date.

A CTC issued through this flow has the same legal weight as the original certificate. Banks accept it for account opening, government agencies accept it for tender bids and procurement, courts accept it for litigation. The PDF is the canonical artefact; a printed copy of the PDF is the routine handout to counterparties.

The CTC application is portal-DIY-capable at icrp.cac.gov.ng. The proprietor or director signs in to the same iCRP account that holds the company and runs the application directly. No accredited agent is required for the routine post-2020 case; the agent fee is avoidable.

The accredited-agent route earns its fee in three specific scenarios:

• The original case-file was filed under an agent's iCRP account and the proprietor does not have direct dashboard access. The agent runs the CTC from the same account that holds the underlying file.
• The proprietor is overseas and the police report and affidavit need in-country handling. An agent's local presence is the value-add.
• The original certificate is a pre-2020 paper record and the CAC archive retrieval needs a walk-through. An agent familiar with the archive procedure shortens the case.

For every other lost-certificate case the DIY route is the routine choice. See CAC accreditation for the framework of accredited agents versus the DIY portal route.

A new CTC is operationally equivalent to the original certificate but has one practical advantage: it carries a fresh date stamp, which some counterparties read as additional reassurance. Use it the same way the original was used.

Discipline for the period after a CTC issues:

• Store the PDF in two independent locations. A cloud-storage account (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox) and a local backup on a separate device. The single most common cause of a lost CAC certificate is a single-location storage failure.
• Print a hard copy for the corporate file. A printed copy of the CTC is the operationally useful artefact for bank account opening, tender bids, supplier registration, and any setting where a paper certificate is physically handed over.
• Keep the affidavit and police report with the corporate file. The original supporting documents are useful evidence if the lost original later resurfaces in someone else's possession.
• Notify the bank of the new artefact where the bank holds the corporate account. Some banks update their KYC record against the CTC date; the notification reduces friction on the next high-value transaction.

A discipline that compounds: schedule a quarterly check of the iCRP dashboard against the master corporate file. A dashboard PDF that is still there is the cheapest insurance against any future loss.

• Do NOT pay ₦5,000 for a CTC without first checking the iCRP dashboard. The e-certificate PDF is still there in the post-2020 routine case; a free re-download solves most 'lost certificate' situations in minutes.
• Do NOT pay an informal 'CAC consultant' on social media to 'reprint' a certificate. CAC does not reprint; it issues a CTC against a formal application with police report, affidavit, and the statutory fee. No informal channel bypasses the framework.
• Do NOT skip the police report and affidavit. The CTC application is documented and audited; an application without the supporting bundle is queried and the response window then applies. See [CAC query meaning](/cac/cac-query-meaning/) for the query response procedure.
• Do NOT use a CTC where the underlying record has changed since the original. A CTC reproduces the record as held; if a director has been added, an address has changed, or a name has been changed, the right operation is to file the modification first and then download the updated e-certificate. See [how to add a director](/cac/add-director/), [how to change your business address](/cac/change-business-address/), and [how to change your business name](/cac/change-business-name/) for the relevant flows.
• Do NOT treat the CTC as a one-time fix that absolves you of storage discipline. The CTC is itself a PDF; the next storage failure will trigger another CTC application. Cloud backup plus a separate local copy is the durable answer.